1939 St. Louis Cardinals season

1939 St. Louis Cardinals
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 92–61 (.601)
League place 2nd
Other information
Owner(s) Sam Breadon
General manager(s) Branch Rickey
Manager(s) Ray Blades
Local radio KMOX
(France Laux, Cy Casper)
KWK
(John O'Hara, Jim Bottomley)
Stats ESPN.com
BB-reference
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The 1939 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 58th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 48th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 92–61 during the season and finished 2nd in the National League.

Regular season

Season summary

Shortly after the end of the 1938 season, owner Sam Breadon appointed former reserve Cardinals outfielder Ray Blades as manager. He had managed many of the organization's top young players in Columbus, Ohio, and Rochester, New York.

A feisty skipper, Blades guided the Cardinals back into the pennant race. The Cincinnati Reds took over first place on May 26 and never fell back. The Cards seized second place at midseason and played at a .708 clip in the final 65 games-including a 29–6 record at home the second half-but never could catch the Reds.

The Redbirds made Cincinnati work down the stretch, though. They took two games from the Reds with the third of the three-game series washed out as a tie, and that pulled the Cards to only 3 and a half games back. Twice the Cardinals drew a game closer in September.

An old trade haunted the Cards: Paul Derringer, a former St. Louis farmhand, went 25–7 for the Reds. That record included a 5–3 victory in September that clinched the pennant for the Reds.

The best offense in the league was at least partially responsible for the Cardinals' dramatic turn. They led the NL in runs and made the most of their speed to head the league in doubles and triples. Their .294 team batting average was 16 points higher than anyone else's.

The trade that sent Dizzy Dean to the Chicago Cubs actually paid some dividens. Curt Davis, one of the two pitchers picked up in the deal, led the Redbirds' staff in almost every category. Clyde Shoun, the other ex-Cub, worked a team-high 51 games out of the bullpen. With rookie Mort Cooper winning 12 games and working more than 200 innings, the Cards pitchers posted the league's second-best ERA.

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 9757 0.630 — 55–25 42–32
St. Louis Cardinals 9261 0.601 4½ 51–27 41–34
Brooklyn Dodgers 8469 0.549 12½ 51–27 33–42
Chicago Cubs 8470 0.545 13 44–34 40–36
New York Giants 7774 0.510 18½ 41–33 36–41
Pittsburgh Pirates 6885 0.444 28½ 35–42 33–43
Boston Bees 6388 0.417 32½ 37–35 26–53
Philadelphia Phillies 45106 0.298 50½ 29–44 16–62

Record vs. opponents

1939 National League Records

Sources:
Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston —10–12–16–166–1610–1113–89–129–13
Brooklyn 12–10–1—11–11–210–1212–1017–4–113–99–13
Chicago 16–611–11–2—10–1211–1112–1014–810–12
Cincinnati 16–612–1012–10—11–1119–316–611–11–2
New York 11–1010–1211–1111–11—14–711–119–12
Philadelphia 8–134–17–110–123–197–14—8–145–17
Pittsburgh 12–99–138–146–1611–1114–8—8–14
St. Louis 13–913–912–1011–11–212–917–514–8—

Roster

1939 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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

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

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
Curt Davis4924822163.6370

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
Clyde Shoun533193.7650
Nate Andrews111206.756

Awards and honors

Cardinals in the 1939 All-Star Game

Farm system

Notes

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

References

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