# 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season in second place. It was their best finish in 16 years.

## Offseason

* December 8, 1939: Al Todd was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Gus Mancuso and Newt Kimball.
* December 26, 1939: Boze Berger was purchased by the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox.
* February 6, 1940: Herman Franks was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
* February 12, 1940: Joe Vosmik was purchased by the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox.
* Prior to 1940 season: Wally Westlake was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 100 | 53 | .654 | — | 55‍–‍21 | 45‍–‍32 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 88 | 65 | .575 | 12 | 41‍–‍37 | 47‍–‍28 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | 69 | .549 | 16 | 41‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 76 | .506 | 22½ | 40‍–‍34 | 38‍–‍42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | 79 | .487 | 25½ | 40‍–‍37 | 35‍–‍42 |
| New York Giants | 72 | 80 | .474 | 27½ | 33‍–‍43 | 39‍–‍37 |
| Boston Bees | 65 | 87 | .428 | 34½ | 35‍–‍40 | 30‍–‍47 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 50 | 103 | .327 | 50 | 24‍–‍55 | 26‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1940 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 8–14 | 9–12 | 7–15 | 15–6 | 9–13 | 8–14 |
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 10–12 | 8–14–1 | 16–5 | 17–5 | 15–7–1 | 9–13–1 |
| Chicago | 14–8 | 12–10 | — | 6–16 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 |
| Cincinnati | 12–9 | 14–8–1 | 16–6 | — | 15–7 | 15–7 | 16–6 | 12–10–1 |
| New York | 15–7 | 5–16 | 10–12 | 7–15 | — | 12–10 | 12–10 | 11–10 |
| Philadelphia | 6–15 | 5–17 | 10–12 | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 6–16 | 6–16 |
| Pittsburgh | 13–9 | 7–15–1 | 11–11 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 16–6 | — | 15–7–1 |
| St. Louis | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | 14–8 | 10–12–1 | 10–11 | 16–6 | 7–15–1 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 3, 1940: Jim Winford was purchased from the Dodgers by the St. Louis Cardinals.
* April 11, 1940: Tony Giuliani was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.
* April 11, 1940: Al Hollingsworth was purchased from the Dodgers by the Washington Senators.
* April 28, 1940: Roy Hughes was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
* May 14, 1940: Goody Rosen was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
* May 25, 1940: Jimmy Wasdell was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.
* May 27, 1940: Roy Cullenbine was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns for Joe Gallagher.
* May 29, 1940: Gene Moore was purchased from the Dodgers by the Boston Bees.
* June 12, 1940: Ernie Koy, Carl Doyle, Sam Nahem, Bert Haas and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Medwick and Curt Davis.
* June 13, 1940: Ira Hutchinson was purchased from the Dodgers by the St. Louis Cardinals.
* July 30, 1940: Tuck Stainback was purchased from the Dodgers by the Detroit Tigers.
* August 2, 1940: Wes Flowers was purchased by the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox.
* August 23, 1940: Jimmy Ripple was selected off waivers from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| C | Babe Phelps | 118 | 370 | 40 | 109 | .295 | 13 | 61 | 2 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 142 | 512 | 92 | 147 | .287 | 23 | 96 | 9 |
| 2B | Pete Coscarart | 143 | 506 | 55 | 120 | .237 | 9 | 58 | 5 |
| 3B | Cookie Lavagetto | 118 | 448 | 56 | 115 | .257 | 4 | 43 | 4 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 84 | 312 | 58 | 85 | .272 | 5 | 28 | 15 |
| OF | Dixie Walker | 143 | 556 | 75 | 171 | .308 | 6 | 66 | 3 |
| OF | Joe Medwick | 106 | 423 | 62 | 127 | .300 | 14 | 66 | 2 |
| OF | Joe Vosmik | 116 | 404 | 45 | 114 | .282 | 1 | 42 | 0 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
| Jimmy Wasdell | 77 | 230 | 35 | 64 | .278 | 3 | 37 | 4 |
| Pete Reiser | 58 | 225 | 34 | 66 | .293 | 3 | 20 | 2 |
| Johnny Hudson | 85 | 179 | 13 | 39 | .218 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Leo Durocher | 62 | 160 | 10 | 37 | .231 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| Gus Mancuso | 60 | 144 | 16 | 33 | .229 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Charlie Gilbert | 57 | 142 | 23 | 35 | .246 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Herman Franks | 65 | 131 | 11 | 24 | .183 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Joe Gallagher | 57 | 110 | 10 | 29 | .264 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| Roy Cullenbine | 22 | 61 | 8 | 11 | .180 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| Ernie Koy | 24 | 48 | 9 | 11 | .229 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Don Ross | 10 | 38 | 4 | 11 | .289 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Gene Moore | 10 | 26 | 3 | 7 | .269 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jimmy Ripple | 7 | 13 | 0 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Giuliani | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
| Whit Wyatt | 37 | 34 | 16 | 239.1 | 15 | 14 | 3.46 | 62 | 124 |
| Luke Hamlin | 33 | 25 | 9 | 182.1 | 9 | 8 | 3.06 | 34 | 91 |
| Curt Davis | 22 | 18 | 9 | 137.0 | 8 | 7 | 3.81 | 19 | 46 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 20 | 18 | 11 | 134.1 | 16 | 2 | 2.81 | 25 | 35 |
| Lee Grissom | 14 | 10 | 3 | 73.2 | 2 | 5 | 2.81 | 34 | 56 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
| Hugh Casey | 44 | 10 | 5 | 154.0 | 11 | 8 | 3.62 | 51 | 53 |
| Vito Tamulis | 41 | 12 | 4 | 154.1 | 8 | 5 | 3.09 | 34 | 55 |
| Tex Carleton | 34 | 17 | 4 | 149.0 | 6 | 6 | 3.81 | 47 | 88 |
| Tot Pressnell | 24 | 4 | 1 | 68.1 | 6 | 5 | 3.69 | 17 | 21 |
| Ed Head | 13 | 5 | 2 | 39.1 | 1 | 2 | 4.12 | 18 | 13 |
| Wes Flowers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 21.0 | 1 | 1 | 3.43 | 10 | 8 |
| Steve Rachunok | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.50 | 5 | 10 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
| Newt Kimball | 21 | 33.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.21 | 15 | 21 |
| Van Mungo | 7 | 22.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.45 | 10 | 9 |
| Carl Doyle | 3 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27.00 | 6 | 4 |
| Wes Ferrell | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 4 | 4 |
| Lou Fette | 2 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 |
| Max Macon | 2 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22.50 | 0 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* 1940 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Cookie Lavagetto starter
** Joe Medwick starter
** Leo Durocher reserve
** Pete Coscarart reserve
** Babe Phelps reserve
** Whit Wyatt reserve

### League top ten finishers

Dolph Camilli
* #3 in NL in slugging percentage (.529)
* #3 in NL in bases on balls (89)
* #4 in NL in home runs (23)
* #4 in NL in on-base percentage (.397)
Whit Wyatt
* #2 in NL in strikeouts (124)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Montreal Royals | International League | Clyde Sukeforth |
| A1 | Knoxville Smokies | Southern Association | Larry Gilbert |
| A | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Bill Killefer |
| B | Durham Bulls | Piedmont League | Oscar Roettger |
| B | Macon Peaches | South Atlantic League | Milt Stock |
| B | Anniston Rams | Southeastern League | Bill Rodda |
| C | Grand Rapids Dodgers | Michigan State League | Burleigh Grimes |
| C | Dayton Wings | Middle Atlantic League | Andy Cohen |
| D | Greenville Lions | Alabama State League | Dick Luckey |
| D | Fayetteville Angels | Arkansas–Missouri League | Howard Holmes |
| D | Bassett Furnituremakers | Bi-State League | Einar Sorenson |
| D | Rayne Rice Birds | Evangeline League | Art Bartelli |
| D | American Pioneers | Georgia–Florida League | Bernie DeViveiros Stew Hofferth |
| D | Bowling Green Barons | Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League | Ellis Powers |
| D | Landis Dodgers | North Carolina State League | Otis Carter |
| D | Newport Dodgers | Northeast Arkansas League | Cliff Green Paul Chervinko |
| D | Superior Blues | Northern League | James Geygan |
| D | Johnstown Johnnies | Pennsylvania State Association | George Treadwell |
| D | Olean Oilers | Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League | Jake Pitler |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Knoxville