Major League Baseball team season
| 1959 Cleveland Indians | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Ballpark | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | |||
| City | Cleveland, Ohio | |||
| Owners | William R. Daley | |||
| General managers | Frank Lane | |||
| Managers | Joe Gordon | |||
| Television | WEWS-TV (Ken Coleman, Bill McColgan) | |||
| Radio | WERE (Jimmy Dudley, Bob Neal) | |||
| ||||
The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th season in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, 5 games behind the American League Champion Chicago White Sox.
Offseason
- October 27, 1958: Jay Porter was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Ossie Álvarez.
- 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.
- December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall.
- January 23, 1959: Earl Averill, Jr. and Morrie Martin were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.
Regular season
On June 10, right fielder Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 47–30 | 47–30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 5 | 43–34 | 46–31 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 75 | .513 | 15 | 40–37 | 39–38 |
| Detroit Tigers | 76 | 78 | .494 | 18 | 41–36 | 35–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | .487 | 19 | 43–34 | 32–45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 80 | .481 | 20 | 38–39 | 36–41 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 66 | 88 | .429 | 28 | 37–40 | 29–48 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 91 | .409 | 31 | 34–43 | 29–48 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1959 American League record Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE | DET | KCA | 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.
- May 4, 1959: Randy Jackson was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Smith.
- June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Jones.
- September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.
Opening Day Lineup
| Opening Day Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position |
| 37 | Jimmy Piersall | CF |
| 1 | Billy Martin | 2B |
| 9 | Minnie Miñoso | LF |
| 6 | Rocky Colavito | RF |
| 15 | Russ Nixon | C |
| 10 | Vic Power | 1B |
| 3 | Woodie Held | 3B |
| 4 | George Strickland | 2B |
| 39 | Gary Bell | P |
Roster
| 1959 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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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 | 234.0 | 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 | 153.0 | 12 | 10 | 2.65 | 79 |
| Bobby Locke | 24 | 77.2 | 0 | 1 | 5.22 | 17 |
| Don Ferrarese | 15 | 76.0 | 5 | 3 | 3.20 | 45 |
| Mike Garcia | 29 | 72.0 | 3 | 6 | 4.00 | 49 |
| Jack Harshman | 13 | 66.0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Brodowski | 18 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1.80 | 9 |
| Al Cicotte | 26 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5.32 | 23 |
| Bud Podbielan | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.84 | 5 |
| Humberto Robinson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 | 6 |
Awards and honors
League leaders
- Rocky Colavito, American League leader in home runs (tied)
Farm system
See also: Minor League BaseballLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Selma
References
- Jay Porter page at Baseball Reference
- Billy Martin page at Baseball Reference
- Jim Piersall page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference
- 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
- Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
- Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
- Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
- "1959 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference"
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
External links
- 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference
- 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
- 1959 WS page at Baseball Reference
| 1959 MLB season by team | |
|---|---|
| American League | |
| National League | |
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