1942_Brooklyn_Dodgers_season
1942 Brooklyn Dodgers season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers team won 104 games in the season, but fell two games short of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League pennant race. The Dodgers' 104 wins tied the 1909 Chicago Cubs for the most wins by a team that failed to finish first in its league (or, since 1969, division); this record lasted until 2021, when the Dodgers won 106 games but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.[1]
| 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Brooklyn Trust Company |
| President | Larry MacPhail |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Radio | WHN, WOR Red Barber, Alan Hale |
- December 9, 1941: Heinie Mueller was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
- December 10, 1941: Mace Brown was purchased from the Dodgers the Boston Red Sox.[3]
- December 10, 1941: Don Padgett was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.[4]
- December 10, 1941: Johnny Rizzo was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.[5]
- 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.[6]
- March 13, 1942: Billy Sullivan was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.[7]
- March 23, 1942: Frenchy Bordagaray was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.[8]
- Prior to 1942 season: Steve Nagy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[9]
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 could not keep up their early pace. A healthy Reiser may very well have made up the two-game difference.[10]
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 106 | 48 | 0.688 | — | 60–17 | 46–31 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 104 | 50 | 0.675 | 2 | 57–22 | 47–28 |
| New York Giants | 85 | 67 | 0.559 | 20 | 47–31 | 38–36 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 76 | 0.500 | 29 | 38–39 | 38–37 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 81 | 0.449 | 36½ | 41–34 | 25–47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 68 | 86 | 0.442 | 38 | 36–41 | 32–45 |
| Boston Braves | 59 | 89 | 0.399 | 44 | 33–36 | 26–53 |
| Philadelphia Phils | 42 | 109 | 0.278 | 62½ | 23–51 | 19–58 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 6–16 | 13–9 | 5–16–1 | 8–12 | 14–8 | 7–12–1 | 6–16 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 16–6 | — | 16–6 | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 9–13 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13 | 6–16 | — | 13–9 | 9–13–1 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 6–16 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16–5–1 | 7–15 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 16–6 | 12–9–1 | 7–15 | |||||
| New York | 12–8 | 8–14–1 | 13–9–1 | 13–9 | — | 17–5 | 15–7 | 7–15 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 4–18 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 5–17 | — | 6–13 | 5–17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 12–7–1 | 6–16 | 11–11 | 9–12–1 | 7–15 | 13–6 | — | 8–14–2 | |||||
| St. Louis | 16–6 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 15–7 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 14–8–2 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 30, 1942: Schoolboy Rowe was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.[11]
- May 19, 1942: Babe Dahlgren was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.[12]
- August 30, 1942: Bobo Newsom was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.[13]
Roster
| 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches | ||||||
Batting
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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mickey Owen | 133 | 421 | 53 | 109 | .259 | 0 | 44 | 10 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 150 | 524 | 89 | 132 | .252 | 26 | 109 | 10 |
| 2B | Billy Herman | 155 | 571 | 76 | 146 | .256 | 2 | 65 | 6 |
| 3B | Arky Vaughan | 128 | 495 | 82 | 137 | .277 | 2 | 49 | 8 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 151 | 564 | 87 | 144 | .255 | 3 | 53 | 15 |
| LF | Joe Medwick | 142 | 553 | 69 | 166 | .300 | 4 | 96 | 2 |
| CF | Pete Reiser | 125 | 480 | 89 | 149 | .310 | 10 | 64 | 20 |
| RF | Dixie Walker | 118 | 393 | 57 | 114 | .290 | 6 | 54 | 1 |
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
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Rizzo | 78 | 217 | 31 | 50 | .230 | 4 | 27 | 2 |
| Augie Galan | 69 | 209 | 24 | 55 | .263 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| Lew Riggs | 70 | 199 | 20 | 50 | .278 | 3 | 22 | 0 |
| Billy Sullivan | 43 | 101 | 11 | 27 | .267 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| Frenchy Bordagaray | 48 | 58 | 11 | 14 | .241 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Alex Kampouris | 10 | 21 | 3 | 5 | .238 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Babe Dahlgren | 17 | 19 | 2 | 1 | .053 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Dapper | 8 | 17 | 2 | 8 | .471 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Stan Rojek | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
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
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Higbe | 38 | 32 | 13 | 221.2 | 16 | 11 | 3.25 | 106 | 115 |
| Whit Wyatt | 31 | 30 | 16 | 217.1 | 19 | 7 | 2.73 | 63 | 104 |
| Curt Davis | 32 | 26 | 13 | 206.0 | 15 | 6 | 2.36 | 51 | 60 |
| Bobo Newsom | 6 | 5 | 2 | 32.0 | 2 | 2 | 3.38 | 14 | 21 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 15.00 | 1 | 0 |
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
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry French | 38 | 14 | 5 | 147.2 | 15 | 4 | 1.83 | 36 | 62 |
| Ed Head | 36 | 15 | 5 | 136.2 | 10 | 6 | 3.56 | 47 | 78 |
| Johnny Allen | 27 | 15 | 5 | 118.0 | 10 | 6 | 3.20 | 39 | 50 |
| Max Macon | 14 | 8 | 4 | 84.0 | 5 | 3 | 1.93 | 33 | 27 |
| Les Webber | 19 | 3 | 1 | 51.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.96 | 22 | 23 |
| Schoolboy Rowe | 9 | 2 | 0 | 30.1 | 1 | 0 | 5.34 | 12 | 6 |
| Chet Kehn | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 7.04 | 4 | 3 |
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
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 50 | 112.0 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 2.25 | 44 | 54 |
| Newt Kimball | 14 | 29.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.68 | 19 | 8 |
| Bob Chipman | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 1 |
- 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
League top five finishers
- #2 in NL in home runs (26)
- #2 in NL in RBI (109)
- #3 in NL in walks (97)
- MLB leader in saves (13)
- #3 in NL in ERA (2.36)
- #3 in NL in strikeouts (115)
- #2 in NL in doubles (37)
- #4 in NL in RBI (96)
- NL leader in stolen bases (20)
- #4 in NL in batting average (.310)
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Santa Barbara
- "Trea Turner wins NL batting title, Dodgers beat Brewers 10-3". Associated Press. October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021 – via ESPN.
- "HowStuffWorks "1942 Baseball Season"". entertainment.howstuffworks.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
- Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
- Acme Dodgers page Archived September 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Retrosheet
