The 1959 Boston Red Sox season was the 59th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League (AL) with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses, 19 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.
Notable transactions Prior to 1959 season: Mike Page was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.Mike Page at Baseball-Reference March 9, 1959: Bob Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Chuck Tanner.Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
Regular season The 1959 season was the year that the color barrier was broken for the Red Sox. On July 21, Elijah "Pumpsie" Green became the first black player to play for the Red Sox. A week later, Earl Wilson became the first black pitcher to play for the team. Ted Williams would have an off year in his penultimate season, as he batted below .300.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions July 26, 1959: Bud Byerly was traded by the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants for Billy Muffett and cash.Billy Muffett at Baseball-Reference September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was sold by Red Sox to Cleveland Indians.
Opening day lineup 24 Don Buddin SS 3 Pete Runnels 2B10 Gene Stephens CF 6 Vic Wertz 1B 4 Jackie Jensen RF11 Frank Malzone 3B37 Gary Geiger RF22 Sammy White C23 Tom Brewer P
Roster 1959 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
(Third base) (Pitching) (First base & Hitting)
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 Sammy White 119 377 107 .284 1 42 1B Dick Gernert 117 298 78 .262 11 42 2B Pete Runnels 147 560 176 .314 6 57 SS Don Buddin 151 485 117 .241 10 53 3B Frank Malzone 154 604 169 .280 19 92 LF 103 272 69 .254 10 43 CF Marty Keough 96 251 61 .243 7 27 RF Jackie Jensen 148 535 148 .277 28 112
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 120 335 82 .245 11 48 Gene Stephens 92 270 75 .278 3 39 94 247 68 .275 7 49 50 172 40 .233 1 10 Pete Daley 65 169 38 .225 1 11 Jim Busby 61 102 23 .225 1 5 Bobby Ávila 22 45 11 .244 3 6 Jim Mahoney 31 23 3 .130 1 4 Bill Renna 14 22 2 .091 0 2 Jerry Mallett 4 15 4 .267 0 1 Billy Consolo 10 14 3 .214 0 0 Herb Plews 13 12 1 .083 0 0 Don Gile 3 10 2 .200 0 1 Ted Lepcio 3 3 1 .333 0 1 Haywood Sullivan 4 2 0 .000 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 36 215.1 10 12 3.76 121 31 179.2 13 8 4.31 93 Frank Sullivan 30 177.2 9 11 3.95 107 Ted Wills 9 56.1 2 6 5.27 24
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 Bill Monbouquette 34 151.2 7 7 4.15 87 Ike Delock 28 134.1 11 6 2.95 55 26 95.2 6 4 4.05 48 Al Schroll 14 46.0 1 4 4.70 26 Jack Harshman 8 24.2 2 3 6.57 14 9 23.2 1 1 6.08 17 Billy Hoeft 5 17.2 0 3 5.60 8 5 9.0 0 1 15.00 4 Herb Moford 4 8.2 0 2 11.42 7
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 Mike Fornieles 46 5 3 11 3.07 54 Leo Kiely 41 3 3 7 4.20 30 Murray Wall 26 2 5 3 5.51 14 Nelson Chittum 21 3 0 0 1.19 12 Dave Sisler 3 0 0 0 6.75 3
Awards and honors Jackie Jensen, Gold Glove Award (OF) Frank Malzone, Gold Glove Award (3B)
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Minneapolis, Waterloo, Alpine
Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
See also List of first black Major League Baseball players by team and date
References
External links 1959 Boston Red Sox team at Baseball-Reference 1959 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com