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 | ||
---|---|---|
League | American League | |
Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
Record | 89–62 (.589) | |
League place | 2nd (17 GB) | |
Owners | Tom Yawkey | |
President | Tom Yawkey | |
General managers | Eddie Collins | |
Managers | Joe Cronin | |
Radio | WAAB (Frankie Frisch, Tom Hussey) | |
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
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Regular season
editIn 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
edit- 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
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | .702 | — | 52–25 | 54–20 |
Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | .589 | 17 | 42–32 | 47–30 |
Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | .565 | 20½ | 44–33 | 43–34 |
Chicago White Sox | 86 | 69 | .555 | 22 | 50–27 | 36–42 |
Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | .526 | 26½ | 42–35 | 39–38 |
Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | .428 | 41½ | 37–39 | 28–48 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | .362 | 51½ | 28–48 | 27–49 |
St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64½ | 18–59 | 25–52 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
edit8 | 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
edit1939 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
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
editNote: 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lefty Grove | 23 | 191.0 | 15 | 4 | 2.54 | 81 |
Elden Auker | 31 | 151.0 | 9 | 10 | 3.56 | 53 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
editLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton, Canton, Elizabethton, Danville-Schoolfield
Source:[7]
Notes
edit- ^ 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
edit- ^ a b c d 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