1955 Washington Senators season

Last updated

1955  Washington Senators
League American League
Ballpark Griffith Stadium
City Washington, D.C.
Record53–101 (.344)
League place8th
Owners Clark Griffith (majority owner)
Managers Chuck Dressen
Television WTTG
Radio WWDC (FM)
(Arch McDonald, Bob Wolff, Les Sands)
  1954 Seasons 1956  

The 1955 Washington Senators season was the franchise's 55th in Major League Baseball. The Senators won 53 games, lost 101, and finished in eighth place in the American League. They were managed by Chuck Dressen and played home games at Griffith Stadium, where they draw 425,238 fans, eighth and last in the American League and 16th and last in MLB. [1]

Contents

It was Dressen's first year as the Senators' manager, after Bucky Harris had led the 1954 club to a 66–88, sixth place finish. Dressen, 60, came to Washington two years removed from a highly successful three-year term as skipper of the Brooklyn Dodgers, where his teams finished in a dead heat for first in 1951 (losing the 1951 National League tie-breaker series on Bobby Thomson's famous home run), then won back-to-back NL titles in 1952 and 1953. But in each of the latter seasons, his Dodgers were defeated by the New York Yankees in the World Series, and when Dressen decided to demand a three-year contract to return to Brooklyn for 1954, his owner, Walter O'Malley, let his 1953 contract expire. Dressen spent 1954 managing Oakland in the highly competitive Pacific Coast League, and his return to the major leagues was viewed with anticipation by some observers. [2]

His hiring was a departure for the Senators' management and ownership. He was the first manager outside the Washington team's "family" hired during Clark Griffith's presidency, which began in 1920. Through 1954, Griffith had appointed eight different men to manage his club (with one, Harris, serving three different terms), and all had been current or former Senator players. Dressen, as a veteran National Leaguer and a high profile manager with New York ties, broke that 35-season trend.

And, though no one knew it at the time, 1955 would be a milestone for baseball in Washington when it proved to be Griffith's last season as the club's president and chief stockholder. He died at age 85 on October 27, and his nephew Calvin, who succeeded him, would move the franchise to Minneapolis–Saint Paul as the Minnesota Twins after only five seasons as the Senators' president.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9658.62352254433
Cleveland Indians 9361.604349284433
Chicago White Sox 9163.591549284235
Boston Red Sox 8470.5451247313739
Detroit Tigers 7975.5131746313344
Kansas City Athletics 6391.4093333433048
Baltimore Orioles 5797.3703930472750
Washington Senators 53101.3444328492552

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
TeamBALBOSCWSCLEDETKCANYYWSH
Baltimore 8–1410–12–13–199–1310–12–13–1914–8
Boston 14–89–1311–1113–914–88–1415–7
Chicago 12–10–113–910–1214–814–811–1117–5
Cleveland 19–311–1112–1012–1017–513–99–13
Detroit 13–99–138–1410–1212–1010–1217–5
Kansas City 12–10–18–148–145–1710–127–1513–9
New York 19–314–811–119–1312–1015–716–6
Washington 8–147–155–1713–95–179–136–16

Notable transactions

Roster

1955 Washington Senators
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

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

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Ed Fitz Gerald 7423656.237419
1B Mickey Vernon 150538162.3011485
2B Pete Runnels 134503143.284249
SS José Valdivielso 9429465.221228
3B Eddie Yost 12237591.243748
LF Roy Sievers 144509138.27125106
CF Tom Umphlett 11032370.217219
RF Carlos Paula 115351105.299645

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Ernie Oravetz 10026371.270025
Clint Courtney 7523871.298230
Jim Busby 4719144.230614
Johnny Groth 6318340.219217
Bobby Kline 7714031.22109
Juan Delis 5413225.189011
Jerry Snyder 4610724.22405
Harmon Killebrew 388016.20047
Bruce Edwards 305710.17503
Tony Roig 295713.22804
Jerry Schoonmaker 20467.15214
Steve Korcheck 133610.27802
Jim Lemon 10255.20013
Jesse Levan 16163.18814
Julio Bécquer 10143.21401
Tom Wright 770.00000
Bob Oldis 660.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Bob Porterfield 30178.010174.4574
Johnny Schmitz 32165.07103.7149
Mickey McDermott 31156.010103.7578

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Dean Stone 43180.06134.1584
Chuck Stobbs 41140.14145.0060
Pedro Ramos 45130.05113.8834
Camilo Pascual 43129.02126.1482
Ted Abernathy 40119.1595.9679
Webbo Clarke 721.1004.649
Bunky Stewart 715.1004.1110

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Bob Chakales 292305.2728
Spec Shea 272223.9916
Bill Currie 300012.462
Dick Hyde 30004.501
Vince Gonzales 100027.001
Bobby Kline 100027.000

Award winners

All-Star Game

[6]

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AA Chattanooga Lookouts Southern Association Cal Ermer
A Charlotte Hornets Sally League Jimmy Bloodworth
B Hagerstown Packets Piedmont League Johnny Welaj
B Rock Hill Chiefs Tri-State League Buster Boguskie, Frank Colasinski
and Pete Treece
D Orlando C.B.s Florida State League Tommy O'Brien
D Fulton Lookouts KITTY League Ned Waldrop, Sam Lamitina,
Mel Simons and Bob Harmon
D Erie Senators PONY League Ted Sepkowski

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Orlando

References

  1. Baseball Reference: 1955 Miscellaneous Team Information
  2. Povich, Shirley, "Schemeboat on the Potomac", Baseball Digest, May 1955
  3. Choo Choo Coleman page at Baseball Reference
  4. Al Sima page at Baseball Reference
  5. Bob Chakales page at Baseball Reference
  6. "1955 All-Star Game".