1938 Boston Red Sox season

Summary

The 1938 Boston Red Sox season was the 38th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League (AL) with a record of 88 wins and 61 losses, 9+12 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1938 World Series.

1938 Boston Red Sox
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record88–61 (.591)
League place2nd (9+12 GB)
OwnersTom Yawkey
PresidentTom Yawkey
General managersEddie Collins
ManagersJoe Cronin
RadioWAAB
(Fred Hoey)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
← 1937 Seasons 1939 →

Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx had a .349 batting average with 50 home runs and 175 runs batted in; he was named the AL Most Valuable Player.[1]

Offseason edit

On December 6, 1937, the Red Sox purchased outfielder Ted Williams from the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres for $25,000 and four minor league players, with the deal announced the following day on December 7.[3]

Regular season edit

The 1938 Boston Red Sox finished higher than any other Sox team since 1918.[4] The Red Sox finished in second place with 88 wins and 61 losses, finishing 9+12 games behind the New York Yankees.[4] Jimmie Foxx led the American League with a .349 batting average, 50 home runs and 175 RBIs, becoming the first player to win three American League MVP Awards.[5]

Season standings edit

American League W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 99 53 0.651 55–22 44–31
Boston Red Sox 88 61 0.591 52–23 36–38
Cleveland Indians 86 66 0.566 13 46–30 40–36
Detroit Tigers 84 70 0.545 16 48–31 36–39
Washington Senators 75 76 0.497 23½ 44–33 31–43
Chicago White Sox 65 83 0.439 32 33–39 32–44
St. Louis Browns 55 97 0.362 44 31–43 24–54
Philadelphia Athletics 53 99 0.349 46 28–47 25–52

Record vs. opponents edit


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHA SLB WSH
Boston 12–6 12–10 10–12 11–11–1 14–8 17–5 12–9
Chicago 6–12 9–13 7–15 8–14 12–10 13–8–1 10–11
Cleveland 10–12 13–9 12–10 8–13 18–4 13–9–1 12–9
Detroit 12–10 15–7 10–12 8–14 14–8 12–10–1 13–9
New York 11–11–1 14–8 13–8 14–8 16–5–2 15–7–1 16–6–1
Philadelphia 8–14 10–12 4–18 8–14 5–16–2 12–9 6–16
St. Louis 5–17 8–13–1 9–13–1 10–12–1 7–15–1 9–12 7–15
Washington 9–12 11–10 9–12 9–13 6–16–1 16–6 15–7


Opening Day lineup edit

  8 Doc Cramer CF
  7 Joe Vosmik LF
  3 Jimmie Foxx 1B
  4 Joe Cronin SS
  5 Pinky Higgins 3B
  9 Ben Chapman RF
  1 Bobby Doerr 2B
  2 Gene Desautels     C
17 Jim Bagby P

Roster edit

1938 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats edit

Batting edit

Starters by position edit

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 108 333 97 .291 2 48
1B Jimmie Foxx 149 565 197 .349 50 175
2B Bobby Doerr 145 509 147 .289 5 80
SS Joe Cronin 143 530 172 .325 17 94
3B Pinky Higgins 139 524 159 .303 5 106
OF Joe Vosmik 146 621 201 .324 9 86
OF Doc Cramer 148 658 198 .301 0 71
OF Ben Chapman 127 480 163 .340 6 80

Other batters edit

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
Johnny Peacock 72 195 59 .303 1 39
Red Nonnenkamp 87 180 51 .283 0 18
Eric McNair 46 96 15 .156 0 7
Jim Tabor 19 57 18 .316 1 8
Moe Berg 10 12 4 .333 0 0
Fabian Gaffke 15 10 1 .100 0 1

Pitching edit

Starting pitchers edit

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jack Wilson 37 194.2 15 15 4.30 96
Lefty Grove 24 163.2 14 4 3.08 99
Johnny Marcum 15 92.1 5 6 4.09 25
Joe Heving 16 82.0 8 1 3.73 34
Bill Harris 13 80.1 5 5 4.03 26

Other pitchers edit

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 43 198.2 15 11 4.21 73
Fritz Ostermueller 31 176.2 13 5 4.58 46
Emerson Dickman 32 104.0 5 5 5.28 22
Archie McKain 37 99.2 5 4 4.52 27
Charlie Wagner 13 36.2 1 3 8.35 14
Dick Midkiff 13 35.1 1 1 5.09 10
Lee Rogers 14 27.2 1 1 6.51 7

Relief pitchers edit

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Al Baker 3 0 0 0 9.39 2
Ted Olson 2 0 0 0 6.43 2
Doc Cramer 1 0 0 0 4.50 1
Bill LeFebvre 1 0 0 0 13.50 0
Byron Humphrey 1 0 0 0 9.00 1

Farm system edit

Level Team League Manager
AA Minneapolis Millers American Association Donie Bush
A1 Little Rock Travelers Southern Association Doc Prothro
A Hazleton Red Sox Eastern League Specs Toporcer
B Rocky Mount Red Sox Piedmont League Herb Brett
C Clarksdale Red Sox Cotton States League Nemo Leibold
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 Moultrie Packers Georgia–Florida League Dewey Stover
D Crookston Pirates Northern League Bill Burwell

[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Jimmie Foxx stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Red Kress page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Bradlee, Jr., Ben (2013). The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams. New York, New York: Little, Brown and Company. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-316-61435-1.
  4. ^ a b Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
  5. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 151, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  6. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links edit

  • 1938 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
  • 1938 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com