1940 Cincinnati Reds season explained

Cincinnati Reds
Season:	1940
Misc:	World Series Champions National League Champions
League:	National League
Ballpark:	Crosley Field
City:	Cincinnati
Owners:	Powel Crosley, Jr.
General Managers:	Warren Giles
Managers:	Bill McKechnie
Radio:	WCPO (Harry Hartman) WSAI (Roger Baker, Dick Bray)

The 1940 Cincinnati Reds season was the 58th season for the franchise. Cincinnati entered the season as the reigning National League champions, having been swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series the previous year. They would defeat the Detroit Tigers four games to three to take the World Series title.

Offseason

• October 14, 1939: Hank Sauer was drafted by the Reds from the New York Yankees in the 1939 minor league draft.^[1]
• October 19, 1939: Al Simmons was released by the Reds.^[2]

Regular season

Cincinnati won 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The team finished first in the National League with a record of 100–53, winning the pennant by 12 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the best record in MLB. They went on to face the Detroit Tigers in the 1940 World Series, beating them in seven games. This was their first championship since 1919.

In August, back up catcher Willard Hershberger, depressed over what he felt was culpability for losing both games of a doubleheader, took his life. Coach Jimmie Wilson was added to the roster as the back up catcher. The Reds players would vote to send Hershberger's share of the World Series winnings to his mother ^[3]

Season standings

Detailed record

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Team Home Away Total Win % National League 6–5 8–3–1 14–8–1 7–4 5–5 12–9 9–2 7–4 16–6 8–3 7–4 15–7 8–2 7–5 15–7 10–1 6–5 16–6 7–4–1 5–6 12–10–1 55–21 46–30 100–53

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Month Games Won Lost Win % April 9 6 3 May 26 19 7 June 27 16 11 July 28 20 8 August 32 16 16 September 31 23 8 153 100 53 Games Won Lost Win % Home 76 55 21 Away 77 45 32

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• August 23, 1940: Jimmy Ripple was selected off waivers by the Reds from the Brooklyn Dodgers.^[4]

Roster

1940 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		OutfieldersOther batters		ManagerCoaches

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		109	376	120	.319	14	74
1B		155	618	191	.309	19	127
2B		150	563	150	.266	8	54
SS		90	282	57	.202	5	30
3B		143	584	162	.277	12	48
OF		110	417	125	.300	1	30
OF		136	519	134	.258	12	63
OF		115	422	103	.244	6	48

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
	88	278	60	.216	1	24
	62	211	60	.284	0	21
	48	123	38	.309	0	26
	31	110	31	.282	4	17
	32	101	31	.307	4	20
	41	72	21	.292	1	9
	27	69	15	.217	0	7
	38	42	6	.143	0	0
	16	37	9	.243	0	3
	7	28	11	.393	1	6
	12	16	3	.188	0	2
	2	4	1	.250	0	0
	2	2	0	.000	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
	36	305.0	22	10	2.48	115
	37	296.2	20	12	3.06	115
	33	225.1	16	9	3.32	103
	24	187.0	14	7	2.89	53

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
	25	116.2	8	8	3.63	60
	19	54.0	2	1	3.50	18
	10	48.0	3	1	3.75	41

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
	37	12	3	7	2.00	25
	20	1	0	0	5.63	17
	15	1	2	2		1.87	9
	3	1	0	0	6.75	0
	2	0	0	0	1.17	1

1940 World Series

See main article: 1940 World Series.

Game 1

October 2, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Detroit (A)	0	5	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	7	10	1
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	8	3
W: Bobo Newsom (1–0)   L: Paul Derringer (0–1)
HR: DET – Bruce Campbell (1)
Attendance: 31,739

Game 2

October 3, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Detroit (A)	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	3	1
Cincinnati (N)	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	9	0
W: Bucky Walters (1–0)   L: Schoolboy Rowe (0–1)
HR: CIN – Jimmy Ripple (1)
Attendance: 30,640

Game 3

October 4, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Cincinnati (N)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	4	10	1
Detroit (A)	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	2	x	7	13	1
W: Tommy Bridges (1–0)  L: Jim Turner (0–1)
HR: : DET – Rudy York (1), Pinky Higgins (1)

Game 4

October 5, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Cincinnati (N)	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	11	1
Detroit (A)	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	1
W: Paul Derringer (1–1)  L: Dizzy Trout (0–1)

Game 5

October 6, 1940, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0
Detroit (A)	0	0	3	4	0	0	0	1	x	8	13	0
W: Bobo Newsom (2–0)  L: Junior Thompson (0–1)
HR: : DET – Hank Greenberg (1)

Game 6

October 7, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Detroit (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Cincinnati (N)	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	x	4	10	2
W: Bucky Walters (2–0)   L: Schoolboy Rowe (0–2)
HR: CIN – Bucky Walters (1)

Game 7

October 8, 1940, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati

align=left width=125	Team	width=25	1	width=25	2	width=25	3	width=25	4	width=25	5	width=25	6	width=25	7	width=25	8	width=25	9	width=25	R	width=25	H	width=25	E
Detroit (A)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Cincinnati (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	x	2	7	1
W: Paul Derringer (2–1)   L: Bobo Newsom (2–1)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Durham^[5]

External links

• 1940 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference

Notes and References

1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sauerha01.shtml Hank Sauer
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/simmoal01.shtml Al Simmons
3. Web site: How the Reds Redeemed Themselves in 1940. August 16, 2019.
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripplji01.shtml Jimmy Ripple
5. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007