1946 San Francisco Seals season
| 1946 San Francisco Seals | |
|---|---|
| League | Pacific Coast League |
| Ballpark | Seals Stadium |
| City | San Francisco |
| Record | 115–68 |
| League place | 1st |
| Managers | Lefty O'Doul |
The 1946 San Francisco Seals season was the 44th season in the history of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. The team compiled a 115–68 record and won the PCL pennant. Lefty O'Doul was in his 12th season as the team's manager.[1] Playing its home games at Seals Stadium, the Seals led the PCL in attendance with paid admissions of 670,563, an increase of more than 240,000 over the prior year.[2]
In the Governor's Cup semi-final playoffs, the Seals swept the Hollywood Stars, four games to zero.[3] In the finals, they defeated the Oakland Oaks, four games to two. With the victory over the Oaks, the Seals won their fourth consecutive Governor's Cup.[4]
Pitchers
[edit]Pitcher Larry Jansen, an Oregon native, led the PCL with 30 wins, a 1.57 earned run average (ERA), an .833 winning percentage, and 31 complete games. He also tallied 171 strikeouts.[1] Jansen joined the New York Giants in 1947 and remained with that club for eight seasons.
Cliff Melton was San Francisco's No. 2 pitcher, compiling a 17–12 record and a 2.83 ERA.[1]
Position players
[edit]First baseman Ferris Fain, who grew up across the Bay in Oakland, California, led the PCL with 112 RBIs, compiled a .301 batting average, and led the Seals with 11 home runs and 117 runs scored.[1] After the season, Fain was drafted by the Philadelphia Athletics.[5] Fain went on to play nine seasons in the majors from 1947 to 1955.
Second baseman Hugh Luby led the team in hits with 199.[1] Luby was one of the most durable players in PCL history. He set a PCL record playing in 866 consecutive games with the Oakland Oaks between 1939 and 1943.[6]
Vince DiMaggio, older brother of Joe DiMaggio who played 10 years in the majors from 1937 to 1946, appeared in 43 games for the Seals.[1]
1946 PCL standings
[edit]| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Seals | 115 | 68 | .628 | -- |
| Oakland Oaks | 111 | 72 | .607 | 4.0 |
| Hollywood Stars | 95 | 88 | .519 | 20.0 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 94 | 89 | .514 | 21.0 |
| Sacramento Solons | 94 | 92 | .505 | 22.5 |
| San Diego Padres | 78 | 108 | .419 | 38.5 |
| Seattle Rainiers | 74 | 109 | .404 | 41.0 |
| Portland Beavers | 74 | 109 | .404 | 41.0 |
Statistics
[edit]Batting
[edit]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 | Ted Jennings | 136 | 495 | 150 | .303 | 3 | 53 |
| 1B | Ferris Fain | 180 | 615 | 185 | .301 | 11 | 112 |
| 2B | Hugh Luby | 176 | 678 | 199 | .294 | 2 | 60 |
| CF, LF | Don White | 159 | 553 | 159 | .288 | 4 | 90 |
| CF | Frenchy Uhalt | 137 | 520 | 137 | .263 | 1 | 24 |
| RF | Neill Sheridan | 116 | 357 | 96 | .269 | 5 | 55 |
| SS | Roy Nicely | 133 | 446 | 98 | .220 | 1 | 46 |
| RF | Sal Taormina | 112 | 357 | 91 | .255 | 4 | 69 |
| C | Bruce Ogrodowski | 114 | 312 | 76 | .244 | 0 | 34 |
| CF | Vince DiMaggio | 43 | 129 | 34 | .265 | 1 | 21 |
Pitching
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | PCT | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Jansen | 38 | 321.0 | 30 | 6 | .833 | 1.57 | 171 |
| Cliff Melton | 33 | 248.0 | 17 | 12 | .586 | 2.83 | 99 |
| Frank Seward | 31 | 219.0 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 3.12 | 72 |
| Ray Harrell | 34 | 167.0 | 13 | 6 | .684 | 2.91 | 70 |
| Bill Werle | 33 | 175.0 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 2.26 | 72 |
| Frank Rosso | 38 | 141.0 | 11 | 9 | .550 | 2.68 | 60 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "1946 San Francisco Seals". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Seals Show Great Attendance Gain, Oakland Is Next". Valley Times. September 28, 1946. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harry Borba (September 30, 1946). "Jansen Homer Wins for Seals: Only Four-Baser He Ever Hit Sinks L. A., 6 to 5". San Francisco Examiner. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harry Borba (October 8, 1946). "Seals Win Playoff!". San Francisco Examiner. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Connie Mack Drafts Ferris Fain". San Francisco Examiner. November 2, 1946. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Martin Jacobs; Jack McGuire (2005). San Francisco Seals: Images of Baseball. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 1439630917.
Further reading
[edit]- "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011)
- "San Francisco Seals", by Martin Jacobs & Jack McGuire (Arcadia Publishing 2005)