1938 Boston Red Sox season
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 1⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1938 World Series.
1938 Boston Red Sox | |
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Jimmie Foxx named AL MVP | |
Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Results | |
Record | 88–61 (.591) |
League place | 2nd (9 1⁄2 GB) |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | Tom Yawkey |
General manager(s) | Eddie Collins |
Manager(s) | Joe Cronin |
Local radio | WAAB (Fred Hoey) |
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference |
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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
- December 2, 1937: Red Kress, Buster Mills and Bobo Newsom were traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Browns for Joe Vosmik.[2]
Regular season
The 1938 Boston Red Sox finished higher than any other Sox team since 1918.[3] The Red Sox finished in second place with 88 wins and 61 losses, finishing 11 games behind the New York Yankees.[3] 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.[4]
Season standings
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 | 9½ | 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
1938 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
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Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | 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
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
1938 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders | Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
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 |
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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
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 |
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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 |
Fabian Gaffke | 15 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 1 |
Moe Berg | 10 | 12 | 4 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
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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 | 8 | 1 | 3.73 | 34 |
Bill Harris | 13 | 80.1 | 5 | 5 | 4.03 | 26 |
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 |
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Jim Bagby | 43 | 198.2 | 15 | 11 | 4.21 | 73 |
Fritz Ostermueller | 31 | 176.2 | 13 | 5 | 4.58 | 46 |
Emerson Dickman | 32 | 104 | 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
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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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
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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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-Scholfield Leafs | Bi-State League | Red Barnes |
D | Moultrie Packers | Georgia–Florida League | Dewey Stover |
D | Crookston Pirates | Northern League | Bill Burwell |
References
- "Jimmie Foxx stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- Red Kress page at Baseball Reference
- Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 25. ISBN 1-57215-412-8.
- 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
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007