1942 Boston Red Sox season

1942 Boston Red Sox
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record93–59 (.612)
League place2nd
OwnersTom Yawkey
PresidentTom Yawkey
General managersEddie Collins
ManagersJoe Cronin
RadioWAAB
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference

The 1942 Boston Red Sox season was the 42nd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League (AL) with a record of 93 wins and 59 losses, nine games behind the New York Yankees.

Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, leading the AL in home runs (36), runs batted in (137), and batting average (.356).[1]

Offseason

Regular season

The team's season spanned April 14 to September 27, although the team did not play any major-league games from September 22 through September 26, inclusive.[3] On September 25, the Red Sox defeated the Pawtucket Slaters, a team in the then semi-professional New England League, in a game at Pawtucket Stadium (later known as McCoy Stadium) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[4]

Season standings

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10351 .669 — 58‍–‍19 45‍–‍32
Boston Red Sox 9359 .612 9 53‍–‍24 40‍–‍35
St. Louis Browns 8269 .543 19½ 40‍–‍37 42‍–‍32
Cleveland Indians 7579 .487 28 39‍–‍39 36‍–‍40
Detroit Tigers 7381 .474 30 43‍–‍34 30‍–‍47
Chicago White Sox 6682 .446 34 35‍–‍35 31‍–‍47
Washington Senators 6289 .411 39½ 35‍–‍42 27‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics 5599 .357 48 25‍–‍51 30‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHA SLB WSH
Boston —13–814–815–712–1014–811–1114–7
Chicago 8–13—11–119–137–1512–106–1313–7
Cleveland 8–1411–11—9–13–27–1516–69–1315–7
Detroit 7–1513–913–9–2—7–1513–911–119–13
New York 10–1215–715–715–7—16–615–717–5
Philadelphia 8–1410–126–169–136–16—6–1610–12
St. Louis 11–1113–613–911–117–1516–6—11–11
Washington 7–147–137–1513–95–1712–1011–11—

Notable transactions

Opening Day lineup

  6Johnny PeskySS
  7Dom DiMaggioCF
  9Ted WilliamsLF
  3Jimmie Foxx1B
  5Jim Tabor3B
12Pete FoxRF
26Skeeter Newsome2B
11Johnny PeacockC
28Dick NewsomeP

Roster

1942 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader
= Indicates league leader

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 SB
CJohnny Peacock8828676.2660251
1BTony Lupien128463130.28137010
2BBobby Doerr144545158.290151024
SSJohnny Pesky147620205.33125112
3BJim Tabor139508128.25212756
OFTed Williams150522186.356361373
OFLou Finney113397113.2853613
OFDom DiMaggio151622178.286144816

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
Pete Fox7725667.262342
Bill Conroy8325050.200420
Jimmie Foxx3010027.270514
Skeeter Newsome299526.27409
Joe Cronin457924.304424
Paul Campbell26151.06700
Andy Gilbert6111.09101
Tom Carey1111.00001

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
Tex Hughson38281.02262.59113*
Charlie Wagner29205.114113.2952
Joe Dobson30182.21193.3072
Dick Newsome24158.08105.0140
Ken Chase1380.1513.8134
  • Tied with Bobo Newsom (Washington)

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
Oscar Judd31150.18103.8970
Bill Butland23111.1712.5146
Yank Terry2085.0653.9237

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
Mace Brown349363.4320
Mike Ryba183333.8616

Awards and honors

League leaders

  • Ted Williams, American League home run leader (36), RBI leader (137), and batting average leader (.356)

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AA Louisville Colonels American Association Bill Burwell
A Scranton Red Sox Eastern League Nemo Leibold
B Greensboro Red Sox Piedmont League Heinie Manush
C Oneonta Indians Canadian–American League Red Barnes
C Canton Terriers Middle Atlantic League Floyd "Pat" Patterson
D Danville-Schoolfield Leafs Bi-State League Elmer Yoter
D Owensboro Oilers KITTY League Wally Schang

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Scranton, Greensboro

KITTY League folded, June 19, 1942

References

  1. ↑ "1942 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ Johnny Welaj page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ "The 1942 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Pawtucket Fans Idolize Williams". The Boston Globe. September 26, 1942. p. 4. Retrieved September 1, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Jimmie Foxx page at Baseball Reference