# 1959 Cleveland Indians season

The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th season in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, 5 games behind the American League Champion Chicago White Sox.

## Offseason

* October 27, 1958: Jay Porter was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Ossie Álvarez.
* November 20, 1958: Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and Ossie Álvarez were traded by the Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Billy Martin and Al Cicotte.
* December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall.
* January 23, 1959: Earl Averill, Jr. and Morrie Martin were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.

## Regular season

On June 10, right fielder Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 47‍–‍30 | 47‍–‍30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 5 | 43‍–‍34 | 46‍–‍31 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 75 | .513 | 15 | 40‍–‍37 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Detroit Tigers | 76 | 78 | .494 | 18 | 41‍–‍36 | 35‍–‍42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | .487 | 19 | 43‍–‍34 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 80 | .481 | 20 | 38‍–‍39 | 36‍–‍41 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 66 | 88 | .429 | 28 | 37‍–‍40 | 29‍–‍48 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 91 | .409 | 31 | 34‍–‍43 | 29‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1959 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE | DET | KCA | NYY | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 8–14 | 11–11–1 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 12–10 |
| Boston | 14–8 | — | 8–14 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 13–9 | 10–12 |
| Chicago | 11–11–1 | 14–8 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9–1 | 16–6 |
| Cleveland | 12–10 | 14–8 | 7–15 | — | 14–8 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 16–6 |
| Detroit | 9–13 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 8–14 | — | 15–7 | 14–8 | 10–12 |
| Kansas City | 14–8 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 7–15 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 | 12–10 |
| New York | 10–12 | 9–13 | 9–13–1 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 17–5 | — | 15–7 |
| Washington | 10–12 | 12–10 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 7–15 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 11, 1959: Mickey Vernon was traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Braves for Humberto Robinson.
* May 4, 1959: Randy Jackson was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Smith.
* June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Jones.
* September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 37 | Jimmy Piersall | CF |
| 1 | Billy Martin | 2B |
| 9 | Minnie Miñoso | LF |
| 6 | Rocky Colavito | RF |
| 15 | Russ Nixon | C |
| 10 | Vic Power | 1B |
| 3 | Woodie Held | 3B |
| 4 | George Strickland | 2B |
| 39 | Gary Bell | 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 | Russ Nixon | 82 | 258 | 62 | .240 | 1 | 29 |
| 1B | Vic Power | 147 | 595 | 172 | .289 | 10 | 60 |
| 2B | Billy Martin | 73 | 242 | 63 | .260 | 9 | 24 |
| SS | Woodie Held | 143 | 525 | 132 | .251 | 29 | 71 |
| 3B | George Strickland | 132 | 441 | 105 | .238 | 3 | 48 |
| LF | Minnie Miñoso | 148 | 570 | 172 | .302 | 21 | 92 |
| CF | Jimmy Piersall | 100 | 317 | 78 | .246 | 4 | 30 |
| RF | Rocky Colavito | 154 | 588 | 151 | .257 | 42 | 111 |

#### 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 |
| Tito Francona | 122 | 399 | 145 | .363 | 20 | 79 |
| Jim Baxes | 77 | 247 | 59 | .239 | 15 | 34 |
| Dick Brown | 48 | 141 | 31 | .220 | 5 | 16 |
| Ed Fitz Gerald | 49 | 129 | 35 | .271 | 1 | 4 |
| Ray Webster | 40 | 74 | 15 | .203 | 2 | 10 |
| Granny Hamner | 27 | 67 | 11 | .164 | 1 | 3 |
| Carroll Hardy | 32 | 53 | 11 | .208 | 0 | 2 |
| Chuck Tanner | 14 | 48 | 12 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Hal Naragon | 14 | 36 | 10 | .278 | 0 | 5 |
| Gene Leek | 13 | 36 | 8 | .222 | 1 | 5 |
| Elmer Valo | 34 | 24 | 7 | .292 | 0 | 5 |
| Willie Jones | 11 | 18 | 4 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
| Billy Moran | 11 | 17 | 5 | .294 | 0 | 2 |
| Gordy Coleman | 6 | 15 | 8 | .533 | 0 | 2 |
| Don Dillard | 10 | 10 | 4 | .400 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Bolger | 8 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Jackson | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 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 |
| Cal McLish | 35 | 235.1 | 19 | 8 | 3.63 | 113 |
| Gary Bell | 44 | 234.0 | 16 | 11 | 4.04 | 136 |
| Herb Score | 30 | 160.2 | 9 | 11 | 4.71 | 147 |
| Jake Striker | 1 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 2.70 | 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 |
| Mudcat Grant | 38 | 165.1 | 10 | 7 | 4.14 | 85 |
| Jim Perry | 44 | 153.0 | 12 | 10 | 2.65 | 79 |
| Bobby Locke | 24 | 77.2 | 0 | 1 | 5.22 | 17 |
| Don Ferrarese | 15 | 76.0 | 5 | 3 | 3.20 | 45 |
| Mike Garcia | 29 | 72.0 | 3 | 6 | 4.00 | 49 |
| Jack Harshman | 13 | 66.0 | 5 | 1 | 2.59 | 35 |
| Bob Smith | 12 | 29.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.22 | 17 |
| John Briggs | 4 | 12.2 | 0 | 1 | 5.22 | 17 |

#### 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 |
| Dick Brodowski | 18 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1.80 | 9 |
| Al Cicotte | 26 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5.32 | 23 |
| Bud Podbielan | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.84 | 5 |
| Humberto Robinson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 | 6 |

## Awards and honors

* First All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power
* Second All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power

### League leaders

* Rocky Colavito, American League leader in home runs (tied)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | San Diego Padres | Pacific Coast League | Catfish Metkovich |
| AA | Mobile Bears | Southern Association | Mel McGaha |
| A | Reading Indians | Eastern League | Al Hollingsworth |
| B | Burlington Indians | Carolina League | Pinky May |
| C | Minot Mallards | Northern League | Ken Landenberger |
| D | Selma Cloverleafs | Alabama–Florida League | Johnny Lipon |
| D | North Platte Indians | Nebraska State League | Mark Wylie |
| D | Batavia Indians | New York–Penn League | Paul O'Dea |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Selma