1944 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1944 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bill Benswanger
Manager(s)	Frankie Frisch
Local radio	WWSW Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
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The 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 63rd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 58th in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the league standings with a record of 90–63.

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
St. Louis Cardinals	105	49	--	.682
Pittsburgh Pirates	90	63	14.5	.588
Cincinnati Reds	89	65	16	.578
Chicago Cubs	75	79	30	.487
New York Giants	67	87	38	.435
Boston Braves	65	89	40	.422
Brooklyn Dodgers	63	91	42	.409
Philadelphia Phillies	61	92	43.5	.399

Record vs. opponents

1944 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	9–13	11–11	8–14	9–13	11–11–1	9–13	8–14
Brooklyn	13–9	—	8–14–1	8–14	10–12	16–6	4–18	4–18
Chicago	11–11	14–8–1	—	9–13–1	10–12	13–9	12–10–1	6–16
Cincinnati	14–8	14–8	13–9–1	—	15–7	13–19	12–10	8–14
New York	13–9	12–10	12–10	7–15	—	10–12	7–15–1	6–16
Philadelphia	11–11–1	6–16	9–13	9–13	12–10	—	9–12	5–17
Pittsburgh	13–9	18–4	10–12–1	10–12	15–7–1	12–9	—	12–10–3
St. Louis	14–8	18–4	16–6	14–8	16–6	17–5	10–12–3	—

All-Star Game

The Pirates hosted the 1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 11, 1944 at Forbes Field. Pitcher Rip Sewell, infielder Bob Elliott, and outfielder Vince DiMaggio were selected for the National League squad. Pirates pitchers Max Butcher and Cookie Cuccurullo were named the NL's batting practice pitchers and Pirates catcher Spud Davis was the NL's batting practice catcher. Honus Wagner was named an honorary coach, the first time this honor was bestowed in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.^[2]

Roster

1944 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 19 Max Butcher 27 Cookie Cuccurullo 26 Johnny Gee -- Len Gilmore 21 Fritz Ostermueller  4 Xavier Rescigno 29 Preacher Roe 30 Rip Sewell 20 Ray Starr 22 Nick Strincevich 25 Joe Vitelli -- Roy Wise		Catchers 10 Hank Camelli 36 Spud Davis 12 Al Lopez Infielders -- Vic Barnhart  5 Pete Coscarart  7 Babe Dahlgren  8 Bob Elliott 16 Frankie Gustine  6 Lee Handley -- Hank Sweeney 14 Frankie Zak		Outfielders 18 Johnny Barrett 23 Frank Colman  9 Vince DiMaggio -- Al Gionfriddo 11 Tommy O'Brien -- Bill Rodgers  4 Al Rubeling 32 Jim Russell 15 Lloyd Waner 14 Johnny Wyrostek		Manager 35 Frankie Frisch Coaches 36 Spud Davis 34 Jake Flowers 33 Honus Wagner

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
3B	Elliott, BobBob Elliott	143	538	160	.297	10	108

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Sewell, RipRip Sewell	38	286	21	12	3.18	87
Butcher, MaxMax Butcher	35	199	13	11	3.12	43

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Cuccurullo, CookieCookie Cuccurullo	32	2	1	4	4.06	31
Gee, JohnnyJohnny Gee	4	0	0	0	7.15	3
Wise, RoyRoy Wise	3	0	0	0	9.00	1

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	Burleigh Grimes
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Ripper Collins
B	York White Roses	Interstate League	Bunny Griffiths
D	Hornell Maples	PONY League	Dutch Schleser, Fred Hering, Frank Pareman and John Morrow

References

1. From 1882-1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Louis Effrat (July 4, 1944). "National League Managers Pick 6 Cardinals for All-Star Squad; Munger and Lanier Lead Hurlers, With Walters of Reds – Musial, Walker of Brooks and Nicholson Top Hitters". New York Times. p. 23.

External links

• 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.