1939 Brooklyn Dodgers season
Major League Baseball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers started the year with a new manager, Leo Durocher, who became both the team's manager and starting shortstop. They also became the first New York NL team to have a regular radio broadcast, with Red Barber handling the announcers job, and the first team to have a television broadcast (during their August 26 home game doubleheaders against the Reds, both of which WNBT covered for the NBC network). The team finished in third place, showing some improvement over the previous seasons.
.svg){kind=logo}
| 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Record | 84â69 (.549) |
| League place | 3rd |
| Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Brooklyn Trust Company |
| President | Larry MacPhail |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Radio | WHN, WOR Red Barber, Al Helfer |
Offseason
- December 13, 1938: Fred Frankhouse was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Bees for Joe Stripp.[1]
- December 13, 1938: Lew Krausse and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jimmy Outlaw.[2]
- December 13, 1938: Jimmy Outlaw and Buddy Hassett were traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Bees for Gene Moore and Ira Hutchinson.[2]
- December 19, 1938: Luke Sewell was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox.[3]
- February 2, 1939: Tom Lanning was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.[4]
- February 6, 1939: Kemp Wicker[5] and Chris Hartje[6] were purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.
- February 23, 1939: Woody English was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs.[7]
- March 31, 1939: Bill Posedel was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Bees for Al Todd.[8]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 97 | 57 | .630 | â | 55âââ25 | 42âââ32 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 61 | .601 | 4½ | 51âââ27 | 41âââ34 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | 69 | .549 | 12½ | 51âââ27 | 33âââ42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 44âââ34 | 40âââ36 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 74 | .510 | 18½ | 41âââ33 | 36âââ41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 68 | 85 | .444 | 28½ | 35âââ42 | 33âââ43 |
| Boston Bees | 63 | 88 | .417 | 32½ | 37âââ35 | 26âââ53 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45 | 106 | .298 | 50½ | 29âââ44 | 16âââ62 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | â | 10â12â1 | 6â16 | 6â16 | 10â11 | 13â8 | 9â12 | 9â13 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 12â10â1 | â | 11â11â2 | 10â12 | 12â10 | 17â4â1 | 13â9 | 9â13 | |||||
| Chicago | 16â6 | 11â11â2 | â | 10â12 | 11â11 | 12â10 | 14â8 | 10â12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16â6 | 12â10 | 12â10 | â | 11â11 | 19â3 | 16â6 | 11â11â2 | |||||
| New York | 11â10 | 10â12 | 11â11 | 11â11 | â | 14â7 | 11â11 | 9â12 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8â13 | 4â17â1 | 10â12 | 3â19 | 7â14 | â | 8â14 | 5â17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 12â9 | 9â13 | 8â14 | 6â16 | 11â11 | 14â8 | â | 8â14 | |||||
| St. Louis | 13â9 | 13â9 | 12â10 | 11â11â2 | 12â9 | 17â5 | 14â8 | â | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 3, 1939: Lyn Lary was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians.[9]
- June 15, 1939: Mel Almada was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Browns.[10]
- July 18, 1939: Pee Wee Reese was purchased by the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox.[11]
- August 12, 1939: Herman Besse was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Athletics.[12]
- August 12, 1939: Al Hollingsworth was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.[13]
- August 17, 1939: Rae Blaemire was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Giants.[14]
- August 23, 1939: Ray Hayworth was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Giants for Jimmy Ripple[15]
Roster
| 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches | ||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Babe Phelps | 98 | 323 | 92 | .285 | 6 | 42 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 157 | 565 | 164 | .290 | 26 | 104 |
| 2B | Pete Coscarart | 115 | 419 | 116 | .277 | 4 | 43 |
| 3B | Cookie Lavagetto | 153 | 587 | 176 | .300 | 10 | 87 |
| SS | Leo Durocher | 116 | 390 | 108 | .277 | 1 | 34 |
| OF | Gene Moore | 107 | 306 | 69 | .225 | 3 | 39 |
| OF | Art Parks | 71 | 239 | 65 | .272 | 1 | 19 |
| OF | Ernie Koy | 125 | 425 | 118 | .278 | 8 | 67 |
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 Hudson | 109 | 343 | 87 | .254 | 2 | 32 |
| Al Todd | 86 | 245 | 68 | .278 | 5 | 32 |
| Dixie Walker | 61 | 225 | 63 | .280 | 2 | 38 |
| Tuck Stainback | 68 | 201 | 54 | .269 | 3 | 19 |
| Goody Rosen | 54 | 183 | 46 | .251 | 1 | 12 |
| Mel Almada | 39 | 112 | 24 | .214 | 0 | 3 |
| Jimmy Ripple | 28 | 106 | 35 | .330 | 0 | 22 |
| Fred Sington | 32 | 84 | 23 | .274 | 1 | 7 |
| Tony Lazzeri | 14 | 39 | 11 | .282 | 3 | 6 |
| Lyn Lary | 29 | 31 | 5 | .161 | 0 | 1 |
| Ray Hayworth | 21 | 26 | 4 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Hartje | 9 | 16 | 5 | .313 | 0 | 5 |
| Oris Hockett | 9 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 1 |
| Lindsay Deal | 4 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Gene Schott | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Hamlin | 40 | 269.2 | 20 | 13 | 3.64 | 88 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 27 | 151.1 | 7 | 9 | 3.87 | 44 |
| Whit Wyatt | 16 | 109.0 | 8 | 3 | 2.31 | 52 |
| Van Mungo | 14 | 77.1 | 4 | 5 | 3.26 | 34 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 40 | 227.1 | 15 | 10 | 2.93 | 79 |
| Vito Tamulis | 39 | 158.2 | 9 | 8 | 4.37 | 83 |
| Tot Pressnell | 31 | 156.2 | 9 | 7 | 4.02 | 43 |
| Red Evans | 24 | 64.1 | 1 | 8 | 5.18 | 28 |
| Bill Crouch | 6 | 38.1 | 4 | 0 | 2.58 | 10 |
| Al Hollingsworth | 8 | 27.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.27 | 11 |
| Carl Doyle | 5 | 17.2 | 1 | 2 | 1.02 | 7 |
| Boots Poffenberger | 3 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ira Hutchinson | 41 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4.34 | 46 |
| George Jeffcoat | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors
- 1939 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Dolph Camilli reserve
- Cookie Lavagetto reserve
- Babe Phelps reserve
- Whit Wyatt reserve
- TSN Manager of the Year Award
- TSN Major League Executive of the Year Award
League top five finishers
- #3 in NL in home runs (26)
- #4 in NL in runs batted in (104)
- #4 in NL in runs scored (105)
- #4 in NL in on-base percentage (.409)
- #4 in NL in slugging percentage (.524)
- #4 in NL in earned run average (2.93)
- #4 in NL in wins (20)
- #4 in NL in stolen bases (14)
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greenwood, Pine Bluff