1938 Boston Red Sox season
Major League Baseball season
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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+1â2 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1938 World Series.
| 1938 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 88â61 (.591) |
| League place | 2nd |
| Owners | Tom Yawkey |
| President | Tom Yawkey |
| General managers | Eddie Collins |
| Managers | Joe Cronin |
| Radio | WAAB (Fred Hoey) |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference |
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]
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
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+1â2 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
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 99 | 53 | .651 | â | 55âââ22 | 44âââ31 |
| Boston Red Sox | 88 | 61 | .591 | 9½ | 52âââ23 | 36âââ38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 86 | 66 | .566 | 13 | 46âââ30 | 40âââ36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | 70 | .545 | 16 | 48âââ31 | 36âââ39 |
| Washington Senators | 75 | 76 | .497 | 23½ | 44âââ33 | 31âââ43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 65 | 83 | .439 | 32 | 33âââ39 | 32âââ44 |
| St. Louis Browns | 55 | 97 | .362 | 44 | 31âââ43 | 24âââ54 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | 99 | .349 | 46 | 28âââ47 | 25âââ52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | â | 12â6 | 12â10 | 10â12 | 11â11â1 | 14â8 | 17â5 | 12â9 | |||||
| Chicago | 6â12 | â | 9â13 | 7â15 | 8â14 | 12â10 | 13â8â1 | 10â11 | |||||
| Cleveland | 10â12 | 13â9 | â | 12â10 | 8â13 | 18â4 | 13â9â1 | 12â9 | |||||
| Detroit | 12â10 | 15â7 | 10â12 | â | 8â14 | 14â8 | 12â10â1 | 13â9 | |||||
| New York | 11â11â1 | 14â8 | 13â8 | 14â8 | â | 16â5â2 | 15â7â1 | 16â6â1 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8â14 | 10â12 | 4â18 | 8â14 | 5â16â2 | â | 12â9 | 6â16 | |||||
| St. Louis | 5â17 | 8â13â1 | 9â13â1 | 10â12â1 | 7â15â1 | 9â12 | â | 7â15 | |||||
| Washington | 9â12 | 11â10 | 9â12 | 9â13 | 6â16â1 | 16â6 | 15â7 | â | |||||
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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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
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 |