# 1940 Boston Red Sox season

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.

## Preseason
### Transactions

* November 12, 1939: The Red Sox purchase outfielder Dom DiMaggio and pitcher Larry Powell from the San Francisco Seals.
* December 8, 1939: The Red Sox purchase infielder Marvin Owen from the Chicago White Sox.
* December 26, 1939: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase infielder Louis "Boze" Berger from the Red Sox off of waivers.
* January 25, 1940: The Red Sox announce the signing of pitcher Earl Johnson to a contract.
* February 2, 1940: Catcher Moe Berg is removed from the active roster. Berg would remain with the Red Sox as a coach for the 1940 and 1941 seasons.
* February 8, 1940: The Red Sox sell pitcher Elden Aukur to the St. Louis Browns.
* February 13, 1940: The Red Sox sell outfielder Joe Vosmik to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
* 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.
* April 14, 1940: Pitcher Ted Olson is sold by the Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles.

## Regular season
### Transactions

* April 23: The Red Sox sign pitcher Emmett O'Neill of St. Mary's College.
* April 25: The St. Louis Browns sell catcher Joe Glenn to the Boston Red Sox.
* April 28: The Philadelphia Phillies announce the purchase of first baseman Art Mahan from the Louisville Colonels.
* 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."
* August 3: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase pitcher Lesley Flowers from the Louisville Colonels.
* August 13: The Red Sox purchase pitcher Bill Fleming from the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League.
* August 19: The Red Sox claim infielder Charles Gelbert off of waivers from the Washington Nationals.
* 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.
* 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.
* September 11: The Red Sox sell outfielder Leo Nonnenkamp to the Newark Bears.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| 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

1940 American League recordvte Sources: :
| 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

| 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
## 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 | 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

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 | 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
#### 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 | 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

Note: 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

Note: 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

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Louisville Colonels | American Association | Bill Burwell |
| A | Scranton Red Sox | Eastern League | Nemo Leibold |
| B | Rocky Mount Red Sox | Piedmont League | Heinie Manush |
| 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 Red Sox | Eastern Shore League | Ed Walls |
Source: