1941 Boston Red Sox season

The 1941 Boston Red Sox season was the 41st season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League with a record of 84 wins and 70 losses, 17 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1941 World Series.
The Red Sox featured five future Hall of Famers: player-manager Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, and Ted Williams.

Offseason

Prior to 1941 season: Virgil Stallcup was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.

Regular season

Williams was one of the biggest stories of the 1941 major league season, becoming, as of 2022, the last player to bat.400 in a full season. He led an offense that scored the most runs of any major league team. During the season, Williams reached base safely in 69 consecutive games.

Transactions

September 8: The Red Sox announce that they have purchased shortstop Johnny Pesky from the Louisville Colonels and shortstop Eddie Pellagrini from the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.

Player stats

Note: Stats in brackets are derived from Retrosheet which differ from official MLB stats.

Batting

Starters by position

Abbreviations: Pos=Position; GP=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting average; OBP=On base percentage; SLG=Slugging percentage

Pos	Player	GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	References
C		107	336	36	91	23	1	2	39	28	.271	.329	.363
1B		135	487	87	146	27	8	19	105	93	.300	.412	.505
2B		132	500	74	141	28	4	16	93	43	.282	.339	.450
SS		143	518	98	161	38	8	16	95	82	.311	.406	.508
3B		126	498	65	139	29	3	16	101	36	.279	.328	.446
OF		143	456	135	185	33	3	37	120	145	.406	.551	.735
OF		127	497	83	143	24	10	4	53	38	.288	.340	.400
OF		144	584	117	165	37	6	8	58	90	.283	.385	.408

Other batters

Abbreviations: GP=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting average; OBP=On base percentage; SLG=Slugging percentage

Player	GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	References
	73	268	38	81	12	7	0	31	21	.302	.357	.399
	78	261	28	74	20	1	0	27	21	.284	.339	.368
	93	227	28	51	6	0	2	17	22	.225	.296	.278
	86	203	22	47	10	3	2	28	18	.232	.304	.340
	10	30	3	6	2	1	0	2	1	.200	.226	.333
	12	24	5	5	2	0	1	1	3	.208	.296	.417
	25	21	7	4	0	0	0	2	0	.190	.190	.190
	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000

Pitchers

Abbreviations: GP=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting average; OBP=On base percentage; SLG=Slugging percentage

Player	GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	References
Dick Newsome	36	78	3	19	3	0	0	8	2	.244	.263	.282
Charlie Wagner	29	63	5	10	1	0	0	3	3	.159	.197	.175
Mickey Harris	35	55	9	6	1	0	0	0	17	.109	.319	.127
Joe Dobson	27	47	3	7	0	0	1	6	4	.149	.216	.213
Lefty Grove	21	45	6	5	2	0	0	0	4	.111	.184	.156
Jack Wilson	27	44	2	7	1	0	0	6	1	.159	.178	.182
Mike Ryba	40	37	2	8	2	0	0	4	2	.216	.256	.270
Earl Johnson	17	34	4	10	0	0	0	2	2	.294	.333	.294

Pitching

''Note: GP=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average''

Relief pitchers

Note: GP=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

Player	GP	GS	IP	H	BB	R	ER	SO	W	L	SV	ERA	References
	10	0	20	21	16	10	10	6	2	0	0	4.50
	7	0		15	10	12	12	5	0	0	1	8.76
	4	0		7	7	5	5	3	1	0	1	5.40

Awards and honors

Ted Williams, 20th-century record, Highest on-base percentage in one season

All-Stars

Joe Cronin starting SS
Dom DiMaggio reserve
Bobby Doerr starting 2B
Jimmie Foxx reserve
Ted Williams starting LF

League top five finishers

Dom DiMaggio

Third in MLB in Runs Scored.

Dick Newsome
Fifth in MLB in Wins.

Third in AL in Wins.

Charlie Wagner

# 3 in AL in ERA

Ted Williams

AL leader, reached base safely in 69 consecutive games.
MLB leader in batting average.
MLB leader in home runs.
MLB leader in runs scored.
MLB leader in on-base percentage.
MLB leader in slugging percentage.
MLB leader in walks drawn.
# 4 in AL in RBI

Farm system

Source: