The 1939 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 58th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 48th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 92–61 during the season and finished second in the National League.
Regular season
Season summary Shortly after the end of the 1938 season, owner Sam Breadon appointed former reserve Cardinals outfielder Ray Blades as manager. He had managed many of the organization's top young players in Columbus, Ohio, and Rochester, New York.
A feisty skipper, Blades guided the Cardinals back into the pennant race. The Cincinnati Reds took over first place on May 26 and never fell back. The Cards seized second place at midseason and played at a .708 clip in the final 65 games-including a 29–6 record at home the second half, but never could catch the Reds.
The Redbirds made Cincinnati work down the stretch, though. They took two games from the Reds with the third of the three-game series washed out as a tie, and that pulled the Cards to only 3 and a half games back. Twice the Cardinals drew a game closer in September.
An old trade haunted the Cards: Paul Derringer, a former St. Louis farmhand, went 25–7 for the Reds. That record included a 5–3 victory in September that clinched the pennant for the Reds.
The best offense in the league was at least partially responsible for the Cardinals' dramatic turn. They led the NL in runs and made the most of their speed to head the league in doubles and triples. Their .294 team batting average was 16 points higher than anyone else's.
The trade that sent Dizzy Dean to the Chicago Cubs actually paid some dividends. Curt Davis, one of the two pitchers picked up in the deal, led the Redbirds' staff in almost every category. Clyde Shoun, the other ex-Cub, worked a team-high 51 games out of the bullpen. With rookie Mort Cooper winning 12 games and working more than 200 innings, the Cards pitchers posted the league's second-best ERA.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1939 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader 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 131 344 89 .259 3 35 1B 153 564 197 .349 28 108 2B 120 425 114 .268 3 30 SS 147 645 192 .298 3 51 3B 148 524 141 .269 7 54 OF 150 606 201 .332 14 117 OF 149 604 193 .320 12 86 OF 130 417 123 .295 17 77
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 88 281 86 .306 3 37 92 233 93 .399 5 53 74 117 28 .239 0 10 89 85 20 .235 0 11 34 75 14 .187 0 9 15 29 5 .172 0 6 17 17 1 .059 0 3 9 9 1 .111 0 1 3 6 2 .333 0 1 2 4 1 .250 0 0 6 4 2 .500 0 2 7 3 0 .000 0 0 2 1 0 .000 0 0 2 0 0 ---- 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 49 248.0 22 16 3.63 70 45 210.2 12 6 3.25 130 34 162.0 13 7 3.78 59 32 146.1 10 12 3.57 63 7 37.2 2 1 2.39 14
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 51 169.1 13 5 2.60 78 43 156.0 12 5 3.81 56 20 85.1 4 4 4.22 54
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 53 3 1 9 3.76 50 16 0 1 0 6.07 16 11 1 2 0 6.75 6 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 1 0 1 0 5.40 3 1 0 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 1
Awards and honors
Cardinals in the 1939 All-Star Game Pitcher Curt Davis Outfielder Joe Medwick First baseman Johnny Mize Outfielder Terry Moore Pitcher Lon Warneke
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Sacramento, Asheville, Kilgore, Springfield, Albuquerque, Cambridge, Albany, Washington, GastoniaJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
Notes
References 1939 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference 1939 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com