Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

1942 Brooklyn Dodgers season

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General manager(s)
  
Larry MacPhail

Manager(s)
  
Leo Durocher

Owner(s)
  
James & Dearie Mulvey, Brooklyn Trust Company

Local radio
  
WHN Red Barber, Alan Hale

The 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers team won 104 games after another terrific season, but fell two games short of the St. Louis Cardinals in a great National League pennant race.

Contents

Offseason

  • December 9, 1941: Heinie Mueller was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • December 10, 1941: Mace Brown was purchased from the Dodgers the Boston Red Sox.
  • December 10, 1941: Don Padgett was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • December 10, 1941: Johnny Rizzo was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • December 12, 1941: Pete Coscarart, Luke Hamlin, Babe Phelps and Jimmy Wasdell were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Arky Vaughan.
  • March 13, 1942: Billy Sullivan was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.
  • March 23, 1942: Frenchy Bordagaray was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.
  • Prior to 1942 season: Steve Nagy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.

    • Regular season

    The Dodgers were 73–30 and 10 games ahead on August 4, but the Cardinals went on to win 45 of their last 56 to grab the NL title. To exacerbate the problem, the Dodgers had also dropped several close games to St. Louis in September.

    Defending NL batting champ Pete Reiser, hitting .380, was sidelined in mid-season after repeatedly crashing into the unpadded outfield wall in Ebbets Field. While he recovered from a fractured skull, Brooklyn couldn't keep up their early pace. A healthy Reiser may very well have made up the two-game difference.

    Notable transactions

  • April 30, 1942: Schoolboy Rowe was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.
  • May 19, 1942: Babe Dahlgren was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.
  • August 30, 1942: Bobo Newsom was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.

    • Starters by position

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

    Other batters

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

    Starting pitchers

    Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

    Other pitchers

    Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

    Relief pitchers

    Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

    Awards and honors

  • 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Arky Vaughan starter
  • Joe Medwick starter
  • Pete Reiser starter
  • Billy Herman reserve
  • Mickey Owen reserve
  • Pee Wee Reese reserve
  • Whit Wyatt reserve
  • TSN Major League All-Star Team
  • Mickey Owen

    • League top five finishers

    Dolph Camilli

  • #2 in NL in home runs (26)
  • #2 in NL in RBI (109)
  • #3 in NL in walks (97)

    • Hugh Casey

  • MLB leader in saves (13)

    • Curt Davis

  • #3 in NL in ERA (2.36)

    • Kirby Higbe

  • #3 in NL in strikeouts (115)

    • Ducky Medwick

  • #2 in NL in doubles (37)
  • #4 in NL in RBI (96)

    • Pistol Pete Reiser

  • NL leader in stolen bases (20)
  • #4 in NL in batting average (.310)

    • Farm System

    LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Santa Barbara

    References

    1942 Brooklyn Dodgers season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA