1953 Boston Red Sox season

1953 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Fenway Park (since 1912)
Boston, Massachusetts (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Tom Yawkey
General manager(s)	Joe Cronin
Manager(s)	Lou Boudreau
Local television	WBZ-TV, Ch. 4 and WNAC-TV, Ch. 7
Local radio	WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Bob DeLaney, Tom Hussey)
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The 1953 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing fourth in the American League with a record of 84 wins and 69 losses.

Offseason

• February 9, 1953: Vern Stephens was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox for Marv Grissom, Hal Brown and Bill Kennedy.^[1]

Regular season

• June 18, 1953: Sammy White scored three runs in one inning for the Red Sox.^[2]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	99	52	.656	--
Cleveland Indians	92	62	.604	8.5
Chicago White Sox	89	65	.578	11.5
Boston Red Sox	84	69	.549	16
Washington Senators	76	76	.500	23.5
Detroit Tigers	60	94	.325	40.5
Philadelphia Athletics	59	95	.383	41.5
St. Louis Browns	54	100	.351	46.5

Record vs. opponents

1953 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	6–16	13–9	13–9	10–11	15–7	17–5	10–12
Chicago	16–6	—	11–11–1	14–8–1	9–13	10–12	17–5	12–10
Cleveland	9–13	11–11–1	—	14–8	11–11	19–3	17–5	11–11
Detroit	9–13	8–14–1	8–14	—	6–16	11–11–3	7–15	11–11
New York	11–10	13–9	11–11	16–6	—	17–5	17–5	14–6
Philadelphia	7–15	12–10	3–19	11–11–3	5–17	—	13–9	8–14
St. Louis	5–17	5–17	5–17	15–7	5–17	9–13	—	10–12
Washington	12–10	10–12	11–11	11–11	6–14	14–8	12–10	—

Opening Day lineup

10	Billy Goodman	2B
37	Jimmy Piersall	RF
38	Gene Stephens	LF
3	Dick Gernert	1B
1	George Kell	3B
22	Sammy White	C
38	Tom Umphlett	CF
2	Milt Bolling	SS
17	Mel Parnell	P

Notable transactions

• July 1, 1953: Marv Grissom was selected off waivers from the Red Sox by the New York Giants.^[1]

Roster

1953 Boston Red Sox roster
Roster
Pitchers 27 Hal Brown 15 Ike Delock 25 Ben Flowers 23 Hersh Freeman 15 Marv Grissom 28 Bill Henry 14 Ken Holcombe 20 Sid Hudson 18 Bill Kennedy 16 Ellis Kinder 19 Mickey McDermott 21 Willard Nixon 17 Mel Parnell 18 Frank Sullivan 28 Bill Werle		Catchers 11 Gus Niarhos 22 Sammy White 33 Del Wilber Infielders 29 Floyd Baker  2 Milt Bolling  8 Billy Consolo  3 Dick Gernert 10 Billy Goodman  1 George Kell  5 Ted Lepcio  6 Johnny Lipon 12 Jack Merson 35 Al Richter		Outfielders 31 Hoot Evers 34 Karl Olson 37 Jimmy Piersall 36 Gene Stephens 38 Tom Umphlett  9 Ted Williams 32 Al Zarilla Other batters  7 Dom DiMaggio 30 Clyde Vollmer		Manager  4 Lou Boudreau Coaches 41 Del Baker 40 Bill McKechnie 42 Ski Melillo 45 Paul Schreiber 43 George Susce

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	White, SammySammy White	136	476	130	.273	13	64

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

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
Brown, HalHal Brown	30	166.1	11	6	4.65	62
Grissom, MarvMarv Grissom	13	59.1	2	6	4.70	31

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

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
Kennedy, BillBill Kennedy	16	0	0	2	3.70	14

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Louisville Colonels	American Association	Pinky Higgins
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Jack Burns and Elmer Yoter
B	Greensboro Patriots	Carolina League	Eddie Popowski
B	Roanoke Ro-Sox	Piedmont League	Elmer Yoter
C	San Jose Red Sox	California League	Red Marion and Joe Stephenson
D	Salisbury Rocots	Tar Heel League	Sheriff Robinson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: San Jose

Roanoke club folded, July 24, 1953

Notes

1. Marv Grissom at Baseball-Reference
2. Baseball Digest, April 1984

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1953 Boston Red Sox team at Baseball-Reference
• 1953 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com