1945 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1945 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 1945 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 64th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 59th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the league standings with a record of 82–72.

Offseason

• Prior to 1945 season: Tod Davis was acquired by the Pirates from the Hollywood Stars as part of a minor league working agreement.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Chicago Cubs	98	56	--	.636
St. Louis Cardinals	95	59	3	.617
Brooklyn Dodgers	87	67	11	.565
Pittsburgh Pirates	82	72	16	.532
New York Giants	78	74	19	.513
Boston Braves	67	85	30	.441
Cincinnati Reds	61	93	37	.396
Philadelphia Phillies	46	108	52	.299

Record vs. opponents

1945 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	9–13–1	7–15	10–12	10–10–2	14–8	7–15	10–12
Brooklyn	13–9–1	—	8–14–1	11–11	15–7	19–3	12–10	9–13
Chicago	15–7	14–8–1	—	21–1	11–11	17–5	14–8	6–16
Cincinnati	12–10	11–11	1–21	—	6–16	12–10	10–12	9–13
New York	10–10–2	7–15	11–11	16–6	—	17–5	11–11	6–16
Philadelphia	8–14	3–19	5–17	10–12	5–17	—	6–16	9–13
Pittsburgh	15–7	10–12	8–14	12–10	11–11	16–6	—	10–12–1
St. Louis	12–10	13–9	16–6	13–9	16–6	13–9	12–10–1	—

Roster

1945 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 20 Boom-Boom Beck 19 Max Butcher 27 Cookie Cuccurullo 45 Ken Gables 40 Al Gerheauser 25 Johnny Lanning 21 Fritz Ostermueller  4 Xavier Rescigno 29 Preacher Roe 30 Rip Sewell 20 Ray Starr 22 Nick Strincevich		Catchers  2 Hank Camelli 36 Spud Davis 12 Al Lopez  1 Bill Salkeld Infielders 17 Vic Barnhart 23 Frank Colman  5 Pete Coscarart  7 Babe Dahlgren  8 Bob Elliott 16 Frankie Gustine  6 Lee Handley  4 Jack Saltzgaver 14 Frankie Zak		Outfielders 18 Johnny Barrett  3 Al Gionfriddo 11 Tommy O'Brien 32 Jim Russell 15 Lloyd Waner Other batters  4 Bill Rodgers 25 Joe Vitelli		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	144	541	157	.290	8	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
Rodgers, BillBill Rodgers	1	1	1	1.000	0	0

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
Butcher, MaxMax Butcher	28	169.1	10	8	3.03	37

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
Beck, Boom-BoomBoom-Boom Beck	14	63	6	1	2.14	20

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	29	1	3	1	5.24	17

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Hollywood Stars	Pacific Coast League	Buck Fausett
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Ripper Collins
B	York White Roses	Interstate League	Bunny Griffiths
D	Salisbury Pirates	North Carolina State League	Tuck McWilliams
D	Hornell Pirates	PONY League	John Morrow and Fred Hering

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albany

Notes

1. From 1882-1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Tod Davis page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1945 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1945 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.