MVP Profile: Phil Cavarretta, 1945

First Baseman, Chicago Cubs

Age:  29 (July 19)

12^th season with Cubs

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175

Prior to 1945:

A child of Italian immigrants, Cavarretta starred as a pitcher and first baseman at Chicago’s Lane Technical High School, which won the city championship in 1933. On the verge of dropping out to get a job to help his family in the midst of the Depression in 1934, his coach arranged for Cavarretta to get a tryout with the Cubs, who signed him for $125 per month. He was assigned to the Peoria Tractors of the Class B Central League where he batted .316 in 23 games before the league folded and he moved on to Reading of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania League where he hit .308 in 85 games. Toward the end of the ’34 season he was called up to the Cubs and the 18-year-old went 8 for 21 (.381) with a home run and 6 RBIs in seven games. Early in the 1935 season first baseman Charlie Grimm, who was also the team’s manager, made Cavarretta, who he nicknamed “Philibuck”, the starting first baseman. He started 145 games and hit .275 with 28 doubles, 12 triples, 8 home runs, and 82 RBIs in a season in which the Cubs won the NL pennant, although he batted just .125 in the six-game loss to Detroit in the World Series. Cavarretta had another solid year for the Cubs in 1936, hitting .273 with 18 doubles, 9 home runs, and 56 RBIs. He spent most of 1937 and ’38 in the outfield, playing primarily in center field in ’37 and right field in 1938, when the Cubs again won the NL pennant. During the season Cavarretta batted only .239 but he hit .462 in the World Series loss to the Yankees, who swept the Cubs in four games. Injuries limited Cavarretta to just 87 games in 1939 and ’40 combined. He split time between first base and the outfield in 1941 and ’42 and remained a solid hitter. Exempt from World War II military service due to a perforated eardrum, he hit .291 in 1943 and .321 in ’44, the first year that he was an All-Star selection, and he played primarily at first base in both of those seasons.

1945 Season Summary

Appeared in 132 games

1B – 120, LF – 10, RF – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 586

At Bats – 498

Runs – 94 [10, tied with Don Johnson]

Hits – 177 [7, tied with Augie Galan]

Doubles – 34 [5]

Triples – 10 [5]

Home Runs – 6

RBI – 97 [8]

Bases on Balls – 81 [6]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 34

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .355 [1]

OBP - .449 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .500 [3]

Total Bases – 249 [8]

GDP – 6

Hit by Pitches – 4 [12, tied with seven others]

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading average was +.003 ahead of runner-up Tommy Holmes

League-leading OBP was +.026 ahead of runner-up Augie Galan

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 20, HR – 3, RBI - 56, AVG - .368, OBP - .465

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 7 AB) at Bos. Braves 7/3, (in 6 AB) at Cincinnati 8/5

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 4

Most home runs, game – 1 on six occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Bos. Braves 7/3, at Cincinnati 8/3, at Cincinnati 8/5

Pinch-hitting/running – 1 R

Fielding

Chances – 1235

Put Outs – 1149

Assists – 77

Errors – 9

DP – 83

Pct. - .993

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. Detroit)

PA – 31, AB – 26, R – 7, H – 11, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 5, BB – 4, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .423, OBP - .500, SLG - .615, TB – 16, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Phil Cavarretta, ChiC.: 279 pts. – 15 of 24 first place votes, 83% share

Tommy Holmes, BosB.: 175 pts. – 3 first place votes, 52% share

Red Barrett, BosB./StLC: 151 pts. – 1 first place vote, 45% share

Andy Pafko, ChiC.: 131 pts. – 4 first place votes, 39% share

Whitey Kurowski, StLC: 90 pts. – 27% share

(1 first place vote for Hank Borowy, ChiC., who ranked sixth)

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Cubs went 98-56 to win the NL pennant by 3 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. They swept 20 doubleheaders and led the NL in batting (.277). Lost the World Series to the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3. A 4-run 6^th inning in Game 5 led to a crucial win for the Tigers.

Aftermath of ‘45:

Cavaretta spent eight more years with the Cubs and was named player/manager during the 1951 season, a position he held through 1953. He was fired during spring training in 1954 and moved across town to the White Sox as a player only in 1954 and ’55. For his 20 seasons playing for the Cubs he batted .292 with 1927 hits that included 341 doubles, 99 triples, and 92 home runs. He also had 896 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. A fiery competitor who was popular with the fans, Cavarretta was a three-time All-Star. His managerial record was 169-213. Playing for the White Sox in a part-time role he added 50 hits, 6 doubles, 3 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and 24 RBIs to his career totals. After his playing career, he spent 11 years as a minor league manager, never again managing at the major league level.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.