1938 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1938 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League with a record of 82–68, 6 games behind the Chicago Cubs.

1938 Cincinnati Reds
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Location
Crosley Field (since 1934) Cincinnati (since 1882)
Other information
Owner(s)	Powel Crosley, Jr.
General manager(s)	Warren Giles
Manager(s)	Bill McKechnie
Local radio	WSAI (Red Barber, Dick Bray)
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Offseason

During the off-season, Cincinnati hired Bill McKechnie to manage the club. McKechnie had extensive major league experience as a manager, as he most recently managed the Boston Bees from 1930–37, leading the club to a 560–666 over eight seasons. McKechnie also managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1928–29, leading the team to a 129–88 record and winning the 1928 National League pennant. McKechnie had his most success as manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1922–26, as he earned a 409–293 record. McKechnie managed the Pirates to the 1925 National League pennant, and won the 1925 World Series as Pittsburgh defeated the Washington Senators in seven games.

On October 4, 1937, the Reds released outfielder Kiki Cuyler following the 1937 season. Cuyler spent three seasons in Cincinnati, where he batted .293 with nine home runs, 128 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 323 games.

The Reds sold centerfielder Hub Walker to the Nashville Volunteers of the Southern Association on December 2. In 78 games with the Reds in 1937, Walker hit .249 with one home run and 19 RBI.

The next day, on December 3, the Reds were involved in a trade with the New York Yankees. Cincinnati sent shortstop Eddie Miller and $40,000 to New York for catcher Willard Hershberger. Hershberger batted .325 with five home runs in 96 games with the Newark Bears of the International League during the 1937 season. Following the acquisition of Hershberger, the Reds sold catcher Gilly Campbell to the Montreal Royals of the International League three days later.

On February 3, the Reds released pitcher Bill Hallahan. Hallahan struggled to a 3–9 record with a 6.14 ERA in 21 games with the Reds during the 1937 season.

The next day, on February 4, Cincinnati purchased second baseman Lonny Frey from the Chicago Cubs. Frey hit .278 with one home run and 22 RBI in 78 games during his only season with Chicago. Previously, Frey played with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1933–36, where in his best season in 1935, Frey hit .262 with 11 home runs and 77 RBI in 131 games.

In mid-April, the Reds signed pitcher Ray Benge as a free agent. Benge did not play during the 1937 season. In the 1936 season, he earned a record of 8–13 with a 5.49 ERA in 36 games while splitting the season between the Boston Bees and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1931, Benge enjoyed his best season, as he earned a 14–18 record with a 3.17 ERA in 38 games with the Phillies.

Regular season

• Johnny Vander Meer became the only pitcher in major league history to pitch two consecutive no-hitters in 1938. On June 11, 1938, he no-hit the Boston Bees at Crosley Field. Four nights later, in the first night game played at Ebbets Field, he no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of two balls that survives from this historic game is in the Seth Swirsky collection.[1] After his double no-hit achievement, Reds' management wanted Vander Meer to change his uniform number to "00." He politely refused.

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago Cubs	89	63	0.586	—	44–33	45–30
Pittsburgh Pirates	86	64	0.573	2	44–33	42–31
New York Giants	83	67	0.553	5	43–30	40–37
Cincinnati Reds	82	68	0.547	6	43–34	39–34
Boston Bees	77	75	0.507	12	45–30	32–45
St. Louis Cardinals	71	80	0.470	17½	36–41	35–39
Brooklyn Dodgers	69	80	0.463	18½	31–41	38–39
Philadelphia Phillies	45	105	0.300	43	26–48	19–57

Record vs. opponents

1938 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	10–12	12–10	11–9	8–14	14–8	9–13	13–9–1
Brooklyn	10–12	—	9–11–1	9–13	8–14	15–7	9–11	9–12–1
Chicago	12–10	11–9–1	—	11–11	12–10	18–4	12–10	13–9–1
Cincinnati	9–11	13–9	11–11	—	12–9	14–7	10–12	13–9–1
New York	14–8	14–8	10–12	9–12	—	16–5	9–13–1	11–9–1
Philadelphia	8–14	7–15	4–18	7–14	5–16	—	8–12–1	6–16
Pittsburgh	13–9	11–9	10–12	12–10	13–9–1	12–8–1	—	15–7
St. Louis	9–13–1	12–9–1	9–13–1	9–13–1	9–11–1	16–6	7–15	—

