# 1939 Boston Red Sox season

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. Lefty Grove won 15 games for the Red Sox while Jimmie Foxx hit .360, and had 35 home runs and 105 RBI. Ted Williams made his major league debut in 1939, and batted .327 with 31 home runs. He led the American League with 145 RBIs. After the first game he played against Williams, Yankees catcher Bill Dickey said about Williams, "He's just a damned good hitter." 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). 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

* July 25: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Herbert Hash and catcher George Lacy from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.
* August 14: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Wilburn R. Butland from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1939 American League recordvte Sources: :
| 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
## 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

| 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 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton, Canton, Elizabethton, Danville-Schoolfield
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