1939 Detroit Tigers season

The 1939 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 81–73, 26​¹⁄₂ games behind the New York Yankees.

1939 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Briggs Stadium (since 1912) Detroit (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter Briggs, Sr.
General manager(s)	Jack Zeller
Manager(s)	Del Baker
Local radio	WWJ (AM) (Ty Tyson) WXYZ (Harry Heilmann)
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Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	106	45	0.702	—	52–25	54–20
Boston Red Sox	89	62	0.589	17	42–32	47–30
Cleveland Indians	87	67	0.565	20½	44–33	43–34
Chicago White Sox	86	69	0.555	22	50–27	36–42
Detroit Tigers	81	73	0.526	26½	42–35	39–38
Washington Senators	65	88	0.425	42	37–40	28–48
Philadelphia Athletics	55	97	0.362	51½	28–48	27–49
St. Louis Browns	43	111	0.279	64½	18–59	25–52

Record vs. opponents

1939 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	8–14	11–11	10–12	11–8–1	18–4	16–6	15–7
Chicago	14–8	—	12–10	12–10	4–18	11–11	18–4	14–8–1
Cleveland	11–11	10–12	—	11–11	7–15	18–4	16–6	14–8
Detroit	12–10	10–12	11–11	—	9–13	11–11	14–8–1	14–8
New York	8–11–1	18–4	15–7	13–9	—	18–4	19–3	15–7
Philadelphia	4–18	11–11	4–18	11–11	4–18	—	13–9–1	8–12
St. Louis	6–16	4–18	6–16	8–14–1	3–19	9–13–1	—	7–15
Washington	7–15	8–14–1	8–14	8–14	7–15	12–8	15–7	—

Notable transactions

• May 13, 1939: Vern Kennedy, Bob Harris, George Gill, Roxie Lawson, Chet Laabs, and Mark Christman were traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Browns for Red Kress, Beau Bell, Bobo Newsom, and Jim Walkup.[1]

Roster

1939 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 22 Al Benton 10 Tommy Bridges 25 Slick Coffman 24 Harry Eisenstat 29 Floyd Giebell 16 George Gill 26 Bob Harris 18 Fred Hutchinson 11 Vern Kennedy 23 Roxie Lawson 27 Red Lynn 28 Archie McKain 16 Hal Newhouser 12 Bobo Newsom -- Cotton Pippen 14 Schoolboy Rowe 11 Bud Thomas 15 Dizzy Trout 26 Jim Walkup		Catchers  8 Dixie Parsons 30 Merv Shea  1 Birdie Tebbetts  4 Rudy York Infielders 12 Mark Christman  3 Frank Croucher  2 Charlie Gehringer  5 Hank Greenberg  6 Pinky Higgins 23 Red Kress 27 Benny McCoy  7 Billy Rogell		Outfielders 24 Earl Averill 20 Beau Bell 19 Roy Cullenbine 20 Les Fleming  9 Pete Fox 17 Chet Laabs 21 Barney McCosky  8 Dixie Walker		Manager 32 Del Baker Coaches 17 Gordie Hinkle 31 Bing Miller 30 Merv Shea

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	Birdie Tebbetts	106	341	89	.261	4	53
1B	Hank Greenberg	138	500	156	.312	33	113
2B	Charlie Gehringer	118	406	132	.325	16	86
SS	Frank Croucher	97	324	87	.269	5	40
3B	Pinky Higgins	132	489	135	.276	8	76
OF	Earl Averill	87	309	81	.262	10	58
OF	Barney McCosky	147	611	190	.311	4	58
OF	Pete Fox	141	519	153	.295	7	66

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
Red Kress	51	157	38	.242	1	22
Beau Bell	54	134	32	.239	0	24

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

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
Al Benton	37	150	6	8	4.56	67

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

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
A1	Beaumont Exporters	Texas League	Al Vincent
C	Hot Springs Bathers	Cotton States League	Conard Fisher
C	Henderson Oilers	East Texas League	Jake Atz
D	Fulton Tigers	KITTY League	Charlie Eckert
D	Newport Canners	Northeast Arkansas League	Clary Harris
D	Tiffin Mud Hens	Ohio State League	Jimmy Lawrence and Al Curry

[2]

References

1. Red Kress at Baseball Reference
2. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

External links

• 1939 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference