1959 Boston Red Sox season
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, 19 games behind the AL champion Chicago White Sox.
| 1959 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
| Pumpsie Green becomes the Red Sox first black player Earl Wilson becomes the Red Sox first black pitcher | |
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 75–79 (.487) |
| League place | 5th (19 GB) |
| Other information | |
| Owners | Tom Yawkey |
| President | Tom Yawkey |
| General managers | Bucky Harris |
| Managers | Pinky Higgins, Rudy York, and Billy Jurges |
| Local television | WHDH-TV |
| Local radio | WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Bob Murphy, Bill Crowley) |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
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 in his penultimate season, as he batted below .300.[5]
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | — | 47–30 | 47–30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 5 | 43–34 | 46–31 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 75 | 0.513 | 15 | 40–37 | 39–38 |
| Detroit Tigers | 76 | 78 | 0.494 | 18 | 41–36 | 35–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | 0.487 | 19 | 43–34 | 32–45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 80 | 0.481 | 20 | 38–39 | 36–41 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 66 | 88 | 0.429 | 28 | 37–40 | 29–48 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 91 | 0.409 | 31 | 34–43 | 29–48 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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 | Sammy White | 119 | 377 | 107 | .284 | 1 | 42 |
| 1B | Dick Gernert | 117 | 298 | 78 | .262 | 11 | 42 |
| 2B | Pete Runnels | 147 | 560 | 176 | .314 | 6 | 57 |
| SS | Don Buddin | 151 | 485 | 117 | .241 | 10 | 53 |
| 3B | Frank Malzone | 154 | 604 | 169 | .280 | 19 | 92 |
| LF | Ted Williams | 103 | 272 | 69 | .254 | 10 | 43 |
| CF | Marty Keough | 96 | 251 | 61 | .243 | 7 | 27 |
| RF | Jackie Jensen | 148 | 535 | 148 | .277 | 28 | 112 |
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 |
| Gene Stephens | 92 | 270 | 75 | .278 | 3 | 39 |
| Vic Wertz | 94 | 247 | 68 | .275 | 7 | 49 |
| Pumpsie Green | 50 | 172 | 40 | .233 | 1 | 10 |
| Pete Daley | 65 | 169 | 38 | .225 | 1 | 11 |
| Jim Busby | 61 | 102 | 23 | .225 | 1 | 5 |
| Bobby Ávila | 22 | 45 | 11 | .244 | 3 | 6 |
| Jim Mahoney | 31 | 23 | 3 | .130 | 1 | 4 |
| Bill Renna | 14 | 22 | 2 | .091 | 0 | 2 |
| Jerry Mallett | 4 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 1 |
| Billy Consolo | 10 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 0 |
| Herb Plews | 13 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Gile | 3 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Ted Lepcio | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Haywood Sullivan | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brewer | 36 | 215.1 | 10 | 12 | 3.76 | 121 |
| Jerry Casale | 31 | 179.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.31 | 93 |
| Frank Sullivan | 30 | 177.2 | 9 | 11 | 3.95 | 107 |
| Ted Wills | 9 | 56.1 | 2 | 6 | 5.27 | 24 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Monbouquette | 34 | 151.2 | 7 | 7 | 4.15 | 87 |
| Ike Delock | 28 | 134.1 | 11 | 6 | 2.95 | 55 |
| Frank Baumann | 26 | 95.2 | 6 | 4 | 4.05 | 48 |
| Al Schroll | 14 | 46.0 | 1 | 4 | 4.70 | 26 |
| Jack Harshman | 8 | 24.2 | 2 | 3 | 6.57 | 14 |
| Earl Wilson | 9 | 23.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 17 |
| Billy Hoeft | 5 | 17.2 | 0 | 3 | 5.60 | 8 |
| Ted Bowsfield | 5 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 4 |
| Herb Moford | 4 | 8.2 | 0 | 2 | 11.42 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Fornieles | 46 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 3.07 | 54 |
| Leo Kiely | 41 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4.20 | 30 |
| Murray Wall | 26 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5.51 | 14 |
| Nelson Chittum | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.19 | 12 |
| Dave Sisler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
Awards and honors
- Jackie Jensen, Gold Glove Award (OF)
- Frank Malzone, Gold Glove Award (3B)
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Minneapolis, Waterloo, Alpine
Source:[7][8]
References
- Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
- Mike Page at Baseball-Reference
- Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
- Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
- Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
- 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
- Boston Red Sox Official Profile, Photo and Data Book. 1959. p. 30. Retrieved March 13, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
External links
- 1959 Boston Red Sox team at Baseball-Reference
- 1959 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
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