1959 Cleveland Indians season

The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, five games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.

1959 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932) Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	William R. Daley
General manager(s)	Frank Lane
Manager(s)	Joe Gordon
Local television	WEWS-TV (Ken Coleman, Bill McColgan)
Local radio	WERE (Jimmy Dudley, Bob Neal)
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Offseason

• October 27, 1958: Jay Porter was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Ossie Álvarez.[1]
• November 20, 1958: Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and Ossie Álvarez were traded by the Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Billy Martin and Al Cicotte.[2]
• December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall.[3]
• January 23, 1959: Earl Averill, Jr. and Morrie Martin were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.[4]

Regular season

On June 10, right fielder Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.[5]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Sox	94	60	0.610	—	47–30	47–30
Cleveland Indians	89	65	0.578	5	43–34	46–31
New York Yankees	79	75	0.513	15	40–37	39–38
Detroit Tigers	76	78	0.494	18	41–36	35–42
Boston Red Sox	75	79	0.487	19	43–34	32–45
Baltimore Orioles	74	80	0.481	20	38–39	36–41
Kansas City Athletics	66	88	0.429	28	37–40	29–48
Washington Senators	63	91	0.409	31	34–43	29–48

Record vs. opponents

1959 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	8–14	11–11–1	10–12	13–9	8–14	12–10	12–10
Boston	14–8	—	8–14	8–14	11–11	11–11	13–9	10–12
Chicago	11–11–1	14–8	—	15–7	13–9	12–10	13–9–1	16–6
Cleveland	12–10	14–8	7–15	—	14–8	15–7	11–11	16–6
Detroit	9–13	11–11	9–13	8–14	—	15–7	14–8	10–12
Kansas City	14–8	11–11	10–12	7–15	7–15	—	5–17	12–10
New York	10–12	9–13	9–13–1	11–11	8–14	17–5	—	15–7
Washington	10–12	12–10	6–16	6–16	12–10	10–12	7–15	—

Notable transactions

• April 11, 1959: Mickey Vernon was traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Braves for Humberto Robinson.[6]
• May 4, 1959: Randy Jackson was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Smith.[7]
• June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Jones.[4]
• September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.[8]

Roster

1959 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 39 Gary Bell 32 John Briggs 48 Dick Brodowski 20 Al Cicotte 34 Don Ferrarese 25 Mike Garcia 33 Mudcat Grant 23 Jack Harshman 23,29 Bobby Locke 22 Cal McLish 31 Jim Perry 23 Bud Podbielan 29 Humberto Robinson 27 Herb Score 28 Bob Smith 23 Jake Striker		Catchers 11 Dick Brown  8 Ed Fitz Gerald 18 Hal Naragon 15 Russ Nixon Infielders 32 Jim Baxes 45 Gordy Coleman  7 Granny Hamner  3 Woodie Held  2 Randy Jackson 12 Willie Jones  7 Gene Leek  1 Billy Martin 18 Billy Moran 10 Vic Power  4 George Strickland  5 Ray Webster		Outfielders  6 Rocky Colavito 14 Tito Francona 30 Carroll Hardy  9 Minnie Miñoso 37 Jimmy Piersall 26 Chuck Tanner 17 Elmer Valo Other batters 45 Jim Bolger 38 Don Dillard		Manager 35 Joe Gordon Coaches 43 Mel Harder (Pitching) 42 Red Kress (First Base) 21 Bob Lemon 41 Bill Lobe (Bullpen) 40 Jo-Jo White (Third Base)

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	Russ Nixon	82	258	62	.240	1	29
1B	Vic Power	147	595	172	.289	10	60
2B	Billy Martin	73	242	63	.260	9	24
SS	Woodie Held	143	525	132	.251	29	71
3B	George Strickland	132	441	105	.238	3	48
LF	Minnie Miñoso	148	570	172	.302	21	92
CF	Jimmy Piersall	100	317	78	.246	4	30
RF	Rocky Colavito	154	588	151	.257	42	111

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
Tito Francona	122	399	145	.363	20	79
Jim Baxes	77	247	59	.239	15	34
Dick Brown	48	141	31	.220	5	16
Ed Fitz Gerald	49	129	35	.271	1	4
Ray Webster	40	74	15	.203	2	10
Granny Hamner	27	67	11	.164	1	3
Carroll Hardy	32	53	11	.208	0	2
Chuck Tanner	14	48	12	.250	1	5
Hal Naragon	14	36	10	.278	0	5
Gene Leek	13	36	8	.222	1	5
Elmer Valo	34	24	7	.292	0	5
Willie Jones	11	18	4	.222	0	1
Billy Moran	11	17	5	.294	0	2
Gordy Coleman	6	15	8	.533	0	2
Don Dillard	10	10	4	.400	0	1
Jim Bolger	8	7	0	.000	0	0
Randy Jackson	7	7	1	.143	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
Cal McLish	35	235.1	19	8	3.63	113
Gary Bell	44	234	16	11	4.04	136
Herb Score	30	160.2	9	11	4.71	147
Jake Striker	1	6.2	1	0	2.70	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
Mudcat Grant	38	165.1	10	7	4.14	85
Jim Perry	44	153	12	10	2.65	79
Bobby Locke	24	77.2	0	1	5.22	17
Don Ferrarese	15	76	5	3	3.20	45
Mike Garcia	29	72	3	6	4.00	49
Jack Harshman	13	66	5	1	2.59	35
Bob Smith	12	29.1	0	1	5.22	17
John Briggs	4	12.2	0	1	5.22	17

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
Al Cicotte	26	3	1	1	5.32	23
Dick Brodowski	18	2	2	5	1.80	9
Bud Podbielan	6	0	1	0	5.84	5
Humberto Robinson	5	1	0	0	4.15	6

Awards and honors

• First All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power
• Second All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power

League leaders

• Rocky Colavito, American League leader in home runs (tied)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	San Diego Padres	Pacific Coast League	Catfish Metkovich
AA	Mobile Bears	Southern Association	Mel McGaha
A	Reading Indians	Eastern League	Al Hollingsworth
B	Burlington Indians	Carolina League	Pinky May
C	Minot Mallards	Northern League	Ken Landenberger
D	Selma Cloverleafs	Alabama–Florida League	Johnny Lipon
D	North Platte Indians	Nebraska State League	Mark Wylie
D	Batavia Indians	New York–Penn League	Paul O'Dea

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Selma[9]

Notes

1. Jay Porter page at Baseball Reference
2. Billy Martin page at Baseball Reference
3. Jim Piersall page at Baseball Reference
4. Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference
5. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
6. Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
7. Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
8. Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
9. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

• 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference
• 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• 1959 WS page at Baseball Reference