| 1939 Boston Red Sox | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |||
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |||
| Record | 89–62 (.589) | |||
| League place | 2nd (17GB) | |||
| 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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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.
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.
| Team | 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 |
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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 | — | |||||
| 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 |
| 1939 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton, Canton, Elizabethton, Danville-Schoolfield
Source:[7]
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1939 MLB season by team
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| Major League Baseball |
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| Negro American League |
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| Negro National League |
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