1940 Boston Red Sox season

1940  Boston Red Sox
League	American League
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	82–72 (.532)
League place	4th (tied; 8 GB)
Owners	Tom Yawkey
President	Tom Yawkey
General managers	Eddie Collins
Managers	Joe Cronin
Radio	WAAB (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
←  1939 Seasons 1941  →

The 1940 Boston Red Sox season was the 40th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished tied for fourth place in the American League (AL) with a record of 82 wins and 72 losses, eight games behind the Detroit Tigers.

Preseason

Transactions

• November 12, 1939: The Red Sox purchase outfielder Dom DiMaggio and pitcher Larry Powell from the San Francisco Seals. ^[1]
• December 8, 1939: The Red Sox purchase infielder Marvin Owen from the Chicago White Sox. ^[2]
• December 26, 1939: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase infielder Louis "Boze" Berger from the Red Sox off of waivers. ^[3]
• January 25, 1940: The Red Sox announce the signing of pitcher Earl Johnson to a contract. ^[4]
• February 2, 1940: Catcher Moe Berg is removed from the active roster. ^[5] Berg would remain with the Red Sox as a coach for the 1940 and 1941 seasons. ^[6]
• February 9, 1940: The Red Sox sell pitcher Elden Aukur to the St. Louis Browns. ^[7]
• February 13, 1940: The Red Sox sell outfielder Joe Vosmik to the Brooklyn Dodgers. ^[8]
• March 29, 1940: The Red Sox send pitcher Russell Evans to the Minneapolis Millers to complete the deal in which Herb Hash, George Lacy, and Bill Butland were sent to the Red Sox from Minneapolis. ^[9]
• April 14, 1940: Pitcher Ted Olson is sold by the Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles. ^[10]

Regular season

Transactions

• April 23: The Red Sox sign pitcher Emmett O'Neill of St. Mary's College. ^[11]
• April 25: The St. Louis Browns sell catcher Joe Glenn to the Boston Red Sox. ^[12]
• April 28: The Philadelphia Phillies announce the purchase of first baseman Art Mahan from the Louisville Colonels. ^[13]
• July 25: Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis fines the Red Sox $500 and forces them to release Pitcher Larry Jansen after Red Sox scout Ernie Johson signed Jansen to an illegal "blank contract." ^[14]
• August 3: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase pitcher Lesley Flowers from the Louisville Colonels. ^[15]
• August 13: The Red Sox purchase pitcher Bill Fleming from the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. ^[16]
• August 19: The Red Sox claim infielder Charles Gelbert off of waivers from the Washington Nationals. ^[17]
• September 5: The Red Sox announce the acquisition of shortstop Skeeter Newsome from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Hal Seling and another player to be named later. ^[18]
• September 6: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Mike Ryba from the Rochester Red Wings for cash and a player to be named later. ^[19]
• September 11: The Red Sox sell outfielder Leo Nonnenkamp to the Newark Bears. ^[20]

Season standings

v t e American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Detroit Tigers	90	64	0.584	—	50–29	40–35
Cleveland Indians	89	65	0.578	1	51–30	38–35
New York Yankees	88	66	0.571	2	52–24	36–42
Boston Red Sox	82	72	0.532	8	45–34	37–38
Chicago White Sox	82	72	0.532	8	41–36	41–36
St. Louis Browns	67	87	0.435	23	37–39	30–48
Washington Senators	64	90	0.416	26	36–41	28–49
Philadelphia Athletics	54	100	0.351	36	29–42	25–58

Record vs. opponents

1940 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHA	SLB	WSH
Boston	—	11–11	8–14	11–11	9–13	18–4	12–10	13–9
Chicago	11–11	—	6–16	13–9	11–11–1	16–6	13–9	12–10
Cleveland	14–8	16–6	—	11–11	10–12	14–8	11–11–1	13–9
Detroit	11–11	9–13	11–11	—	14–8	11–11	18–4–1	16–6
New York	13–9	11–11–1	12–10	8–14	—	13–9	14–8	17–5
Philadelphia	4–18	6–16	8–14	11–11	9–13	—	8–14	8–14
St. Louis	10–12	9–13	11–11–1	4–18–1	8–14	14–8	—	11–11
Washington	9–13	10–12	9–13	6–16	5–17	14–8	11–11	—

Opening Day lineup

7	Dom DiMaggio	RF
8	Doc Cramer	CF
9	Ted Williams	LF
3	Jimmie Foxx	1B
4	Joe Cronin	SS
1	Bobby Doerr	2B
5	Jim Tabor	3B
2	Gene Desautels	C
10	Lefty Grove	P

Roster

1940 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 17 Jim Bagby 28 Bill Butland 16 Emerson Dickman 28 Bill Fleming 12 Denny Galehouse 10 Lefty Grove 20 Mickey Harris 29 Herb Hash 19 Joe Heving 20 Earl Johnson 28 Alex Mustaikis 21 Fritz Ostermueller 15 Woody Rich 27 Yank Terry 27 Charlie Wagner 18 Jack Wilson		Catchers  2 Gene Desautels 26 Joe Glenn 23 Johnny Peacock Infielders 14 Tom Carey  4 Joe Cronin  1 Bobby Doerr  3 Jimmie Foxx 15 Charlie Gelbert 32 Tony Lupien  6 Marv Owen  5 Jim Tabor		Outfielders  8 Doc Cramer  7 Dom DiMaggio 25 Lou Finney 24 Stan Spence  9 Ted Williams Other batters 24 Red Nonnenkamp		Manager  4 Joe Cronin Coaches 22 Moe Berg (First base) 30 Tom Daly (Third base) 31 Frank Shellenback (Pitching)

