Musial Misses Season
Stan Musial missed the entire 1945 season while serving with the Navy. This was hard on the team after winning the Championship in ’44. The Cardinals sign a youngster named Red Schoendienst for the team and assign him to wear #6 while Musial is gone.
The main starting lineup consisted of:
Catcher Ken O’Dea 1B Ray Sanders 2B Emil Verban 3B Whitey Kurowski
SS Marty Marion OF Red Schoendienst Buster Adams Johnny Happ
The rotation consisted of Red Barrett Harry Brecheen and Blix Donnelly
On April 17, Schoendienst makes his major league debut (BOXSCORE) and goes 1-for-4 while playing almost exclusively in the outfield.
Mort Cooper Traded
The Cardinals trade pitcher Mort Cooper to the Braves on May 23rd. He was a three time 20-game winner for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals went 95–59 during the season and finished 2nd in the National League. The Cardinals set a Major League record which still stands, for the fewest double plays grounded into during a season, with only 75.
Kurowski leads the team in almost all the offensive categories with a .323 batting average, 21 home runs and 102 RBI’s. Manager Billy Southworth resigns for the better paying job for the Boston Braves and he is replaced by Eddie Dyer.