The 1940 Cincinnati Reds season was the 58th season for the franchise. Cincinnati entered the season as the reigning National League champion, having been swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series the previous year. They would defeat the Detroit Tigers four games to three to take the World Series title.
Offseason October 14, 1939: Hank Sauer was drafted by the Reds from the New York Yankees in the 1939 minor league draft.Hank Sauer at Baseball Reference October 19, 1939: Al Simmons was released by the Reds.Al Simmons at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Cincinnati won 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The team finished first in the National League with a record of 100–53, winning the pennant by 12 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the best record in MLB. They went on to face the Detroit Tigers in the 1940 World Series, beating them in seven games. This was their first championship since 1919.
In August, back up catcher Willard Hershberger, depressed over what he felt was culpability for losing both games of a doubleheader, took his life. Coach Jimmie Wilson was added to the roster as the back up catcher. The Reds players would vote to send Hershberger's share of the World Series winnings to his mother
Season standings
Detailed record Team Home Away Total Win % National League Brooklyn 6–5 8–3–1 14–8–1 Boston 7–4 5–5 12–9 Chicago 9–2 7–4 16–6 New York 8–3 7–4 15–7 Philadelphia 8–2 7–5 15–7 Pittsburgh 10–1 6–5 16–6 St. Louis 7–4–1 5–6 12–10–1 55–21 46–30 100–53 MonthGamesWonLostWin % April 9 6 3 May 26 19 7 June 27 16 11 July 28 20 8 August 32 16 16 September 31 23 8 153 100 53 GamesWonLostWin % Home 76 55 21 Away 77 45 32
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions August 23, 1940: Jimmy Ripple was selected off waivers by the Reds from the Brooklyn Dodgers.Jimmy Ripple at Baseball Reference
Roster 1940 Cincinnati Reds 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 109 376 120 .319 14 74 1B 155 618 191 .309 19 127 2B 150 563 150 .266 8 54 SS 90 282 57 .202 5 30 3B 143 584 162 .277 12 48 OF 110 417 125 .300 1 30 OF 136 519 134 .258 12 63 OF 115 422 103 .244 6 48
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 88 278 60 .216 1 24 62 211 60 .284 0 21 48 123 38 .309 0 26 31 110 31 .282 4 17 32 101 31 .307 4 20 41 72 21 .292 1 9 27 69 15 .217 0 7 38 42 6 .143 0 0 16 37 9 .243 0 3 7 28 11 .393 1 6 12 16 3 .188 0 2 2 4 1 .250 0 0 2 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 36 305.0 22 10 2.48 115 37 296.2 20 12 3.06 115 33 225.1 16 9 3.32 103 24 187.0 14 7 2.89 53
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 25 116.2 8 8 3.63 60 19 54.0 2 1 3.50 18 10 48.0 3 1 3.75 41
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 37 12 3 7 2.00 25 20 1 0 0 5.63 17 15 1 2 2 1.87 9 3 1 0 0 6.75 0 2 0 0 0 1.17 1
1940 World Series
Game 1 October 2, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati Team123456789RHEDetroit (A)0500200007101Cincinnati (N)000100010283W: Bobo Newsom (1–0) L: Paul Derringer (0–1)HR: DET – Bruce Campbell (1)Attendance: 31,739
Game 2 October 3, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati Team123456789RHEDetroit (A)200001000331Cincinnati (N)022100000590W: Bucky Walters (1–0) L: Schoolboy Rowe (0–1)HR: CIN – Jimmy Ripple (1) Attendance: 30,640
Game 3 October 4, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit Team123456789RHECincinnati (N)1000000124101Detroit (A)00010042x7131W: Tommy Bridges (1–0) L: Jim Turner (0–1)HR: : DET – Rudy York (1), Pinky Higgins (1)
Game 4 October 5, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit Team123456789RHECincinnati (N) 2011000105111Detroit (A)001001000251W: Paul Derringer (1–1) L: Dizzy Trout (0–1)
Game 5 October 6, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit Team123456789RHECincinnati (N)000000010030Detroit (A)00340001x8130W: Bobo Newsom (2–0) L: Junior Thompson (0–1)HR: : DET – Hank Greenberg (1)
Game 6 October 7, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati Team123456789RHEDetroit (A)000000000050Cincinnati (N)20000101x4102W: Bucky Walters (2–0) L: Schoolboy Rowe (0–2)HR: CIN – Bucky Walters (1)
Game 7 October 8, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati Team123456789RHEDetroit (A)001000000170Cincinnati (N)00000020x271W: Paul Derringer (2–1) L: Bobo Newsom (2–1)
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: DurhamJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
External links 1940 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference