The Pittsburgh Press (October 11, 1944)
Marion, Doerr win baseball honors
‘Most valuable’ award in each league goes to Cards, Red Sox stars
St. Louis, Missouri (UP) –
A keystone combination that would be the fulfillment of a perfect dream for any major league manager – Marty Marion of the St. Louis Cardinals at shortstop and Bobby Doerr of the Boston Red Sox at second base – bore the accolade of the Sporting News today as the most valuable players in their respective leagues for 1944.
The national baseball weekly, singling out the infield stars for its annual awards, stressed their fielding prowess and general all-around capabilities.
In addition, it created a special award of merit for pitchers, explaining that they were at a disadvantage in competition for the most valuable rating because they did not play every day. Rewarded in this category were Hal Newhouser, the Detroit Tiger lefthander, who won 29 games and almost pitched the team to a pennant in the closing stages of the race, and Rookie Bill Voiselle of the New York Giants, who won 21 games in his first season.
Special distinction for Doerr
The award to Doerr bore a special distinction – it was the first time it had ever gone to a man who was unable to finish the season with his club.
Doerr, who was inducted into the Armed Forces as his team was entering the late stages of the race, left behind him the second-best batting record in the American League, a .325 mark which was only two points short of the .327 with which Lou Boudreau of Cleveland won the championship.
In addition, he was the standout fielding second-baseman of the circuit, a record which he has achieved almost annually. However, the batting mark was the best in his major league career of eight years and marked the first time since 1939 he had hit more than .300.
Marion tops in series
For Marion, unanimously designated the outstanding player in the World Series just completed, his play was just a continuation of his all-around stylish ball handling during the regular season. In the series, he handled a total of 29 chances, seven putouts and 22 assists without an error and was one of the top clutch hitters on either side.
Although he batted only .227, he drove in two important runs and connected for three doubles, more than any other player on either side except Mike Kreevich of the Browns.
During the season, he batted .269 and his fielding record topped that of any other infielder. Uniquely, he had the distinction of starting wo triple plays on successful weekends, providing the only incident in National League history in which the same players participated in the same three-way killing.