1944 International League season

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The 1944 International League season was the 59th in the league's history, and ended with the Baltimore Orioles winning their first Governors' Cup. The Orioles would go on to win the Junior World Series.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Baltimore Orioles	84	68	.553	--	Tommy Thomas	Cleveland Indians
Newark Bears	85	69	.552	--	Billy Meyer	New York Yankees
Toronto Maple Leafs	79	74	.516	5½	Burleigh Grimes	Pittsburgh Pirates
Buffalo Bisons	78	76	.506	7	Bucky Harris	Detroit Tigers
Jersey City Giants	74	79	.484	10½	Gabby Hartnett	New York Giants
Montreal Royals	73	80	.477	11½	Bruno Betzel	Brooklyn Dodgers
Rochester Red Wings	71	82	.464	13½	Ken Penner	St. Louis Cardinals
Syracuse Chiefs	68	84	.447	16	Jewel Ens	Cincinnati Reds

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Baltimore Orioles	4
	4	Buffalo Bisons	3
						1	Baltimore Orioles	4
						2	Newark Bears	3
	2	Newark Bears	4
	3	Toronto Maple Leafs	0

First Round

Baltimore vs. Buffalo Date Away Home September 17 Buffalo 9 Baltimore 4 September 20 Baltimore 0 Buffalo 1 7 innings September 21 Baltimore 5 Buffalo 3 September 22 Baltimore 7 Buffalo 4 September 24 Buffalo 4 Baltimore 2 September 25 Buffalo 3 Baltimore 9 September 26 Buffalo 4 Baltimore 9 Baltimore wins series 4-3

Newark vs. Toronto Date Away Home September 16 Toronto 1 Newark 5 September 17 Toronto 2 Newark 3 11 innings September 18 Newark 8 Toronto 4 September 19 Newark 3 Toronto 2 Newark wins series 4-0

Governors' Cup Finals

Baltimore vs. Newark Date Away Home September 27 Newark 3 Baltimore 14 September 29 Baltimore 0 Newark 4 September 30 Baltimore 4 Newark 6 October 1 Newark 3 Baltimore 7 October 2 Newark 7 Baltimore 5 11 innings October 3 Baltimore 5 Newark 3 October 4 Newark 3 Baltimore 6 Baltimore wins series 4-3 and advances to Junior World Series

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Mayo Smith, Buffalo, .340
• Runs Scored Blas Monaco, Baltimore, 135
• Hits Howie Moss, Baltimore, 178
• Doubles Moss, 44
• Triples Al Lakeman, Syracuse, 11
• Home Runs Moss, 27
• Runs Batted In Moss, 141
• Stolen Bases Ora Burnett, Rochester, 41

Pitching

• Wins Red Embree, Baltimore, 19
• Earned Run Average Woody Crowson, Toronto, 2.41
• Complete Games Hod Lisenbee, Syracuse, 24
• Shutouts Frank Hiller, Newark; Prince Oana, Buffalo, 6
• Strikeouts Embree, 225

All-Star Team

• First Base Harry Davis, Toronto
• Second Base Blas Monaco, Baltimore
• Shortstop Danny Reynolds, Newark
• Third Base Bob Maier, Buffalo
• Outfield Howie Moss, Baltimore; Mayo Smith, Buffalo; Stan Benjamin, Baltimore
• Catcher Sherm Lollar, Baltimore
• Right-Handed Pitcher Red Embree, Baltimore
• Left-Handed Pitcher Kemp Wicker, Rochester; Page, Newark (tied)

References

• The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. W. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.
• 1945 Baseball Guide
• The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics Marshall Wright. McFarland, 1998