1939 Cincinnati Reds season

1939 Cincinnati Reds
1939 National League Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Location
Crosley Field (since 1934)
Cincinnati (since 1882)
Other information
Owner(s)	Powel Crosley, Jr.
General manager(s)	Warren Giles
Manager(s)	Bill McKechnie
Local radio	WSAI (Roger Baker, Dick Bray) WCPO (Harry Hartman)
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The 1939 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished first in the National League, winning the pennant by 4½ games over the St. Louis Cardinals with a record of 97–57. The team went on to the 1939 World Series, which it lost in four straight games to the New York Yankees.

Regular season

During the season, Paul Derringer and Bucky Walters became the last pitchers to win at least 25 games in one season for the Reds in the 20th century.^[1]

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Cincinnati Reds	97	57	--	.630
St. Louis Cardinals	92	61	4.5	.601
Brooklyn Dodgers	84	69	12.5	.549
Chicago Cubs	84	70	13	.545
New York Giants	77	74	18.5	.510
Pittsburgh Pirates	68	85	28.5	.444
Boston Bees	63	88	32.5	.417
Philadelphia Phillies	45	106	50.5	.298

Record vs. opponents

1939 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	10–12–1	6–16	6–16	10–11	13–8	9–12	9–13
Brooklyn	12–10–1	—	11–11–2	10–12	12–10	17–4–1	13–9	9–13
Chicago	16–6	11–11–2	—	10–12	11–11	12–10	14–8	10–12
Cincinnati	16–6	12–10	12–10	—	11–11	19–3	16–6	11–11–2
New York	11–10	10–12	11–11	11–11	—	14–7	11–11	9–12
Philadelphia	8–13	4–17–1	10–12	3–19	7–14	—	8–14	5–17
Pittsburgh	12–9	9–13	8–14	6–16	11–11	14–8	—	8–14
St. Louis	13–9	13–9	12–10	11–11–2	12–9	17–5	14–8	—

Notable transactions

• August 19, 1939: Milt Shoffner was selected off waivers by the Reds from the Boston Bees.^[2]
• August 31, 1939: Al Simmons was purchased by the Reds from the Boston Bees.^[3]

Roster

1939 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers 37 Red Barrett 37 Peaches Davis 30 Paul Derringer 42 Lee Grissom 14 Art Jacobs 14 Hank Johnson 36 Wes Livengood 35 Whitey Moore 38 Pete Naktenis 36 Johnny Niggeling 14 Elmer Riddle 37 Milt Shoffner 39 Junior Thompson 33 Johnny Vander Meer 31 Bucky Walters 34 Jim Weaver		Catchers  5 Willard Hershberger  4 Ernie Lombardi  3 Jimmie Wilson Infielders 11 Lonny Frey 19 Milt Galatzer 17 Eddie Joost 10 Frank McCormick 12 Billy Myers 45 Nolen Richardson 15 Lew Riggs 18 Billy Werber		Outfielders 22 Wally Berger 27 Nino Bongiovanni 26 Frenchy Bordagaray 23 Harry Craft 28 Vince DiMaggio 25 Lee Gamble 24 Ival Goodman 36 Bud Hafey 38 Al Simmons 34,38 Dick West Other batters 16 Les Scarsella		Manager  1 Bill McKechnie Coaches  2 Hank Gowdy  3 Jimmie Wilson

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	Lombardi, ErnieErnie Lombardi	130	450	129	.287	20	85
3B	Werber, BillyBilly Werber	147	599	173	.289	5	57
OF	Berger, WallyWally Berger	97	329	85	.258	14	44

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
Simmons, AlAl Simmons	9	21	3	.143	0	1
West, DickDick West	8	19	4	.211	0	4
DiMaggio, VinceVince DiMaggio	8	14	1	.071	0	2
Wilson, JimmieJimmie Wilson	4	3	1	.333	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
Walters, BuckyBucky Walters	39	319	27	11	2.29	137
Derringer, PaulPaul Derringer	38	301	25	7	2.93	128

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
Grissom, LeeLee Grissom	33	153.2	9	7	4.10	53
Thompson, JuniorJunior Thompson	42	152.1	13	5	2.54	87
Shoffner, MiltMilt Shoffner	10	37.2	2	2	3.35	6

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
Johnson, HankHank Johnson	20	0	3	1	2.01	10
Davis, PeachesPeaches Davis	20	1	0	2	6.26	4
Livengood, WesWes Livengood	5	0	0	0	5.93	4
Weaver, JimJim Weaver	3	0	0	0	3.00	3
Barrett, RedRed Barrett	2	0	0	0	1.69	1
Jacobs, ArtArt Jacobs	1	0	0	1	9.00	1

1939 World Series

Game 1

October 4, 1939 at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	6	0
W: Red Ruffing (1–0)  L: Paul Derringer (0–1)

Game 2

October 5, 1939 at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
New York (A)	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	x	4	9	0
W: Monte Pearson (1–0)  L: Bucky Walters (0–1)
HR: : NYY – Babe Dahlgren (1)

Game 3

October 7, 1939 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (A)	2	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	7	5	1
Cincinnati (N)	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	10	0
W: Bump Hadley (1–0)   L: Junior Thompson (0–1)
HR: NYY – Charlie Keller (1, 2), Joe DiMaggio (1), Bill Dickey (1)

Game 4

October 8, 1939 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	3	7	7	1
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	4	11	4
W: Johnny Murphy (1–0)   L: Bucky Walters (0–2)
HR: NYY – Charlie Keller (3), Bill Dickey (2)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Ray Schalk and Wes Griffin
A1	Birmingham Barons	Southern Association	Dutch Zwilling
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Rabbit Maranville
B	Durham Bulls	Piedmont League	Oscar Roettger
B	Columbia Reds	Sally League	Johnny Burnett
B	Waterloo Red Hawks	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Cap Crossley
C	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	Frank O'Rourke
C	Helena Seaporters	Cotton States League	Buster Blakeney
C	Erie Sailors	Middle Atlantic League	Jocko Munch
C	Ogden Reds	Pioneer League	Bill McCorry
C	Muskogee Reds	Western Association	Lester "Pat" Patterson
D	Bassett Furniture Makers	Bi-State League	Walter Novak

^[4]

Notes

1. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
2. Milt Shoffner page at Baseball Reference
3. Al Simmons page at Baseball Reference
4. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

• 1939 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference