# 1954 Washington Senators season

The 1954 Washington Senators won 66 games, lost 88, and finished in sixth place in the American League. They were managed by Bucky Harris and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

## Offseason

* November 30, 1953: Al Sima was drafted from the Senators by the Chicago White Sox in the 1953 rule 5 draft.
* Prior to 1954 season: José Valdivielso was acquired by the Senators from the Lubbock Hubbers.

## Regular season

During the season, Carlos Paula became the first black player in the history of the Senators.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 111 | 43 | .721 | — | 59‍–‍18 | 52‍–‍25 |
| New York Yankees | 103 | 51 | .669 | 8 | 54‍–‍23 | 49‍–‍28 |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | .610 | 17 | 45‍–‍32 | 49‍–‍28 |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 85 | .448 | 42 | 38‍–‍39 | 31‍–‍46 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 86 | .442 | 43 | 35‍–‍42 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Washington Senators | 66 | 88 | .429 | 45 | 37‍–‍41 | 29‍–‍47 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 100 | .351 | 57 | 32‍–‍45 | 22‍–‍55 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 51 | 103 | .331 | 60 | 29‍–‍47 | 22‍–‍56 |

### Record vs. opponents

1954 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 3–19 | 8–14 | 5–17 | 10–12 | 10–12 |
| Boston | 11–11 | — | 5–17 | 2–20–2 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 13–9 |
| Chicago | 15–7 | 17–5 | — | 11–11 | 12–10–1 | 7–15 | 17–5 | 15–7 |
| Cleveland | 19–3 | 20–2–2 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 11–11 | 18–4 | 18–4 |
| Detroit | 14–8 | 8–14 | 10–12–1 | 8–14 | — | 6–16 | 13–9 | 9–13 |
| New York | 17–5 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 16–6 | — | 18–4–1 | 13–9 |
| Philadelphia | 12–10 | 7–15 | 5–17 | 4–18 | 9–13 | 4–18–1 | — | 10–12–1 |
| Washington | 12–10 | 9–13 | 7–15 | 4–18 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 11, 1954: Sonny Dixon was traded by the Senators to the Chicago White Sox for Gus Keriazakos.
* June 18, 1954: Harmon Killebrew was signed as an amateur free agent (bonus baby) by the Senators.
* August 7, 1954: Jim Pearce was purchased from the Senators by the Cincinnati Redlegs.

### 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 | Ed Fitz Gerald | 115 | 360 | 104 | .289 | 4 | 40 |
| 1B | Mickey Vernon | 151 | 597 | 173 | .290 | 20 | 97 |
| 2B | Wayne Terwilliger | 106 | 337 | 70 | .208 | 3 | 24 |
| SS | Pete Runnels | 139 | 488 | 131 | .268 | 3 | 56 |
| 3B | Eddie Yost | 155 | 539 | 138 | .256 | 11 | 47 |
| LF | Roy Sievers | 145 | 514 | 119 | .232 | 24 | 102 |
| CF | Jim Busby | 155 | 628 | 187 | .298 | 7 | 80 |
| RF | Tom Umphlett | 114 | 342 | 75 | .219 | 1 | 33 |

#### 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 |
| Tom Wright | 76 | 171 | 42 | .246 | 1 | 17 |
| Johnny Pesky | 49 | 158 | 40 | .253 | 0 | 9 |
| Joe Tipton | 54 | 157 | 35 | .223 | 1 | 10 |
| Jerry Snyder | 64 | 154 | 36 | .234 | 0 | 17 |
| Jim Lemon | 37 | 128 | 30 | .234 | 2 | 13 |
| Clyde Vollmer | 62 | 117 | 30 | .256 | 2 | 15 |
| Mel Hoderlein | 14 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Oldis | 11 | 24 | 8 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Paula | 9 | 24 | 4 | .167 | 0 | 2 |
| Roy Dietzel | 9 | 21 | 5 | .238 | 0 | 1 |
| Harmon Killebrew | 9 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 3 |
| Jesse Levan | 7 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Korcheck | 2 | 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 |
| Bob Porterfield | 32 | 244.0 | 13 | 15 | 3.32 | 82 |
| Mickey McDermott | 30 | 196.1 | 7 | 15 | 3.44 | 95 |
| Johnny Schmitz | 29 | 185.1 | 11 | 8 | 2.91 | 56 |
| Chuck Stobbs | 31 | 182.0 | 11 | 11 | 4.10 | 67 |
| Dean Stone | 31 | 178.2 | 12 | 10 | 3.22 | 87 |

#### 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 |
| Spec Shea | 23 | 71.1 | 2 | 9 | 6.18 | 22 |
| Connie Marrero | 22 | 66.1 | 3 | 6 | 4.75 | 26 |

#### 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 |
| Camilo Pascual | 48 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4.22 | 60 |
| Bunky Stewart | 29 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7.64 | 27 |
| Gus Keriazakos | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3.77 | 33 |
| Sonny Dixon | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.03 | 7 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Chattanooga Lookouts | Southern Association | Cal Ermer |
| A | Charlotte Hornets | Sally League | Pete Appleton and Ellis Clary |
| B | Hagerstown Packets | Piedmont League | Paul Campbell and Zeke Bonura |
| B | Rock Hill Chiefs | Tri-State League | Sam Lamitina, Mel Kerestes and Jake Early |
| C | Wichita Falls/ Sweetwater Spudders | Longhorn League | Red McCarty |
| D | Orlando C.B.s | Florida State League | Tommy O'Brien |
| D | Fulton Lookouts | KITTY League | Red Mincy |
| D | Erie Senators | PONY League | Tom O'Connell, Nap Reyes, Tom Milich and Joe Consoli |
Wichita Falls club moved to Sweetwater, May 6, 1954