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 second in the National League.
| 1939 St. Louis Cardinals | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |
| Ballpark | Sportsman's Park | |
| City | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Record | 92–61 (.601) | |
| League place | 2nd | |
| Owners | Sam Breadon | |
| General managers | Branch Rickey | |
| Managers | Ray Blades | |
| Radio | KMOX (France Laux, Cy Casper) KWK (Johnny O'Hara, Jim Bottomley) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
| ||
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 dividends. 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
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 55–25 | 42–32 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 61 | .601 | 4½ | 51–27 | 41–34 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | 69 | .549 | 12½ | 51–27 | 33–42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 44–34 | 40–36 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 74 | .510 | 18½ | 41–33 | 36–41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 68 | 85 | .444 | 28½ | 35–42 | 33–43 |
| Boston Bees | 63 | 88 | .417 | 32½ | 37–35 | 26–53 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45 | 106 | .298 | 50½ | 29–44 | 16–62 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 10–12–1 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 10–11 | 13–8 | 9–12 | 9–13 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 12–10–1 | — | 11–11–2 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 17–4–1 | 13–9 | 9–13 | |||||
| Chicago | 16–6 | 11–11–2 | — | 10–12 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16–6 | 12–10 | 12–10 | — | 11–11 | 19–3 | 16–6 | 11–11–2 | |||||
| New York | 11–10 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 11–11 | — | 14–7 | 11–11 | 9–12 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–13 | 4–17–1 | 10–12 | 3–19 | 7–14 | — | 8–14 | 5–17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 12–9 | 9–13 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 11–11 | 14–8 | — | 8–14 | |||||
| St. Louis | 13–9 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 11–11–2 | 12–9 | 17–5 | 14–8 | — | |||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mickey Owen | 131 | 344 | 89 | .259 | 3 | 35 |
| 1B | Johnny Mize | 153 | 564 | 197 | .349 | 28 | 108 |
| 2B | Stu Martin | 120 | 425 | 114 | .268 | 3 | 30 |
| SS | Jimmy Brown | 147 | 645 | 192 | .298 | 3 | 51 |
| 3B | Don Gutteridge | 148 | 524 | 141 | .269 | 7 | 54 |
| OF | Joe Medwick | 150 | 606 | 201 | .332 | 14 | 117 |
| OF | Enos Slaughter | 149 | 604 | 193 | .320 | 12 | 86 |
| OF | Terry Moore | 130 | 417 | 123 | .295 | 17 | 77 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepper Martin | 88 | 281 | 86 | .306 | 3 | 37 |
| Don Padgett | 92 | 233 | 93 | .399 | 5 | 53 |
| Lynn Myers | 74 | 117 | 28 | .239 | 0 | 10 |
| Lynn King | 89 | 85 | 20 | .235 | 0 | 11 |
| Lyn Lary | 34 | 75 | 14 | .187 | 0 | 9 |
| Creepy Crespi | 15 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 6 |
| Herman Franks | 17 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 3 |
| Herb Bremer | 9 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Repass | 3 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Eddie Lake | 2 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Hopp | 6 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 2 |
| Joe Orengo | 7 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Buster Adams | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Echols | 2 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curt Davis | 49 | 248.0 | 22 | 16 | 3.63 | 70 |
| Mort Cooper | 45 | 210.2 | 12 | 6 | 3.25 | 130 |
| Lon Warneke | 34 | 162.0 | 13 | 7 | 3.78 | 59 |
| Bob Weiland | 32 | 146.1 | 10 | 12 | 3.57 | 63 |
| Max Lanier | 7 | 37.2 | 2 | 1 | 2.39 | 14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Bowman | 51 | 169.1 | 13 | 5 | 2.60 | 78 |
| Bill McGee | 43 | 156.0 | 12 | 5 | 3.81 | 56 |
| Tom Sunkel | 20 | 85.1 | 4 | 4 | 4.22 | 54 |
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 Shoun | 53 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 3.76 | 50 |
| Paul Dean | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.07 | 16 |
| Nate Andrews | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.75 | 6 |
| Murry Dickson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Frank Barrett | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 3 |
| Ken Raffensberger | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Terry Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors
Cardinals in the 1939 All-Star Game
- Pitcher Curt Davis
- Outfielder Joe Medwick
- First baseman Johnny Mize
- Outfielder Terry Moore
- Pitcher Lon Warneke
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Sacramento, Asheville, Kilgore, Springfield, Albuquerque, Cambridge, Albany, Washington, Gastonia[1]