The 1940 Boston Red Sox season was the 40th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished tied for fourth place in the American League (AL) with a record of 82 wins and 72 losses, eight games behind the Detroit Tigers.
| 1940 Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Record | 82–72 (.532) | |
| League place | 4th | |
| Owners | Tom Yawkey | |
| President | Tom Yawkey | |
| General managers | Eddie Collins | |
| Managers | Joe Cronin | |
| Radio | WAAB (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference | |
| ||
Preseason
editTransactions
edit- November 12, 1939: The Red Sox purchase outfielder Dom DiMaggio and pitcher Larry Powell from the San Francisco Seals.[1]
- December 8, 1939: The Red Sox purchase infielder Marvin Owen from the Chicago White Sox.[2]
- December 26, 1939: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase infielder Louis "Boze" Berger from the Red Sox off of waivers.[3]
- January 25, 1940: The Red Sox announce the signing of pitcher Earl Johnson to a contract.[4]
- February 2, 1940: Catcher Moe Berg is removed from the active roster.[5] Berg would remain with the Red Sox as a coach for the 1940 and 1941 seasons.[6]
- February 8, 1940: The Red Sox sell pitcher Elden Aukur to the St. Louis Browns.[7]
- February 13, 1940: The Red Sox sell outfielder Joe Vosmik to the Brooklyn Dodgers.[8]
- March 29, 1940: The Red Sox send pitcher Russell Evans to the Minneapolis Millers to complete the deal in which Herb Hash, George Lacy, and Bill Butland were sent to the Red Sox from Minneapolis.[9]
- April 14, 1940: Pitcher Ted Olson is sold by the Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles.[10]
Regular season
editTransactions
edit- April 23: The Red Sox sign pitcher Emmett O'Neill of St. Mary's College.[11]
- April 25: The St. Louis Browns sell catcher Joe Glenn to the Boston Red Sox.[12]
- April 28: The Philadelphia Phillies announce the purchase of first baseman Art Mahan from the Louisville Colonels.[13]
- July 25: Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis fines the Red Sox $500 and forces them to release Pitcher Larry Jansen after Red Sox scout Ernie Johson signed Jansen to an illegal "blank contract."[14]
- August 3: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase pitcher Lesley Flowers from the Louisville Colonels.[15]
- August 13: The Red Sox purchase pitcher Bill Fleming from the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League.[16]
- August 19: The Red Sox claim infielder Charles Gelbert off of waivers from the Washington Nationals.[17]
- September 5: The Red Sox announce the acquisition of shortstop Skeeter Newsome from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Hal Seling and another player to be named later.[18]
- September 6: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Mike Ryba from the Rochester Red Wings for cash and a player to be named later.[19]
- September 11: The Red Sox sell outfielder Leo Nonnenkamp to the Newark Bears.[20]
Season standings
edit| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 90 | 64 | .584 | — | 50–29 | 40–35 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 1 | 51–30 | 38–35 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | 66 | .571 | 2 | 52–24 | 36–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 8 | 45–34 | 37–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 8 | 41–36 | 41–36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 87 | .435 | 23 | 37–39 | 30–48 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 26 | 36–41 | 28–49 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 54 | 100 | .351 | 36 | 29–42 | 25–58 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 11–11 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 18–4 | 12–10 | 13–9 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–11 | — | 6–16 | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 12–10 | |||||
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 16–6 | — | 11–11 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 11–11–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| Detroit | 11–11 | 9–13 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 11–11 | 18–4–1 | 16–6 | |||||
| New York | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 8–14 | — | 13–9 | 14–8 | 17–5 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 4–18 | 6–16 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 8–14 | 8–14 | |||||
| St. Louis | 10–12 | 9–13 | 11–11–1 | 4–18–1 | 8–14 | 14–8 | — | 11–11 | |||||
| Washington | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 6–16 | 5–17 | 14–8 | 11–11 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
edit| 7 | Dom DiMaggio | RF |
| 8 | Doc Cramer | CF |
| 9 | Ted Williams | LF |
| 3 | Jimmie Foxx | 1B |
| 4 | Joe Cronin | SS |
| 1 | Bobby Doerr | 2B |
| 5 | Jim Tabor | 3B |
| 2 | Gene Desautels | C |
| 10 | Lefty Grove | P |
Roster
edit| 1940 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 | Gene Desautels | 71 | 222 | 50 | .225 | 0 | 17 |
| 1B | Jimmie Foxx | 144 | 515 | 153 | .297 | 36 | 119 |
| 2B | Bobby Doerr | 151 | 595 | 173 | .291 | 22 | 105 |
| SS | Joe Cronin | 149 | 548 | 156 | .285 | 24 | 111 |
| 3B | Jim Tabor | 120 | 459 | 131 | .285 | 21 | 81 |
| OF | Doc Cramer | 150 | 661 | 200 | .303 | 1 | 51 |
| OF | Ted Williams | 144 | 561 | 193 | .344 | 23 | 113 |
| OF | Dom DiMaggio | 108 | 418 | 126 | .301 | 8 | 46 |
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 | 130 | 534 | 171 | .320 | 5 | 73 |
| Johnny Peacock | 63 | 131 | 37 | .282 | 0 | 13 |
| Charlie Gelbert | 30 | 91 | 18 | .198 | 0 | 8 |
| Stan Spence | 51 | 68 | 19 | .279 | 2 | 13 |
| Tom Carey | 43 | 62 | 20 | .323 | 0 | 7 |
| Marv Owen | 20 | 57 | 12 | .211 | 0 | 6 |
| Joe Glenn | 22 | 47 | 6 | .128 | 0 | 4 |
| Tony Lupien | 10 | 19 | 9 | .474 | 0 | 4 |
| Red Nonnenkamp | 9 | 7 | 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 | 22 | 153.1 | 7 | 6 | 3.99 | 62 |
| Denny Galehouse | 25 | 120.0 | 6 | 6 | 5.18 | 53 |
| Bill Butland | 3 | 21.0 | 1 | 2 | 5.57 | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Bagby | 36 | 182.2 | 10 | 16 | 4.73 | 57 |
| Jack Wilson | 41 | 157.2 | 12 | 6 | 5.08 | 102 |
| Fritz Ostermueller | 31 | 143.2 | 5 | 9 | 4.95 | 80 |
| Herb Hash | 34 | 120.0 | 7 | 7 | 4.95 | 36 |
| Joe Heving | 39 | 119.0 | 12 | 7 | 4.01 | 55 |
| Emerson Dickman | 35 | 100.0 | 8 | 6 | 6.03 | 40 |
| Earl Johnson | 17 | 70.1 | 6 | 2 | 4.09 | 26 |
| Mickey Harris | 13 | 68.1 | 4 | 2 | 5.00 | 36 |
| Bill Fleming | 10 | 46.1 | 1 | 2 | 4.86 | 24 |
| Yank Terry | 4 | 19.1 | 1 | 0 | 8.84 | 9 |
| Alex Mustaikis | 6 | 15.0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 6 |
| Woody Rich | 3 | 11.2 | 1 | 0 | 0.77 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Wagner | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.52 | 13 |
| Ted Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
Farm system
editSource:[21]
References
edit- ^ "Third DiMaggio To Big Leagues". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 13, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Boston Sox Purchase Infielder Marvin Owen". Reading Eagle. December 8, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Brooklyn Dodgers Buy Berger From Boston". The Spokesman-Review. December 27, 1939. p. 9. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Former Gael Hurler Signs With Red Sox". Berkeley Daily Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Moe Berg Appears Destined To Be Bull Pen Catcher". Lewiston Evening Journal. February 2, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ Bielakowski, Alexander M., ed. (2013). Ethnic and Racial Minorities in the U.S. Military: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-59884-427-6.
- ^ "Elden Aukur Sold By Sox". The Regina Leader-Post. February 9, 1940. p. 20. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ King, Bill. "Vosmik Drops Out Of .300 Class Gets Sold Down River To Dodgers". The Meriden Daily Journal. p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Red Evans Sent to Minneapolis by Red Sox". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. March 29, 1940. p. 7. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Red Sox Drop Olson". The Pittsburgh Press. April 15, 1940. p. 23. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Emmett O'Neill To Join Red Sox". Berkeley Daily Gazette. April 24, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "Joe Glenn Sold to Red Sox". The Montreal Gazette. April 26, 1940. p. 17. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Phillies Purchase Mahan From Colonels". The Lewiston Daily Sun. April 29, 1940. p. 8. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Landis Plasters Fine on Red Sox". The Pittsburgh Press. July 25, 1940. p. 19. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Dodgers' Presnell Goes, Buys Southpaw". The Pittsburgh Press. August 3, 1940. p. 7. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Red Sox Purchase Fleming". The Montreal Gazette. August 14, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Sox Obtain Infielder". The Ottawa Citizen. August 20, 1940. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Red Sox Acquire Skeeter Newsome from Baltimore". Lewiston Evening Journal. September 5, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Mike Ryba Is Sold To Red Sox By Rochester". The Portsmouth Times. September 6, 1940. p. 21. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Give Up On Nonnenkamp". The Windsor Daily Star. September 11, 1940. p. 3. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007