Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

1946 Brooklyn Dodgers season

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General manager(s)
  
Branch Rickey

Manager(s)
  
Leo Durocher

Owner(s)
  
James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith

Local radio
  
WHN Red Barber, Connie Desmond

The 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals. The two teams played in the first ever playoff series to decide the pennant, and the Cardinals took two straight to win the title.

Contents

With their star players back from the war, Brooklyn had jumped back into serious contention. They would be respectable until their move to Los Angeles 10 years later.

This season was the team's – and Major League Baseball's – last non-integrated one.

Offseason

On October 23, 1945, the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson as a free agent. Robinson was the first black player to be officially a part of a major league organization in over 60 years, since the barring of Fleet and Welday Walker in 1884. For the 1946 season, Robinson was assigned to the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' top farm team.

Later in the offseason, the Dodgers signed two more players from the Negro leagues, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe, who were assigned to the Nashua Dodgers.

Notable transactions

  • April 27, 1946: Jack Graham and Goody Rosen were purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Giants.
  • June 12, 1946: Don Padgett was purchased from the Dodgers by the Boston Braves.
  • June 15, 1946: Billy Herman was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Braves for Stew Hofferth.

    • Starters by position

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

    Other batters

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

    Starting pitchers

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

    Other pitchers

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

    Relief pitchers

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

    Awards and honors

  • 1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Dixie Walker starter
  • Kirby Higbe reserve
  • Pee Wee Reese reserve
  • Pete Reiser reserve

    • League top five finishers

    Kirby Higbe

  • #2 in NL in strikeouts (134)
  • #3 in NL in wins (17)

    • Pete Reiser

  • MLB leader in stolen bases (34)

    • Eddie Stanky

  • #3 in NL in runs scored (98)

    • Dixie Walker

  • #2 in NL in RBI (116)
  • #3 in NL in batting average (.319)

    • Farm system

    LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Nashua, Newport News, Trois-Rivières, Zanesville

    References

    1946 Brooklyn Dodgers season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA