1959 Boston Red Sox season
| 1959 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
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Pumpsie Green becomes the Red Sox first black player Earl Wilson becomes the Red Sox first black pitcher | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Tom Yawkey |
| General manager(s) | Bucky Harris |
| Manager(s) | Pinky Higgins, Rudy York, and Billy Jurges |
| Local television | WHDH-TV |
| Local radio |
WHDH-AM 850 (Curt Gowdy, Bob Murphy, Bill Crowley) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1959 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 5th in the American League with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses, nineteen games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.
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. Elijah "Pumpsie" Green became the first black player to play for the Red Sox.[4] Later in the season, Earl Wilson became the first black pitcher to play for the Boston Red Sox.[1]
- Ted Williams would have an off year as he batted below .300.[5]
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | .610 | -- |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 5 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 75 | .513 | 15 |
| Detroit Tigers | 76 | 78 | .494 | 18 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | .487 | 19 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 80 | .481 | 20 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 66 | 88 | .429 | 28 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 91 | .409 | 31 |
Record vs. opponents
1959 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | 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 | |||||||||
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| 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LF | Williams, TedTed Williams | 103 | 272 | 69 | .254 | 10 | 43 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geiger, GaryGary Geiger | 120 | 335 | 82 | .245 | 11 | 48 |
| Wertz, VicVic Wertz | 94 | 247 | 68 | .275 | 7 | 49 |
| Green, PumpsiePumpsie Green | 50 | 172 | 40 | .233 | 1 | 10 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewer, TomTom Brewer | 36 | 215.1 | 10 | 12 | 3.76 | 121 |
| Casale, JerryJerry Casale | 31 | 179.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.31 | 93 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baumann, FrankFrank Baumann | 26 | 95.2 | 6 | 4 | 4.05 | 48 |
| Wilson, EarlEarl Wilson | 9 | 23.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 17 |
| Bowsfield, TedTed Bowsfield | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also
Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Minneapolis, Waterloo, Alpine[7]
Notes
- 1 2 The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 32, World Publications Group, North Dighton, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-57215-412-8
- ↑ Mike Page at Baseball-Reference
- 1 2 Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
- ↑ The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 33
- ↑ The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p. 31
- ↑ 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
References
- 1959 Boston Red Sox team at Baseball-Reference
- 1959 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
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