1920 Boston Red Sox season

The 1920 Boston Red Sox season was the 20th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League (AL) with a record of 72 wins and 81 losses, ​25 ¹⁄₂ games behind the Cleveland Indians, who went on to win the 1920 World Series.

1920 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Fenway Park (since 1912) Boston, Massachusetts (since 1901)
Results
Record	72–81 (.471)
League place	5th (​25 ^1⁄2 GB)
Other information
Owner(s)	Harry Frazee
Manager(s)	Ed Barrow
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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Offseason

On January 5, 1920, news that the Red Sox sold their star pitcher-turned-outfielder Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 (equivalent to $1,800,000 in 2019) became public, the sub-headline in The New York Times the next day read, "Highest Purchase Price in Baseball History Paid for Game's Greatest Slugger."[1] The trade to the Yankees would live in infamy for generations of Boston fans for over 8 and a half decades and was one of the worse highlights of that offseason.

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cleveland Indians	98	56	0.636	—	51–27	47–29
Chicago White Sox	96	58	0.623	2	52–25	44–33
New York Yankees	95	59	0.617	3	49–28	46–31
St. Louis Browns	76	77	0.497	21½	40–38	36–39
Boston Red Sox	72	81	0.471	25½	41–35	31–46
Washington Senators	68	84	0.447	29	37–38	31–46
Detroit Tigers	61	93	0.396	37	32–46	29–47
Philadelphia Athletics	48	106	0.312	50	25–50	23–56

Record vs. opponents

1920 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	12–10	6–16	13–9	9–13	13–9–1	9–13	10–11
Chicago	10–12	—	10–12	19–3	10–12	16–6	14–8	17–5
Cleveland	16–6	12–10	—	15–7	9–13	16–6	15–7	15–7
Detroit	9–13	3–19	7–15	—	7–15	12–10–1	10–12	13–9
New York	13–9	12–10	13–9	15–7	—	19–3	12–10	11–11
Philadelphia	9–13–1	6–16	6–16	10–12–1	3–19	—	8–14	6–16
St. Louis	13–9	8–14	7–15	12–10	10–12	14–8	—	12–9–1
Washington	11–10	5–17	7–15	9–13	11–11	16–6	9–12–1	—

Opening Day lineup

Harry Hooper	RF
Mike McNally	2B
Mike Menosky	LF
Tim Hendryx	RF
Stuffy McInnis	1B
Eddie Foster	3B
Everett Scott	SS
Roxy Walters	C
Allen Russell	P

Roster

1920 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Joe Bush Hal Deviney Gary Fortune Harry Harper Waite Hoyt Sad Sam Jones Hack Eibel Benn Karr Elmer Myers Herb Pennock Allen Russell		Catchers Ed Chaplin Mickey Devine Wally Schang Paddy Smith Roxy Walters Infielders Cliff Brady Eddie Foster Ray Grimes Hob Hiller Stuffy McInnis Mike McNally Everett Scott Ossie Vitt		Outfielders Gene Bailey Hack Eibel Tim Hendryx Harry Hooper Herb Hunter Mike Menosky George Orme Ben Paschal Jigger Statz		Manager Ed Barrow

Player stats

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	Roxy Walters	88	258	51	.198	0	28
1B	Stuffy McInnis	148	559	166	.297	2	71
2B	Mike McNally	93	312	80	.256	0	23
3B	Eddie Foster	117	386	100	.259	0	41
SS	Everett Scott	154	569	153	.269	4	61
OF	Tim Hendryx	99	363	119	.328	0	73
OF	Mike Menosky	141	532	158	.297	3	64
OF	Harry Hooper	139	536	167	.312	7	53

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
Gene Bailey	46	135	31	.230	0	5
Cliff Brady	53	180	41	.228	0	12
Ed Chaplin	4	5	1	.200	0	0
Mickey Devine	8	12	2	.167	0	0
Hack Eibel	29	47	8	.186	0	6
Ray Grimes	1	4	1	.250	0	0
Hob Hiller	17	29	5	.172	0	2
Herb Hunter	4	12	1	.083	0	0
George Orme	4	6	2	.333	0	1
Ben Paschal	9	28	19	.357	0	5
Wally Schang	122	387	118	.305	4	51
Paddy Smith	2	2	0	.000	0	0
Jigger Statz	2	3	0	.000	0	0
Ossie Vitt	87	296	65	.220	1	28

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
Sam Jones	37	274.0	13	16	3.94	86
Joe Bush	35	243.2	15	15	4.25	88
Herb Pennock	37	242.1	16	13	3.68	68
Harry Harper	27	162.2	5	14	3.04	71
Allen Russell	16	107.2	5	6	3.01	53
Elmer Myers	12	97.0	9	1	2.13	34

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
Hal Deviney	1	0	0	0	15.00	0
Hack Eibel	3	0	0	0	3.48	5
Gary Fortune	14	0	2	0	5.83	10
Waite Hoyt	22	6	6	1	4.38	45
Benn Karr	26	3	8	1	4.81	21

References

1. "Ruth Bought By New York Americans For $125,000, Highest Price in Baseball Annals". New York Times. January 6, 1920.

• 1920 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1920 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com