1939 Cleveland Indians season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1939 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League with a record of 87â67, 201â2 games behind the New York Yankees.
| 1939 Cleveland Indians | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | League Park Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| City | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Owners | Alva Bradley |
| General managers | Cy Slapnicka |
| Managers | Ossie Vitt |
| Radio | WCLE (Jack Graney, Pinky Hunter) |
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | .702 | â | 52âââ25 | 54âââ20 |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | .589 | 17 | 42âââ32 | 47âââ30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | .565 | 20½ | 44âââ33 | 43âââ34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 22½ | 50âââ27 | 35âââ42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | .526 | 26½ | 42âââ35 | 39âââ38 |
| Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | .428 | 41½ | 37âââ39 | 28âââ48 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | .362 | 51½ | 28âââ48 | 27âââ49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64½ | 18âââ59 | 25âââ52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | â | 8â14 | 11â11 | 10â12 | 11â8â1 | 18â4 | 16â6 | 15â7 | |||||
| Chicago | 14â8 | â | 12â10 | 12â10 | 4â18 | 11â11 | 18â4 | 14â8â1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 11â11 | 10â12 | â | 11â11 | 7â15 | 18â4 | 16â6 | 14â8 | |||||
| Detroit | 12â10 | 10â12 | 11â11 | â | 9â13 | 11â11 | 14â8â1 | 14â8 | |||||
| New York | 8â11â1 | 18â4 | 15â7 | 13â9 | â | 18â4 | 19â3 | 15â7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 4â18 | 11â11 | 4â18 | 11â11 | 4â18 | â | 13â9â1 | 8â12 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6â16 | 4â18 | 6â16 | 8â14â1 | 3â19 | 9â13â1 | â | 7â15 | |||||
| Washington | 7â15 | 8â14â1 | 8â14 | 8â14 | 7â15 | 12â8 | 15â7 | â | |||||
Roster
| 1939 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team 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 | Rollie Hemsley | 107 | 395 | 104 | .263 | 2 | 36 |
| 1B | Hal Trosky | 122 | 448 | 150 | .335 | 25 | 104 |
| 2B | Odell Hale | 108 | 253 | 79 | .312 | 4 | 48 |
| SS | Skeeter Webb | 81 | 269 | 71 | .264 | 2 | 26 |
| 3B | Ken Keltner | 154 | 587 | 191 | .325 | 13 | 97 |
| OF | Jeff Heath | 121 | 431 | 126 | .292 | 14 | 69 |
| OF | Bruce Campbell | 130 | 450 | 129 | .287 | 8 | 72 |
| OF | Ben Chapman | 149 | 545 | 158 | .290 | 6 | 82 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar Grimes | 119 | 364 | 98 | .269 | 4 | 56 |
| Roy Weatherly | 95 | 323 | 100 | .310 | 1 | 32 |
| Lou Boudreau | 53 | 225 | 58 | .258 | 0 | 19 |
| Frankie Pytlak | 63 | 183 | 49 | .268 | 0 | 14 |
| Ray Mack | 36 | 112 | 17 | .152 | 1 | 6 |
| Moose Solters | 41 | 102 | 28 | .275 | 2 | 19 |
| Jim Shilling | 31 | 98 | 27 | .276 | 0 | 12 |
| Earl Averill | 24 | 55 | 15 | .273 | 1 | 7 |
| Luke Sewell | 16 | 20 | 3 | .150 | 0 | 1 |
| Lyn Lary | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
| = Indicates league leader |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Feller | 39 | 296.2 | 24 | 9 | 2.85 | 246 |
| Al Milnar | 37 | 209.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.79 | 76 |
| Mel Harder | 29 | 208.0 | 15 | 9 | 3.50 | 67 |
| Johnny Allen | 28 | 175.0 | 9 | 7 | 4.58 | 79 |
| Willis Hudlin | 27 | 143.0 | 9 | 10 | 4.91 | 28 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Drake | 8 | 15.0 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 1 |
| Floyd Stromme | 5 | 13.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.85 | 4 |
| Lefty Sullivan | 7 | 12.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.26 | 4 |
| Mike Naymick | 2 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 1.93 | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Eisenstat | 26 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3.30 | 38 |
| Joe Dobson | 35 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5.88 | 27 |
| Johnny Broaca | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4.70 | 13 |
| Bill Zuber | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.97 | 16 |
| Johnny Humphries | 15 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8.26 | 12 |
Awards and honors
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | Buffalo Bisons | International League | Steve O'Neill |
| A1 | New Orleans Pelicans | Southern Association | Roger Peckinpaugh |
| A | Wilkes-Barre Barons | Eastern League | Eddie Phillips |
| B | Cedar Rapids Raiders | IllinoisâIndianaâIowa League | Ollie Marquardt |
| B | Winston-Salem Twins | Piedmont League | Charles Clancy and Alvin Crowder |
| B | Spartanburg Spartans | Sally League | Leon Pettit |
| C | Tyler Trojans | East Texas League | Bobby Goff |
| C | Springfield Indians | Middle Atlantic League | Earl Wolgamot |
| D | Troy Trojans | AlabamaâFlorida League | Bloomer Milner |
| D | Greeneville Burley Cubs | Appalachian League | Sam Alexander |
| D | Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets | Bi-State League | Arnold Anderson |
| D | Opelousas Indians | Evangeline League | Joe Woodard |
| D | Logan Indians | Mountain State League | Eddie Hock |
| D | Fargo-Moorhead Twins | Northern League | Jack Knight |
| D | Mansfield Indians | Ohio State League | Ray French and Dewey Stover |
| D | Niagara Falls Rainbows | PONY League | Tim Murchison |