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.
Offseason December 9, 1941: Heinie Mueller was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.Heinie Mueller page at Baseball Reference December 10, 1941: Mace Brown was purchased from the Dodgers the Boston Red Sox.Mace Brown page at Baseball Reference December 10, 1941: Don Padgett was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.Don Padgett page at Baseball Reference December 10, 1941: Johnny Rizzo was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.Johnny Rizzo page at Baseball Reference 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.Pete Coscarart page at Baseball Reference March 13, 1942: Billy Sullivan was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.Billy Sullivan page at Baseball Reference March 23, 1942: Frenchy Bordagaray was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.Frenchy Bordagaray page at Baseball Reference Prior to 1942 season: Steve Nagy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.Steve Nagy page at Baseball Reference
Regular season 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.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 30, 1942: Schoolboy Rowe was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.Schoolboy Rowe page at Baseball Reference May 19, 1942: Babe Dahlgren was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.Babe Dahlgren page at Baseball Reference August 30, 1942: Bobo Newsom was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.Bobo Newsom page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader
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 133 421 53 109 .259 0 44 10 1B 150 524 89 132 .252 26 109 10 2B 155 571 76 146 .256 2 65 6 3B 128 495 82 137 .277 2 49 8 SS 151 564 87 144 .255 3 53 15 LF 142 553 69 166 .300 4 96 2 CF 125 480 89 149 .310 10 64 20 RF 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 78 217 31 50 .230 4 27 2 69 209 24 55 .263 0 22 2 70 199 20 50 .278 3 22 0 43 101 11 27 .267 1 14 1 48 58 11 14 .241 0 5 2 10 21 3 5 .238 0 3 0 17 19 2 1 .053 0 0 0 8 17 2 8 .471 1 9 0 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 38 32 13 221.2 16 11 3.25 106 115 31 30 16 217.1 19 7 2.73 63 104 32 26 13 206.0 15 6 2.36 51 60 6 5 2 32.0 2 2 3.38 14 21 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 38 14 5 147.2 15 4 1.83 36 62 36 15 5 136.2 10 6 3.56 47 78 27 15 5 118.0 10 6 3.20 39 50 14 8 4 84.0 5 3 1.93 33 27 19 3 1 51.2 3 2 2.96 22 23 9 2 0 30.1 1 0 5.34 12 6 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 50 112.0 6 3 13 2.25 44 54 14 29.1 2 0 0 3.68 19 8 2 1.1 0 0 0 0.00 2 1
Awards and honors 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 Mickey Owen
League top five finishers Dolph Camilli #2 in NL in home runs (26) #2 in NL in RBI (109) #3 in NL in walks (97)
Hugh Casey MLB leader in saves (13)
Curt Davis #3 in NL in ERA (2.36)
Kirby Higbe #3 in NL in strikeouts (115)
Ducky Medwick #2 in NL in doubles (37) #4 in NL in RBI (96)
Pistol Pete Reiser NL leader in stolen bases (20) #4 in NL in batting average (.310)
Farm System
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Santa Barbara
Notes
References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page
External links 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform Brooklyn Dodgers reference site Acme Dodgers page 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers Statistics at Retrosheet