1946 Boston Braves season

The 1946 Boston Braves season was the 76th in the history of the Major League Baseball franchise, and its 71st season as a charter member of the National League. In finishing 81–72 (.529) and in fourth place, the Braves enjoyed their most successful year since 1933, and signaled the post-World War II renaissance of the franchise under its new ownership group, headed by Louis R. Perini, and its Baseball Hall of Fame manager, Billy Southworth, in his first year at the Boston helm after departing the St. Louis Cardinals. The 1946 team set a new club record for attendance, with 969,373 paying fans passing through Braves Field's turnstiles; it would break that record in 1947.

1946 Boston Braves
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record81–72 (.529)
League place4th
Other information
Owner(s)Louis R. Perini
General manager(s)John J. Quinn
Manager(s)Billy Southworth
Local radioWNAC
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
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Regular season

The Braves' home schedule began on an inauspicious note April 16. Perini and his partners had invested $500,000 in refurbishing Braves Field, lowering the playing surface to improve sight lines, installing lights for night baseball, and applying a fresh coat of green paint to the wooden grandstands. But colder than expected April weather fouled their plans. The club's home opener, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, attracted 19,482 fans, who witnessed a 5–3 Boston victory. However, some 13,000 of those fans were dismayed to discover that their clothing was smeared with green paint, still wet, from their grandstand seats.[1] The seats eventually dried out, as the Braves went on an early-season road trip punctuated by a Sunday doubleheader played at Fenway Park, home of the American League Red Sox.

On the other hand, the first-ever MLB night game to be played in the city of Boston, on May 11 against the New York Giants, was an off-field success. The contest, on a Saturday night, drew 37,407 fans to Braves Field—the team's largest crowd since 1933—with the home side sporting satin uniforms, specially designed to glow under the arc lights of night baseball.[2] On the field, however, the Giants' Monte Kennedy outpitched Boston's Johnny Sain, 5–1.[3]

Despite his May 11 setback, Sain was the Braves' leading pitcher, winning 20 games and posting a superb 2.21 earned run average, second-best in the National League. Although a poor May and June doomed their pennant chances, a strong 36–23 mark during August and September enabled the Braves to claim the final spot in the first division, only one game out of third place.

Season standings
National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9858 0.628 — 49–29 49–29
Brooklyn Dodgers 9660 0.615 2 56–22 40–38
Chicago Cubs 8271 0.536 14½ 44–33 38–38
Boston Braves 8172 0.529 15½ 45–31 36–41
Philadelphia Phillies 6985 0.448 28 41–36 28–49
Cincinnati Reds 6787 0.435 30 35–42 32–45
Pittsburgh Pirates 6391 0.409 34 37–40 26–51
New York Giants 6193 0.396 36 38–39 23–54

Record vs. opponents
1946 National League Records

Sources:
Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston —5–1712–9–115–713–914–815–77–15
Brooklyn 17–5—11–1114–8–115–717–514–88–16
Chicago 9–12–111–11—13–917–512–1012–10–18–14
Cincinnati 7–158–14–19–13—14–88–14–113–98–14
New York 9–137–155–178–14—12–1010–1210–12
Philadelphia 8–145–1710–1214–8–110–12—14–88–14
Pittsburgh 7–158–1410–12–19–1312–108–14—9–13
St. Louis 15–716–814–814–812–1014–813–9—

Roster
1946 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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
CPhil Masi133397106.267362
1BRay Sanders8025963.243635
2BConnie Ryan143502121.241148
SSDick Culler134482123.255033
3BNanny Fernandez11537295.255242
OFCarden Gillenwater9922451.228114
OFBama Rowell9529382.280331
OFTommy Holmes149568176.310679

[4]

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
Johnny Hopp129445148.333348
Billy Herman7525277.306322
Danny Litwhiler7924772.291838
Skippy Roberge4816939.231220
Mike McCormick5916443.262116
Don Padgett449825.255221
Whitey Wietelmann447816.20505
Stew Hofferth205812.207010
Chuck Workman25488.16727
Tommy Neill134512.26707
Johnny Barrett244310.23306
Ken O'Dea12327.21902
Alvin Dark15133.23101
Johnny McCarthy271.14301
Hugh Poland461.16700
Bob Brady351.20000
Dee Phillips221.50000
Ducky Detweiler110.00000
Max West110.00000
Sibby Sisti100---00

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
Johnny Sain3726520142.21129
Mort Cooper2819913113.1283
Bill Lee251401094.1832
Warren Spahn24125.2852.9467
Johnny Niggeling858253.2624
Johnny Hutchings13019.001

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
Ed Wright36176.11293.5244
Si Johnson28127652.7641
Lefty Wallace2775.1334.1827
Al Javery23.10113.500

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
Frank Barrett232415.0912
Bill Posedel192046.999
Elmer Singleton150113.7417
Steve Roser141113.6018
Ernie White120104.188
Jim Konstanty100105.289
Dick Mulligan41002.354
Whitey Wietelmann30008.102
Earl Reid21003.002
Don Hendrickson20104.502
Ace Williams1000---0

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Indianapolis Indians American Association Bill Burwell
AAA Seattle Rainiers Pacific Coast League Bill Skiff and Jo-Jo White
A Hartford Chiefs Eastern League Dutch Dorman
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
B Pawtucket Slaters New England League Hughie Wise
B Jackson Senators Southeastern League Travis Jackson
B Vancouver Capilanos Western International League Syl Johnson and Eddie Carnett
C Raleigh Capitals Carolina League Charles Carroll and Ray Thomas
C Miami Beach Flamingos Florida International League Max Rosenfeld
C Leavenworth Braves Western Association Charles Carman
D Bluefield Blue-Grays Appalachian League Walt DeFreitas and Bud Clancy
D Owensboro Oilers KITTY League Earl Browne
D Mahanoy City Bluebirds North Atlantic League Buck Boyle and Charles Dugan
D Richmond Roses Ohio State League Merle Settlemire

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville, Raleigh, Owensboro[5]

Notes
  1. Brady, Bob, April 16, 1946: The 'wearing of the green' at Braves' Opening Day, Society for American Baseball Research
  2. Wisnia, Saul, May 11, 1946: Braves Field hosts its first game under the lights, Society for American Baseball Research
  3. Retrosheet box score (11 May 1946): "New York Giants 5, Boston Braves 1"
  4. "1946 Boston Braves Batting and Pitching Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  5. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References
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