Roster

1938 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers 61 Red Barrett 46 Ray Benge 58 Joe Cascarella 55 Peaches Davis 52 Paul Derringer 53 Lee Grissom 56 Al Hollingsworth 59 Ted Kleinhans 60 Whitey Moore 54 Gene Schott 57 Johnny Vander Meer 56 Bucky Walters 63 Jim Weaver		Catchers 36 Spud Davis 50 Willard Hershberger 35 Ernie Lombardi Infielders 47 Lonny Frey 38 Alex Kampouris 46,51 Don Lang 37 Frank McCormick 39 Billy Myers 45 Nolen Richardson 40 Lew Riggs 35 Justin Stein		Outfielders 62 Wally Berger 49 Nino Bongiovanni 42 Dusty Cooke 44 Harry Craft 48 Kiddo Davis 43 Lee Gamble 41 Ival Goodman Other batters 45 Buck Jordan 51 Jimmy Outlaw 59 Dick West		Manager 65 Bill McKechnie Coaches 66 Hank Gowdy 67 Edd Roush

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	Ernie Lombardi	129	489	167	.342	19	95
1B	Frank McCormick	151	640	209	.327	5	106
2B	Lonny Frey	124	501	133	.265	4	36
SS	Billy Myers	134	442	112	.253	12	47
3B	Lew Riggs	142	531	134	.252	2	55
OF	Ival Goodman	145	568	166	.292	30	92
OF	Harry Craft	151	612	165	.270	15	83
OF	Wally Berger	99	407	125	.307	16	56

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
Dusty Cooke	82	233	64	.275	2	33
Willard Hershberger	49	105	29	.276	0	12
Nolen Richardson	35	100	29	.290	0	10
Lee Gamble	53	75	24	.320	0	5
Alex Kampouris	21	74	19	.257	2	7
Don Lang	21	50	13	.220	1	11
Spud Davis	12	36	6	.167	0	1
Kiddo Davis	5	18	5	.278	0	0
Justin Stein	11	18	6	.333	0	1
Buck Jordan	9	7	2	.286	0	0
Nino Bongiovanni	2	7	2	.286	0	0
Dick West	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Jimmy Outlaw	4	0	0	---	0	0

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
Paul Derringer	41	307	21	14	2.93	132
Johnny Vander Meer	32	225.1	15	10	3.12	125
Bucky Walters	27	168.1	11	6	3.69	65
Peaches Davis	29	167.2	7	12	3.97	28

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
Jim Weaver	30	129.1	6	4	3.13	64
Whitey Moore	19	90.1	6	4	3.49	38
Lee Grissom	14	51	2	3	5.29	16
Al Hollingsworth	9	34	2	2	7.15	13
Red Barrett	6	28.2	2	0	3.14	5

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
Joe Cascarella	33	4	7	4	4.57	30
Gene Schott	31	5	5	2	4.45	21
Ray Benge	9	1	1	2	4.11	5
Ted Kleinhans	1	0	0	0	9.00	0

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Jim Bottomley and Dick Porter
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Bill McCorry
B	Durham Bulls	Piedmont League	Bill Hughes
B	Columbia Reds	Sally League	Johnny Burnett
B	Waterloo Red Hawks	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Lenny Backer
C	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	Frank O'Rourke
C	Muskogee Reds	Western Association	Ben Tincup
D	Rogers Reds	Arkansas–Missouri League	Lester "Pat" Patterson
D	Williamston Martins	Coastal Plain League	Art Hauger
D	Union City Greyhounds	KITTY League	Hap Bohl

[2]

References

1. "Johnny Vander Meer, Twice Perfect". Seth.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
2. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

• 1938 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference