1935 Boston Braves season

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1935  Boston Braves
League National League
Ballpark Braves Field
City Boston, Massachusetts
Record38–115 (.248)
League place8th
Owners Emil Fuchs (April–August)
Bob Quinn (August–September)
Managers Bill McKechnie
Radio Yankee Network
(Fred Hoey)
←  1934
1936  →

The 1935 Boston Braves season was the 65th season of the franchise. The Braves finished with the worst record in the National League and the majors, with a record of 38 wins and 115 losses. [1]

Contents

In an attempt to make his dream come true to manage, Babe Ruth came to the Braves in February 1935. He was hired as vice president and assistant manager, and team owner Emil Fuchs promised Ruth a share of team profits.

Offseason

Regular season

On opening day, Babe Ruth was part of all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 win over the New York Giants. However, Ruth was only a shadow of his former self. Although he had a fairly decent season in 1934, years of high living had begun taking their toll on his conditioning. His deterioration became more pronounced in early 1935. He couldn't run, and his fielding was so terrible that three of the Braves' pitchers threatened to go on strike if Ruth was in the lineup. A month into the season, Ruth stopped hitting as well. It soon became obvious that Ruth's titles as vice president and assistant manager were mere window dressing, and that he was only on the team due to the attention he commanded. He also discovered that rather than give him a share of the Braves' profits, Fuchs expected him to invest some of his money in the team. [4]

Seeing a team in utter collapse and realizing he was finished even as a part-time player, Ruth retired on June 1, six days after he had what remains one of the most memorable afternoons in baseball history. He clouted what turned out to be the last three home runs of his career in a game at Forbes Field while playing the Pittsburgh Pirates. He'd wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every National League park. Fuchs lost control of the team soon afterward. [4]

Despite fielding essentially the same team that finished fourth a year earlier, the 1935 season quickly turned into a debacle. In fact, their Opening Day win was the only time they were over .500 all year. They won only four games in May, and by the time Ruth retired they were 9-27, their season all but finished. They ultimately finished 38–115, the worst season in franchise history. Their .248 winning percentage is tied for the seventh-worst in baseball history, and the sixth-worst in National League history. It is the second-worst in modern baseball history (behind only the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics), and the worst in modern National League history. During the season, Braves pitcher Ben Cantwell would be the last pitcher in the 20th century to lose at least 25 games in one season. [5] The only highlight was outfielder Wally Berger, who led the League in home runs (34) and RBIs (130). [1]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 10054.649—56‍–‍2144‍–‍33
St. Louis Cardinals 9658.623453‍–‍2443‍–‍34
New York Giants 9162.5958½50‍–‍2741‍–‍35
Pittsburgh Pirates 8667.56213½46‍–‍3140‍–‍36
Brooklyn Dodgers 7083.45829½38‍–‍3832‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds 6885.44431½41‍–‍3527‍–‍50
Philadelphia Phillies 6489.41835½35‍–‍4329‍–‍46
Boston Braves 38115.24861½25‍–‍5013‍–‍65

Record vs. opponents

1935 National League record

Sources:
TeamBOSBRCHCCINNYGPHIPITSTL
Boston —6–163–1910–125–168–142–204–18
Brooklyn 16–6—5–1711–119–1312–9–111–116–16
Chicago 19–317–5—14–814–813–915–78–14
Cincinnati 12–1011–118–14—8–14–113–98–138–14
New York 16–513–98–1414–8–1—12–10–214–814–8
Philadelphia 14–89–12–19–139–1310–12–2—6–167–15
Pittsburgh 20–211–117–1513–88–1416–6—11–11
St. Louis 18–416–614–814–88–1415–711–11—

Notable transactions

Roster

1935 Boston Braves
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

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

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Al Spohrer 9226063.242116
1B Buck Jordan 130470131.279535
2B Les Mallon 116412113.274225
3B Pinky Whitney 126458125.273460
SS Billy Urbanski 132514118.230430
OF Hal Lee 112422128.303039
OF Randy Moore 125407112.275442
OF Wally Berger 150589174.29534130

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Tommy Thompson 11229781.273430
Joe Coscarart 8628467.236129
Shanty Hogan 5916349.301225
Elbie Fletcher 3914835.23619
Joe Mowry 8113636.265113
Ray Mueller 429722.227311
Babe Ruth 287213.181612
Rabbit Maranville 236710.14905
Johnnie Tyler 134716.340211
Ed Moriarty 83411.32411
Art Doll 3101.10000
Bill Lewis 640.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Fred Frankhouse 40230.211154.7664
Ed Brandt 29174.25195.0061
Danny MacFayden 28151.25135.1046

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Ben Cantwell 39210.24254.6134
Bob Smith 46203.18183.9458
Huck Betts 44159.2295.4740
Bob Brown 1565.0186.3717
Flint Rhem 1040.1055.3610

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Larry Benton 292306.8821
Al Blanche 60001.564
Leo Mangum 30003.860

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AA Seattle Indians Pacific Coast League Dutch Ruether
A Harrisburg Senators New York–Pennsylvania League Art Shires
D McKeesport Braves Pennsylvania State Association Wilbur Cooper

[7]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Hollingsworth, Harry (1994). The Best & Worst Baseball Teams of All Time: From the '16 A's to the '27 Yanks to the Present!. United States: SPI Books. p. 189. ISBN   1561713082.
  2. ↑ Bill Lewis page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Babe Ruth page at Baseball Reference
  4. 1 2 Neyer, Rob (2006). Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders. New York City: Fireside. ISBN   0-7432-8491-7.
  5. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.349, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN   978-0-451-22363-0
  6. ↑ Shanty Hogan page at Baseball Reference
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997
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