1945 Detroit Tigers season
The team won the American League pennant, then went on to win the 1945 World Series, defeating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 3.
Detroit pitcher Hal Newhouser was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season.
First baseman Rudy York was among the American League leaders in home runs for 11 consecutive seasons from 1937 to 1947, and his .503 slugging percentage as a Tiger ranks #4 in franchise history.
Hal Newhouser credited Mayo for sparking the Tigers' 1945 pennant drive, calling him the "take-charge guy in our infield."
Though he was a fine fielder, many believed he held onto the starting shortstop job despite his weak hitting because he was married to the daughter of Tigers' manager Steve O'Neill.
Jimmy Outlaw was the left fielder for the first half of the season, but he was replaced by Hank Greenberg when he returned from service in World War II in July.
Without the benefit of spring training, he returned to the Tigers, was again voted to the All-Star Team, and hit a dramatic pennant-clinching grand slam home run in the 9th inning on the last day of the regular season.
Center fielder Doc Cramer, nicknamed "Flit", was a veteran player who had been playing in the major leagues since 1929.
Cullenbine was raised in Detroit and started his career as a Tiger but was declared a free agent by Judge Landis in 1940.
The starting pitchers were Hal Newhouser, Dizzy Trout, Al Benton, Stubby Overmire, and Les Mueller.
[1] Newhouser won the pitching triple crown, leading the American League in wins (25, against nine losses), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (212).
The Adjusted ERA+ figures posted by Newhouser and Benton in 1945 rank as the 1st and 5th best seasons all time for a Detroit Tigers pitcher with at least 150 innings pitched.
To help returning veterans, the Commissioner waived the rule requiring a player to be on the roster on September 1 to be eligible for World Series play.
Relief pitching was split between George Caster (who was selected off waivers from the St. Louis Browns on August 8, 1945),[2] Walter Wilson, Zeb Eaton, and Art Houtteman.
Infielders Other batters Coaches Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg.
= Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts The 1945 World Series featured the Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their second championship in six World Series appearances.
Because of the depleted talent pool resulting from many players being in the military, the Tigers and the Cubs both fielded teams which would have been considered mediocre before or after the war.
Pitching for the Cubs in his first of four games in the 1945 Series, Hank Borowy threw a six-hit shutout to defeat the Tigers, 9–0.
The game ended in the 12th inning with a line drive by Stan Hack which took a bad hop past Greenberg in left field.
He advanced to second with one out, and when Doc Cramer hit a single to left field, Hostetler ran through manager Steve O'Neill's stop sign at third base.
He tried to put on his brakes half way home, lost his footing, fell to the ground, and was tagged out while scrambling around on all fours.
[3] Fifty years later, baseball writer Joe Falls recalled Hostetler's blunder in a column in the Detroit News, writing: "If anyone symbolized the futility of wartime baseball —both in Detroit and America — it was outfielder Chuck Hostetler of the Tigers, the man who fell on his face in the 1945 World Series.
Doc Cramer went 3-for-5, and Paul Richards hit a bases-loaded double in the first inning to clear the bases and give Newhouser a lead.