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	Gene Desautels	71	222	50	.225	0	17
1B	Jimmie Foxx	144	515	153	.297	36	119
2B	Bobby Doerr	151	595	173	.291	22	105
SS	Joe Cronin	149	548	156	.285	24	111
3B	Jim Tabor	120	459	131	.285	21	81
OF	Doc Cramer	150	661	200	.303	1	51
OF	Ted Williams	144	561	193	.344	23	113
OF	Dom DiMaggio	108	418	126	.301	8	46

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
Lou Finney	130	534	171	.320	5	73
Johnny Peacock	63	131	37	.282	0	13
Charlie Gelbert	30	91	18	.198	0	8
Stan Spence	51	68	19	.279	2	13
Tom Carey	43	62	20	.323	0	7
Marv Owen	20	57	12	.211	0	6
Joe Glenn	22	47	6	.128	0	4
Tony Lupien	10	19	9	.474	0	4
Red Nonnenkamp	9	7	0	.000	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
Lefty Grove	22	153.1	7	6	3.99	62
Denny Galehouse	25	120.0	6	6	5.18	53
Bill Butland	3	21.0	1	2	5.57	5

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	36	182.2	10	16	4.73	57
Jack Wilson	41	157.2	12	6	5.08	102
Fritz Ostermueller	31	143.2	5	9	4.95	80
Herb Hash	34	120.0	7	7	4.95	36
Joe Heving	39	119.0	12	7	4.01	55
Emerson Dickman	35	100.0	8	6	6.03	40
Earl Johnson	17	70.1	6	2	4.09	26
Mickey Harris	13	68.1	4	2	5.00	36
Bill Fleming	10	46.1	1	2	4.86	24
Yank Terry	4	19.1	1	0	8.84	9
Alex Mustaikis	6	15.0	0	1	9.00	6
Woody Rich	3	11.2	1	0	0.77	8

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
Charlie Wagner	12	1	0	0	5.52	13
Ted Williams	1	0	0	0	4.50	1

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Louisville Colonels	American Association	Bill Burwell
A	Scranton Red Sox	Eastern League	Nemo Leibold
B	Rocky Mount Red Sox	Piedmont League	Heinie Manush
C	Canton Terriers	Middle Atlantic League	Floyd "Pat" Patterson
D	Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox	Appalachian League	Hobe Brummette
D	Danville-Schoolfield Leafs	Bi-State League	Red Barnes
D	Centreville Red Sox	Eastern Shore League	Ed Walls

Source: ^[21]

References

1. "Third DiMaggio To Big Leagues". Lewiston Morning Tribune . November 13, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
2. "Boston Sox Purchase Infielder Marvin Owen". Reading Eagle . December 8, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
3. "Brooklyn Dodgers Buy Berger From Boston". The Spokesman-Review . December 27, 1939. p. 9. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
4. "Former Gael Hurler Signs With Red Sox". Berkeley Daily Gazette . p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
5. "Moe Berg Appears Destined To Be Bull Pen Catcher". Lewiston Evening Journal . February 2, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
6. Bielakowski, Alexander M., ed. (2013). Ethnic and Racial Minorities in the U.S. Military: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 90. ISBN   978-1-59884-427-6.
7. "Elden Aukur Sold By Sox". The Regina Leader-Post . February 9, 1940. p. 20. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
8. King, Bill. "Vosmik Drops Out Of .300 Class Gets Sold Down River To Dodgers". The Meriden Daily Journal . p. 4. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
9. "Red Evans Sent to Minneapolis by Red Sox". Daytona Beach Morning Journal . March 29, 1940. p. 7. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
10. "Red Sox Drop Olson". The Pittsburgh Press . April 15, 1940. p. 23. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
11. "Emmett O'Neill To Join Red Sox". Berkeley Daily Gazette . April 24, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
12. "Joe Glenn Sold to Red Sox". The Montreal Gazette . April 26, 1940. p. 17. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
13. "Phillies Purchase Mahan From Colonels". The Lewiston Daily Sun . April 29, 1940. p. 8. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
14. "Landis Plasters Fine on Red Sox". The Pittsburgh Press . July 25, 1940. p. 19. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
15. "Dodgers' Presnell Goes, Buys Southpaw". The Pittsburgh Press . August 3, 1940. p. 7. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
16. "Red Sox Purchase Fleming". The Montreal Gazette . August 14, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
17. "Sox Obtain Infielder". The Ottawa Citizen . August 20, 1940. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
18. "Red Sox Acquire Skeeter Newsome from Baltimore". Lewiston Evening Journal . September 5, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
19. "Mike Ryba Is Sold To Red Sox By Rochester". The Portsmouth Times . September 6, 1940. p. 21. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
20. "Give Up On Nonnenkamp". The Windsor Daily Star . September 11, 1940. p. 3. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
21. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

• 1940 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1940 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com