# 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers season was their 55th season. The team finished with a record of 69–80, finishing in seventh place in the National League. The 1938 season saw Babe Ruth hired as the first base coach, and lights installed by the team at Ebbets Field on June 15.

## Offseason

* March 6, 1938: Eddie Morgan and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dolph Camilli.

## Regular season

* June 15, 1938: Leo Durocher was the final out of the ninth inning as Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds threw the second of his two consecutive no hitters.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 89 | 63 | .586 | — | 44‍–‍33 | 45‍–‍30 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 86 | 64 | .573 | 2 | 44‍–‍33 | 42‍–‍31 |
| New York Giants | 83 | 67 | .553 | 5 | 43‍–‍30 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 82 | 68 | .547 | 6 | 43‍–‍34 | 39‍–‍34 |
| Boston Bees | 77 | 75 | .507 | 12 | 45‍–‍30 | 32‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 71 | 80 | .470 | 17½ | 36‍–‍41 | 35‍–‍39 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 69 | 80 | .463 | 18½ | 31‍–‍41 | 38‍–‍39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45 | 105 | .300 | 43 | 26‍–‍48 | 19‍–‍57 |

### Record vs. opponents

1938 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 10–12 | 12–10 | 11–9 | 8–14 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 13–9–1 |
| Brooklyn | 10–12 | — | 9–11–1 | 9–13 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 9–11 | 9–12–1 |
| Chicago | 12–10 | 11–9–1 | — | 11–11 | 12–10 | 18–4 | 12–10 | 13–9–1 |
| Cincinnati | 9–11 | 13–9 | 11–11 | — | 12–9 | 14–7 | 10–12 | 13–9–1 |
| New York | 14–8 | 14–8 | 10–12 | 9–12 | — | 16–5 | 9–13–1 | 11–9–1 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 7–15 | 4–18 | 7–14 | 5–16 | — | 8–12–1 | 6–16 |
| Pittsburgh | 13–9 | 11–9 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 13–9–1 | 12–8–1 | — | 15–7 |
| St. Louis | 9–13–1 | 12–9–1 | 9–13–1 | 9–13–1 | 9–11–1 | 16–6 | 7–15 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 15, 1938: Ernie Koy was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.
* May 2, 1938: Tom Winsett was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Giants.
* July 9, 1938: Buck Marrow was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cleveland Indians.
* July 11, 1938: Whit Wyatt was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians.
* July 11, 1938: Gibby Brack was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tuck Stainback.
* July 19, 1938: Johnnie Chambers was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
* August 8, 1938: Max Butcher was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wayne LaMaster.
* August 12, 1938: Johnnie Chambers was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox for Lee Rogers.
* August 23, 1938: The Dodgers traded cash and a player to be named later to the Washington Senators for Fred Sington. The Dodgers completed the deal by sending Johnnie Chambers to the Red Sox on January 5, 1939.
* September 9, 1938: Jimmy Outlaw was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cincinnati Reds. The purchase was voided on September 14.
* September 14, 1938: Don Ross was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.

### 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 | Babe Phelps | 66 | 208 | 54 | .308 | 5 | 46 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 146 | 509 | 128 | .251 | 24 | 100 |
| 2B | Johnny Hudson | 135 | 498 | 130 | .261 | 2 | 37 |
| 3B | Cookie Lavagetto | 137 | 487 | 133 | .273 | 6 | 79 |
| SS | Leo Durocher | 141 | 479 | 105 | .219 | 1 | 56 |
| OF | Ernie Koy | 142 | 521 | 156 | .299 | 11 | 76 |
| OF | Goody Rosen | 138 | 473 | 133 | .281 | 4 | 51 |
| OF | Buddy Hassett | 115 | 335 | 98 | .293 | 0 | 40 |

#### 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 |
| Kiki Cuyler | 82 | 253 | 69 | .273 | 2 | 23 |
| Gilly Campbell | 54 | 126 | 31 | .246 | 0 | 11 |
| Merv Shea | 48 | 120 | 22 | .183 | 0 | 12 |
| Tuck Stainback | 35 | 104 | 34 | .327 | 0 | 20 |
| Pete Coscarart | 32 | 79 | 12 | .152 | 0 | 6 |
| Woody English | 34 | 72 | 18 | .250 | 0 | 7 |
| Oris Hockett | 21 | 70 | 23 | .329 | 1 | 8 |
| Gibby Brack | 40 | 56 | 12 | .214 | 1 | 6 |
| Fred Sington | 28 | 53 | 19 | .358 | 2 | 5 |
| Heinie Manush | 17 | 51 | 12 | .235 | 0 | 6 |
| Woody Williams | 20 | 51 | 17 | .333 | 0 | 6 |
| Roy Spencer | 16 | 45 | 12 | .267 | 0 | 6 |
| Packy Rogers | 23 | 37 | 7 | .189 | 0 | 5 |
| Tom Winsett | 12 | 30 | 9 | .300 | 1 | 7 |
| Paul Chervinko | 12 | 27 | 4 | .148 | 0 | 3 |
| Greek George | 7 | 20 | 4 | .200 | 0 | 2 |
| Ray Hayworth | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Thomas | 1 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Bert Haas | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Luke Hamlin | 44 | 237.1 | 12 | 15 | 3.68 | 97 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 27 | 202.2 | 11 | 8 | 3.02 | 38 |
| Van Mungo | 24 | 133.1 | 4 | 11 | 3.92 | 72 |
| John Gaddy | 2 | 13.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.69 | 3 |
| Sam Nahem | 1 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | 2 |

#### 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 |
| Tot Pressnell | 43 | 192.0 | 11 | 14 | 3.56 | 57 |
| Vito Tamulis | 38 | 159.2 | 12 | 6 | 3.83 | 70 |
| Bill Posedel | 33 | 140.0 | 8 | 9 | 5.66 | 49 |
| Fred Frankhouse | 30 | 93.2 | 3 | 5 | 4.04 | 32 |
| Max Butcher | 24 | 72.2 | 5 | 4 | 6.56 | 21 |
| Lee Rogers | 12 | 23.2 | 0 | 2 | 5.70 | 11 |
| Waite Hoyt | 6 | 16.1 | 0 | 3 | 4.96 | 3 |
| Jim Winford | 2 | 5.2 | 0 | 1 | 11.12 | 4 |

#### 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 |
| Buck Marrow | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.58 | 6 |
| Wayne LaMaster | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.76 | 3 |
| Dykes Potter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* 1938 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Leo Durocher starting shortstop
** Cookie Lavagetto
** Babe Phelps

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| A1 | Nashville Vols | Southern Association | Chuck Dressen |
| A | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Clyde Sukeforth |
| B | Winston-Salem Twins | Piedmont League | Walt Van Grofski Joe Prerost |
| B | Pensacola Pilots | Southeastern League | Wally Dashiell |
| B | Clinton Owls | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Oliver Marquardt |
| C | Greenwood Crackers | Cotton States League | Elmer Yoter |
| C | Dayton Ducks | Middle Atlantic League | Red Rollings Howard Holmes Jim Lindsey |
| D | Tallahassee Capitols | Georgia–Florida League | Tim Muchison |
| D | Beatrice Blues | Nebraska State League | Leon Riley |
| D | Cooleemee Weavers | North Carolina State League | Joe Bird |
| D | Superior Blues | Northern League | George Treadwell |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elmira, Pensacola, Superior