| Philadelphia Athletics | |
| Season: | 1952 |
| League: | American League |
| Ballpark: | Shibe Park |
| City: | Philadelphia |
| Owners: | Earle Mack & Roy Mack |
| General Managers: | Arthur Ehlers |
| Managers: | Jimmy Dykes |
| Television: | WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL (By Saam, Claude Haring) |
| Radio: | WIBG (By Saam, Claude Haring, George Walsh) |
The 1952 Philadelphia Athletics season saw the A's finish fourth and in the first division of the American League with a record of 79 wins and 75 losses. They finished 16 games behind the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees. Managed by Jimmy Dykes, they attracted 627,100 fans to Shibe Park, seventh among the Junior Circuit's eight teams.
The Athletics' 1952 campaign would be their final winning season in Philadelphia; only two years later, in November 1954, the franchise would move to Kansas City; 1952 would also be the Athletics' only winning season of the 1950s. They would have to wait until 1968, their first season in Oakland, for their next winning record.
The Athletics improved nine games from their 70–84 record in 1951 and improved to fourth in the American League. A Most Valuable Player season was turned in by left-handed pitcher Bobby Shantz and the A.L. batting championship was won by Ferris Fain with a .320 average.
Gus Zernial hit 29 home runs and drove in 100 RBI while Eddie Joost chipped in 20 HRs and 75 RBI. However, outside Shantz, who went 24–7, their best pitcher record-wise was Harry Byrd, with a 15–15 record.
| 1952 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 104 | 337 | 84 | .249 | 1 | 36 | ||
| 1B | 145 | 538 | 176 | .327 | 2 | 59 | ||
| 2B | 75 | 213 | 47 | .221 | 0 | 17 | ||
| SS | 146 | 540 | 132 | .244 | 20 | 75 | ||
| 3B | 119 | 407 | 100 | .246 | 1 | 56 | ||
| OF | 145 | 549 | 144 | .262 | 29 | 100 | ||
| OF | 129 | 388 | 109 | .281 | 5 | 47 | ||
| OF | 151 | 586 | 154 | .263 | 7 | 71 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 228 | 55 | .241 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 55 | 200 | 50 | .250 | 1 | 18 | ||
| 71 | 186 | 51 | .274 | 7 | 29 | ||
| 44 | 136 | 28 | .206 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 34 | 117 | 30 | .256 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 75 | 116 | 29 | .250 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 23 | 68 | 13 | .191 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 43 | 60 | 12 | .200 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 8 | 17 | 6 | .353 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 279.2 | 24 | 7 | 2.48 | 152 | ||
| 34 | 231.1 | 12 | 14 | 4.36 | 105 | ||
| 37 | 228.1 | 15 | 15 | 3.31 | 116 | ||
| 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 17 | ||
| 5 | 25.1 | 0 | 2 | 6.39 | 13 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 158.0 | 11 | 7 | 4.39 | 42 | ||
| 43 | 144.1 | 8 | 15 | 5.18 | 40 | ||
| 14 | 47.2 | 3 | 3 | 3.59 | 22 | ||
| 6 | 30.2 | 2 | 2 | 6.46 | 17 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5.26 | 17 | ||
| 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6.53 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.44 | 14 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 0 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
See also: Minor League Baseball.