August 10, 1944: The Boston Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Red Barrett goes the distance and pitches a 2-hit shutout. He throws only 58 pitches, the fewest any pitcher has ever thrown in a complete game.
Brian Cashman will not be born until 1967, leaving him unable to appreciate his dream game at the time.
Charles Henry Barrett was born in 1915 in Santa Barbara, California. Known as Red for his hair, he started his career with the Reds in 1937, but was a marginal pitcher for them. Although he appeared for them in their Pennant-winning seasons of 1939 and 1940, he did not make the World Series roster in either season. He was traded to the Braves in 1943, and became one of several marginal players who became regulars due to the manpower drain of World War II.
In this game against the Reds, he outpitched Bucky Walters, the Reds' ace. Barrett gave up a single to Gee Walker with 1 out in the 1st inning, and a single to Eddie Miller leading off the 6th. But he stranded him both, and those were the only baserunners he allowed. He was supported by an RBI single from Dee Phillips in the 2nd, and an error that allowed a run in the 5th. The game lasted just 75 minutes.
He finished 9-16 that season. In 1945, he went 23-12, despite being traded in midseason, going 2-3 for the struggling Braves 21-9 for the mighty St. Louis Cardinals. He led the National League in wins, innings pitched, and complete games. He was selected for the All-Star Game, although that was canceled due to wartime travel restrictions. (That didn't stop the Midsummer Classic from being played in 1942, '43 or '44, though.) He finished 3rd in the NL's Most Valuable Player voting, and might have won the NL's Cy Young Award had there been one. On April 1, 1946, a photograph of him at the Cards' Spring Training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida appeared on the cover of Life magazine.
But with The War over, and the veterans returning to baseball, he was mainly a reliever. He did appear for the Cardinals in the World Series, which they won. He was traded back to the Braves the next year, appeared in another World Series in 1948, and last pitched in the majors the year after that. His career record was exactly .500: 69-69. He died in 1990.
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August 10, 1944 was a Thursday. These other baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the St. Louis Browns, 3-0 at Yankee Stadium. Denny Galehouse pitched a 6-hit shutout.
* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mel Ott, by this point the Giants' manager, and still playing, did not put himself in the game.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Tommy Warren singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Rudy York drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning.
* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Mort Cooper pitched a 4-hit shutout. Stan Musial went 0-for-3 with a walk.
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