No. 84: Greatest seasons in Dodgers history: Augie Galan, 1945

Augie Galan, 1945

Stats: .307/.423/.441/.864, 9 HR, 92 RBI, 177 H, 36 2B, 114 BB, 141 OPS+

Awards: MVP (14th in voting)

Baseball Reference WAR: 5.9

FanGraphs WAR: 5.8

Combined WAR: 5.85

Augie Galan played for the Brooklyn Dodgers for six seasons and received MVP votes in three of them. Today, we’ll be looking back at his 1945 campaign, in which he finished 14th in National League MVP voting.

Galan played all over the field for the Dodgers in 1945. He spent 64 games at first base, 40 games at third base and 49 games in left field. His primary spot in the batting order was third, as he started all but four games in that spot.

He hit just over .300 for the season, but yet Galan reached base almost more than anybody in the league. He had an on-base percentage of .423, which was the second highest in the NL. This was largely due to his ability to draw walks, as he had 114 on the season. Galan led the NL in walks in back-to-back seasons prior to the 1945 season, and he followed that up with walking a career-high amount.

Galan even had a stretch during the season in which he got on base in 45 consecutive games.

His best stretch with the bat came early in the season. Over a 32-game stretch from April 24 through May 31, Galan hit .363/.451/.581/1.032 with five homers, 21 runs driven in, 45 hits and 19 walks.

He had another dominant stretch to close out the year as well. During his final 27 games of the season, Galan hit .400/.512/.540/1.052 with 40 hits and 23 runs driven in. During this time, Galan had 22 walks compared to only two strikeouts.

Only one player in franchise history has ever finished a season with at least 114 walks and 177 hits. Augie Galan.

Get caught up on the rest of the “All-Time Dodgers” lists!

• 100 Greatest Dodgers of All-Time
• 100 Greatest Seasons in Dodgers History