| Cleveland Indians | |
| Season: | 1940 |
| League: | American League |
| Ballpark: | League Park Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| City: | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Owners: | Alva Bradley |
| General Managers: | Cy Slapnicka |
| Managers: | Ossie Vitt |
| Radio: | WCLE (Jack Graney, Pinky Hunter) |
The 1940 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American major league baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 89–65, one game behind the Detroit Tigers. Had the Indians finished ahead of the Tigers, The Indians would have played their cross state National League rivals, the National League Champion Cincinnati Reds, in the World Series. The World Series would have been the only all Ohio World series. The season is infamous for ten Indian players confronting owner Alva Bradley and demanding the removal of manager Ossie Vitt, saying the man's behavior was harming the team. When the news broke, the public sided with Vitt and the Indians were dismissed as "crybabies."[1] The movement has since been named the "Crybaby Rebellion."[2]
| Name | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | SS | ||
| 22 | CF | ||
| 11 | RF | ||
| 7 | 1B | ||
| 24 | LF | ||
| 25 | 3B | ||
| 9 | C | ||
| 6 | 2B | ||
| 19 | P |
| 1940 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | Outfielders | ManagerCoaches | ||||||
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 | Rollie Hemsley | 119 | 416 | 111 | .267 | 4 | 42 |
| 1B | Hal Trosky | 140 | 522 | 154 | .295 | 25 | 93 |
| 2B | Ray Mack | 146 | 530 | 150 | .283 | 12 | 69 |
| SS | Lou Boudreau | 155 | 627 | 185 | .295 | 9 | 101 |
| 3B | Ken Keltner | 149 | 543 | 138 | .254 | 15 | 77 |
| OF | Beau Bell | 120 | 444 | 124 | .279 | 4 | 58 |
| OF | 143 | 548 | 157 | .286 | 4 | 50 | |
| OF | Roy Weatherly | 135 | 578 | 175 | .303 | 12 | 59 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Heath | 100 | 356 | 78 | .219 | 14 | 50 | |
| Frankie Pytlak | 62 | 149 | 21 | .141 | 0 | 16 | |
| Rusty Peters | 30 | 71 | 17 | .239 | 0 | 7 | |
| Soup Campbell | 35 | 62 | 14 | .226 | 0 | 2 | |
| Odell Hale | 48 | 50 | 11 | .220 | 0 | 6 | |
| Oscar Grimes | 11 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hank Helf | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 320.1 | 27 | 11 | 2.61 | 261 | ||
| Al Milnar | 37 | 242.1 | 18 | 10 | 3.27 | 99 | |
| Mel Harder | 31 | 186.1 | 12 | 11 | 4.06 | 76 | |
| 31 | 183.0 | 15 | 7 | 3.44 | 46 | ||
| 32 | 138.2 | 9 | 8 | 3.44 | 62 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 30.0 | 1 | 2 | 5.10 | 15 | |
| Willis Hudlin | 4 | 23.2 | 2 | 1 | 4.94 | 8 |
| Nate Andrews | 6 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | 3 |
| Dixie Howell | 3 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 2 |
| Ken Jungels | 2 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 1 |
| Cal Dorsett | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4.95 | 57 | |
| 27 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3.14 | 27 | |
| Johnny Humphries | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8.29 | 17 |
| Bill Zuber | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.63 | 12 |
Lou Boudreau, Shortstop
Bob Feller, Pitcher
Rollie Hemsley, Catcher
Ken Keltner, Third baseman
Ray Mack, Second baseman
Al Milnar, Pitcher
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Cedar Rapids[6]