1939 Boston Red Sox season
The 1939 Boston Red Sox season was the 39th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League (AL) with a record of 89 wins and 62 losses, 17 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1939 World Series.
1939 Boston Red Sox | |
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Ted Williams' Rookie Season | |
Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Results | |
Record | 89–62 (.589) |
League place | 2nd (17 GB) |
Other information | |
Owners | Tom Yawkey |
President | Tom Yawkey |
General managers | Eddie Collins |
Managers | Joe Cronin |
Local radio | WAAB (Frankie Frisch, Tom Hussey) |
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference |
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Regular season
In 1939, the Boston Red Sox finished 17 games behind the New York Yankees.[1] Lefty Grove won 15 games for the Red Sox while Jimmie Foxx hit .360, and had 35 home runs and 105 RBI.[1] Ted Williams made his major league debut in 1939, and batted .327 with 31 home runs. He led the American League with 145 RBIs.[1] After the first game he played against Williams, Yankees catcher Bill Dickey said about Williams, "He's just a damned good hitter."[1] On July 18, the Red Sox traded then-minor league shortstop Pee Wee Reese to the Brooklyn Dodgers, in exchange for $35,000 and two players to be named later (pitcher Red Evans and outfielder Art Parks).[2] Reese would go on to play with the Dodgers for 16 seasons, was a 10-time All-Star, and was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Transactions
- July 25: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Herbert Hash and catcher George Lacy from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.[3]
- August 14: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Wilburn R. Butland from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.[4]
Season standings
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | 0.702 | — | 52–25 | 54–20 |
Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | 0.589 | 17 | 42–32 | 47–30 |
Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | 0.565 | 20½ | 44–33 | 43–34 |
Chicago White Sox | 86 | 69 | 0.555 | 22 | 50–27 | 36–42 |
Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 26½ | 42–35 | 39–38 |
Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | 0.428 | 41½ | 37–39 | 28–48 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | 0.362 | 51½ | 28–48 | 27–49 |
St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | 0.279 | 64½ | 18–59 | 25–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
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Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
Boston | — | 8–14 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 11–8–1 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 15–7 | |||||
Chicago | 14–8 | — | 12–10 | 12–10 | 4–18 | 11–11 | 18–4 | 14–8–1 | |||||
Cleveland | 11–11 | 10–12 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 14–8 | |||||
Detroit | 12–10 | 10–12 | 11–11 | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 14–8 | |||||
New York | 8–11–1 | 18–4 | 15–7 | 13–9 | — | 18–4 | 19–3 | 15–7 | |||||
Philadelphia | 4–18 | 11–11 | 4–18 | 11–11 | 4–18 | — | 13–9–1 | 8–12 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–16 | 4–18 | 6–16 | 8–14–1 | 3–19 | 9–13–1 | — | 7–15 | |||||
Washington | 7–15 | 8–14–1 | 8–14 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 12–8 | 15–7 | — |
Opening Day lineup
8 | Doc Cramer | CF |
7 | Joe Vosmik | LF |
3 | Jimmie Foxx | 1B |
4 | Joe Cronin | SS |
5 | Jim Tabor | 3B |
9 | Ted Williams | RF |
1 | Bobby Doerr | 2B |
2 | Gene Desautels | C |
10 | Lefty Grove | P |
Roster
1939 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Johnny Peacock | 92 | 274 | 76 | .277 | 0 | 36 |
1B | Jimmie Foxx | 124 | 467 | 168 | .360 | 35 | 105 |
2B | Bobby Doerr | 127 | 525 | 167 | .318 | 12 | 73 |
SS | Joe Cronin | 143 | 520 | 160 | .308 | 19 | 107 |
3B | Jim Tabor | 149 | 577 | 167 | .289 | 14 | 95 |
OF | Joe Vosmik | 145 | 554 | 153 | .276 | 7 | 84 |
OF | Doc Cramer | 137 | 589 | 183 | .311 | 0 | 56 |
OF | Ted Williams | 149 | 565 | 185 | .327 | 31 | 145 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Lou Finney | 95 | 249 | 81 | .325 | 1 | 46 |
Gene Desautels | 76 | 226 | 55 | .243 | 0 | 21 |
Tom Carey | 54 | 161 | 39 | .242 | 0 | 20 |
Red Nonnenkamp | 58 | 75 | 18 | .240 | 0 | 5 |
Moe Berg | 14 | 33 | 9 | .273 | 1 | 5 |
Boze Berger | 20 | 30 | 9 | .300 | 0 | 2 |
Fabian Gaffke | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Lefty Grove | 23 | 191.0 | 15 | 4 | 2.54 | 81 |
Elden Auker | 31 | 151.0 | 9 | 10 | 3.56 | 53 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Jack Wilson | 36 | 177.1 | 11 | 11 | 4.67 | 80 |
Fritz Ostermueller | 34 | 159.1 | 11 | 7 | 4.24 | 61 |
Denny Galehouse | 30 | 146.2 | 9 | 10 | 4.54 | 68 |
Jim Bagby | 21 | 80.0 | 5 | 5 | 7.09 | 35 |
Woody Rich | 21 | 77.0 | 4 | 3 | 4.91 | 24 |
Jake Wade | 20 | 47.2 | 1 | 4 | 6.23 | 21 |
Charlie Wagner | 9 | 38.1 | 3 | 1 | 4.23 | 13 |
Bill LeFebvre | 5 | 26.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.81 | 8 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Joe Heving | 46 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 3.70 | 43 |
Emerson Dickman | 48 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4.43 | 46 |
Monte Weaver | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.64 | 6 |
Bill Sayles | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.07 | 9 |
Jimmie Foxx | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton, Canton, Elizabethton, Danville-Schoolfield
Source:[7]
Notes
- Some sources also list "Dave Coble" as a Centreville manager during 1939.[5] It is unclear if that person may be the Dave Coble who played 15 games with the 1939 Philadelphia Phillies and later managed multiple minor league teams.[6]
References
- Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
- Kramer, Daniel (May 6, 2020). "8 HOFers you may have forgotten were traded". MLB.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- "Herb Hash To Join Bosox Next Year". The Free Lance-Star. July 25, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- "3 Deals Made For Pitchers". The Windsor Daily Star. August 14, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- "1939 Centreville Colts Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "Dave Coble Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007