1939 Boston Red Sox
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record89–62 (.589)
League place2nd (17 GB)
OwnersTom Yawkey
PresidentTom Yawkey
General managersEddie Collins
ManagersJoe Cronin
RadioWAAB
(Frankie Frisch, Tom Hussey)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
← 1938 Seasons 1940 →

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.

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

Season standings

American League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
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

1939 American League record

Sources: [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

  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
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

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
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
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

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
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
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
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

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AA Louisville Colonels American Association Donie Bush and Bill Burwell
A1 Little Rock Travelers Southern Association Specs Toporcer
A Scranton Red Sox Eastern League Nemo Leibold
B Rocky Mount Red Sox Piedmont League Herb Brett
C Clarksdale Red Sox Cotton States League Leroy "Cowboy" Jones
C Canton Terriers Middle Atlantic League Floyd "Pat" Patterson
D Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox Appalachian League Hobe Brummette
D Danville-Schoolfield Leafs Bi-State League Red Barnes
D Centreville Colts Eastern Shore League Cap Clark[a]

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton, Canton, Elizabethton, Danville-Schoolfield
Source:[7]

Notes

  1. ^ 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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Kramer, Daniel (May 6, 2020). "8 HOFers you may have forgotten were traded". MLB.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Herb Hash To Join Bosox Next Year". The Free Lance-Star. July 25, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "3 Deals Made For Pitchers". The Windsor Daily Star. August 14, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "1939 Centreville Colts Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  6. ^ "Dave Coble Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  7. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

1939 MLB season by team
Boston Red Sox
Categories