1959 Boston Red Sox season
| 1959 Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pumpsie Green becomes the Red Sox first black player Earl Wilson becomes the Red Sox first black pitcher | ||
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston | |
| Owners | Tom Yawkey | |
| Managers | Pinky Higgins, Rudy York, and Billy Jurges | |
| Television | WHDH-TV | |
| Radio | WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Bob Murphy, Bill Crowley) | |
| ||
The 1959 Boston Red Sox season was the 59th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League (AL) with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses, nineteen games behind the AL champion Chicago White Sox.
Offseason
1958 turned out to be Jimmy Piersall's final season with the Red Sox. On December 2, 1958, Piersall was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Gary Geiger and Vic Wertz.[1]
Notable transactions
- Prior to 1959 season: Mike Page was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.[2]
- March 9, 1959: Bob Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Chuck Tanner.[3]
Regular season
- The 1959 season was the year that the color barrier was broken for the Red Sox. On July 21, Elijah "Pumpsie" Green became the first black player to play for the Red Sox.[4] A week later, Earl Wilson became the first black pitcher to play for the team.[1]
- Ted Williams would have an off year as he batted below .300.[5]
Season standings
| 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
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- July 26, 1959: Bud Byerly was traded by the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants for Billy Muffett and cash.[6]
- September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was sold by Red Sox to Cleveland Indians.[3]
Opening day lineup
| 24 | Don Buddin | SS |
| 3 | Pete Runnels | 2B |
| 10 | Gene Stephens | CF |
| 6 | Vic Wertz | 1B |
| 4 | Jackie Jensen | RF |
| 11 | Frank Malzone | 3B |
| 37 | Gary Geiger | RF |
| 22 | Sammy White | C |
| 23 | Tom Brewer | P |
Roster
| 1959 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LF | Ted Williams | 103 | 272 | 69 | .254 | 10 | 43 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Geiger | 120 | 335 | 82 | .245 | 11 | 48 |
| Vic Wertz | 94 | 247 | 68 | .275 | 7 | 49 |
| Pumpsie Green | 50 | 172 | 40 | .233 | 1 | 10 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brewer | 36 | 215.1 | 10 | 12 | 3.76 | 121 |
| Jerry Casale | 31 | 179.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.31 | 93 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Baumann | 26 | 95.2 | 6 | 4 | 4.05 | 48 |
| Earl Wilson | 9 | 23.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 17 |
| Ted Bowsfield | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 4 |
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 |
|---|
Awards and honors
- Jackie Jensen, Gold Glove Award (OF)
- Frank Malzone, Gold Glove Award (3B)
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Minneapolis, Waterloo, Alpine[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 32, World Publications Group, North Dighton, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-57215-412-8
- ^ Mike Page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ a b Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
- ^ The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 33
- ^ The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 31
- ^ Billy Muffett at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
External links
- 1959 Boston Red Sox team at Baseball-Reference
- 1959 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
