The 1940 Boston Red Sox season was the 40th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished tied for fourth place in the American League (AL) with a record of 82 wins and 72 losses, eight games behind the Detroit Tigers.
Preseason
Transactions November 12, 1939: The Red Sox purchase outfielder Dom DiMaggio and pitcher Larry Powell from the San Francisco Seals. December 8, 1939: The Red Sox purchase infielder Marvin Owen from the Chicago White Sox. December 26, 1939: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase infielder Louis "Boze" Berger from the Red Sox off of waivers. January 25, 1940: The Red Sox announce the signing of pitcher Earl Johnson to a contract. February 2, 1940: Catcher Moe Berg is removed from the active roster. Berg would remain with the Red Sox as a coach for the 1940 and 1941 seasons. February 8, 1940: The Red Sox sell pitcher Elden Aukur to the St. Louis Browns. February 13, 1940: The Red Sox sell outfielder Joe Vosmik to the Brooklyn Dodgers. March 29, 1940: The Red Sox send pitcher Russell Evans to the Minneapolis Millers to complete the deal in which Herb Hash, George Lacy, and Bill Butland were sent to the Red Sox from Minneapolis. April 14, 1940: Pitcher Ted Olson is sold by the Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles.
Regular season
Transactions
April 23: The Red Sox sign pitcher Emmett O'Neill of St. Mary's College. April 25: The St. Louis Browns sell catcher Joe Glenn to the Boston Red Sox. April 28: The Philadelphia Phillies announce the purchase of first baseman Art Mahan from the Louisville Colonels. July 25: Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis fines the Red Sox $500 and forces them to release Pitcher Larry Jansen after Red Sox scout Ernie Johson signed Jansen to an illegal "blank contract." August 3: The Brooklyn Dodgers purchase pitcher Lesley Flowers from the Louisville Colonels. August 13: The Red Sox purchase pitcher Bill Fleming from the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. August 19: The Red Sox claim infielder Charles Gelbert off of waivers from the Washington Nationals. September 5: The Red Sox announce the acquisition of shortstop Skeeter Newsome from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Hal Seling and another player to be named later. September 6: The Red Sox announce the purchase of pitcher Mike Ryba from the Rochester Red Wings for cash and a player to be named later. September 11: The Red Sox sell outfielder Leo Nonnenkamp to the Newark Bears.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup 7 Dom DiMaggio RF 8 Doc Cramer CF 9 Ted Williams LF 3 Jimmie Foxx 1B 4 Joe Cronin SS 1 Bobby Doerr 2B 5 Jim Tabor 3B 2 Gene Desautels C10 Lefty Grove P
Roster 1940 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers
InfieldersOutfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (First base) (Third base) (Pitching)
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 Gene Desautels 71 222 50 .225 0 17 1B Jimmie Foxx 144 515 153 .297 36 119 2B Bobby Doerr 151 595 173 .291 22 105 SS 149 548 156 .285 24 111 3B Jim Tabor 120 459 131 .285 21 81 OF 150 661 200 .303 1 51 OF Ted Williams 144 561 193 .344 23 113 OF 108 418 126 .301 8 46
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 Lou Finney 130 534 171 .320 5 73 Johnny Peacock 63 131 37 .282 0 13 Charlie Gelbert 30 91 18 .198 0 8 Stan Spence 51 68 19 .279 2 13 Tom Carey 43 62 20 .323 0 7 Marv Owen 20 57 12 .211 0 6 Joe Glenn 22 47 6 .128 0 4 Tony Lupien 10 19 9 .474 0 4 Red Nonnenkamp 9 7 0 .000 0 1
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 Lefty Grove 22 153.1 7 6 3.99 62 Denny Galehouse 25 120.0 6 6 5.18 53 3 21.0 1 2 5.57 5
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 36 182.2 10 16 4.73 57 Jack Wilson 41 157.2 12 6 5.08 102 Fritz Ostermueller 31 143.2 5 9 4.95 80 Herb Hash 34 120.0 7 7 4.95 36 Joe Heving 39 119.0 12 7 4.01 55 Emerson Dickman 35 100.0 8 6 6.03 40 Earl Johnson 17 70.1 6 2 4.09 26 Mickey Harris 13 68.1 4 2 5.00 36 Bill Fleming 10 46.1 1 2 4.86 24 Yank Terry 4 19.1 1 0 8.84 9 Alex Mustaikis 6 15.0 0 1 9.00 6 Woody Rich 3 11.2 1 0 0.77 8
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 Charlie Wagner 12 1 0 0 5.52 13 Ted Williams 1 0 0 0 4.50 1
Farm system
Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
External links 1940 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1940 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com