1952 Philadelphia Athletics season
The 1952 Philadelphia Athletics season saw the A's finish fourth in the American League with a record of 79 wins and 75 losses. They finished 16 games behind the eventual World Series Champion New York Yankees. The Athletics' 1952 campaign would be their final winning season in Philadelphia; it would also be their only winning season of the 1950s. The Athletics would have to wait until 1968, their first season in Oakland, for their next winning record.
| 1952 Philadelphia Athletics | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Earle Mack & Roy Mack |
| General manager(s) | Arthur Ehlers |
| Manager(s) | Jimmy Dykes |
| Local television | WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL (By Saam, Claude Haring) |
| Local radio | WIBG (By Saam, Claude Haring, George Walsh) |
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Offseason
- January 21, 1952: Wally Moses was released by the Athletics.[1]
Regular season
The Athletics improved 9 games from their 70–84 record in 1951 and improved to 4th in the American League. A Most Valuable Player season was turned in by left-handed pitcher Bobby Shantz and the A.L. batting championship was won by Ferris Fain with a .320 batting average.
Gus Zernial hit 29 home runs and drove in 100 RBI while Eddie Joost chipped in 20 HRS and 75 RBI. However, outside Bobby Shantz, who went 24–7, their best pitcher record-wise was Harry Byrd, with a 15–15 record. They finished 16 games behind the New York Yankees. This would also be the last time that the Athletics would finish with a winning record until 1968, when the team began playing in Oakland.
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 95 | 59 | 0.617 | — | 49–28 | 46–31 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | 0.604 | 2 | 49–28 | 44–33 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 14 | 44–33 | 37–40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 79 | 75 | 0.513 | 16 | 45–32 | 34–43 |
| Washington Senators | 78 | 76 | 0.506 | 17 | 42–35 | 36–41 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 78 | 0.494 | 19 | 50–27 | 26–51 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | 90 | 0.416 | 31 | 42–35 | 22–55 |
| Detroit Tigers | 50 | 104 | 0.325 | 45 | 32–45 | 18–59 |
Record vs. opponents
1952 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 9–13 | 16–6 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 | |||||
| Chicago | 10–12 | — | 8–14–1 | 17–5 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | 16–6 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | |||||
| Detroit | 6–16 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 9–13 | 5–17–1 | 8–14 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| New York | 14–8 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | 14–8 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 17–5–1 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 9–13 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
| Washington | 14–8 | 9–13–1 | 10–12 | 11–11–1 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 10, 1952: Marion Fricano was purchased by the Athletics from the Brooklyn Dodgers.[2]
Roster
| 1952 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Joe Astroth | 104 | 337 | 84 | .249 | 1 | 36 |
| 1B | Ferris Fain | 145 | 538 | 176 | .327 | 2 | 59 |
| 2B | Skeeter Kell | 75 | 213 | 47 | .221 | 0 | 17 |
| SS | Eddie Joost | 146 | 540 | 132 | .244 | 20 | 75 |
| 3B | Billy Hitchcock | 119 | 407 | 100 | .246 | 1 | 56 |
| OF | Gus Zernial | 145 | 549 | 144 | .262 | 29 | 100 |
| OF | Elmer Valo | 129 | 388 | 109 | .281 | 5 | 47 |
| OF | Dave Philley | 151 | 586 | 154 | .263 | 7 | 71 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Suder | 74 | 228 | 55 | .241 | 1 | 20 |
| Cass Michaels | 55 | 200 | 50 | .250 | 1 | 18 |
| Allie Clark | 71 | 186 | 51 | .274 | 7 | 29 |
| Ray Murray | 44 | 136 | 28 | .206 | 1 | 10 |
| Hank Majeski | 34 | 117 | 30 | .256 | 2 | 20 |
| Kite Thomas | 75 | 116 | 29 | .250 | 6 | 18 |
| Joe Tipton | 23 | 68 | 13 | .191 | 3 | 8 |
| Sherry Robertson | 43 | 60 | 12 | .200 | 0 | 5 |
| Hal Bevan | 8 | 17 | 6 | .353 | 0 | 4 |
| Tom Hamilton | 9 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Littrell | 4 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Shantz | 33 | 279.2 | 24 | 7 | 2.48 | 152 |
| Alex Kellner | 34 | 231.1 | 12 | 14 | 4.36 | 105 |
| Harry Byrd | 37 | 228.1 | 15 | 15 | 3.31 | 116 |
| Charlie Bishop | 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 17 |
| Morrie Martin | 5 | 25.1 | 0 | 2 | 6.39 | 13 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Scheib | 30 | 158 | 11 | 7 | 4.39 | 42 |
| Bob Hooper | 43 | 144.1 | 8 | 15 | 5.18 | 40 |
| Bobo Newsom | 14 | 47.2 | 3 | 3 | 3.59 | 22 |
| Charlie Bishop | 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Kucab | 25 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5.26 | 17 |
| Ed Wright | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6.53 | 9 |
| Dick Fowler | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.44 | 14 |
| Tex Hoyle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
| Marion Fricano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 0 |
| Walt Kellner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
| Len Matarazzo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Bobby Shantz, American League MVP
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Ottawa Athletics | International League | Frank Skaff |
| A | Savannah Indians | Sally League | George Staller |
| A | Lincoln Athletics | Western League | Les Bell |
| B | Fayetteville Athletics | Carolina League | Ducky Detweiler and Red Norris |
| B | Harrisburg Senators | Interstate League | Buck Etchison and Woody Wheaton |
| C | St. Hyacinthe A's | Provincial League | John Sosh |
| D | Cordele A's | Georgia–Florida League | Norm Wilson |
| D | Lexington Indians | North Carolina State League | Bob Deese, Ducky Detweiler, Carl Campbell and Cliff Bolton |
| D | Corning Athletics | PONY League | Joe Rullo |