1959 Boston Red Sox season
The 1959 Boston Red Sox season was the 59th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses, 19 games behind the AL champion Chicago White Sox.
Offseason
1958 turned out to be Jimmy Piersall's final season with the Red Sox. On December 2, 1958, Piersall was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Gary Geiger and Vic Wertz.Notable transactions
- Prior to 1959 season: Mike Page was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.
- March 9, 1959: Bob Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Chuck Tanner.
Regular season
- The 1959 season was the year that the color barrier was broken for the Red Sox. On July 21, Elijah "Pumpsie" Green became the first black player to play for the Red Sox. A week later, Earl Wilson became the first black pitcher to play for the team.
- Ted Williams would have an off year in his penultimate season, as he batted below.300.
Notable transactions
- July 26, 1959: Bud Byerly was traded by the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants for Billy Muffett and cash.
- September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was sold by Red Sox to Cleveland Indians.
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 | Sammy White | 119 | 377 | 107 | .284 | 1 | 42 |
| 1B | Dick Gernert | 117 | 298 | 78 | .262 | 11 | 42 |
| 2B | Pete Runnels | 147 | 560 | 176 | .314 | 6 | 57 |
| SS | Don Buddin | 151 | 485 | 117 | .241 | 10 | 53 |
| 3B | Frank Malzone | 154 | 604 | 169 | .280 | 19 | 92 |
| LF | 103 | 272 | 69 | .254 | 10 | 43 | |
| CF | Marty Keough | 96 | 251 | 61 | .243 | 7 | 27 |
| RF | Jackie Jensen | 148 | 535 | 148 | .277 | 28 | 112 |
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 |
| 120 | 335 | 82 | .245 | 11 | 48 | |
| Gene Stephens | 92 | 270 | 75 | .278 | 3 | 39 |
| 94 | 247 | 68 | .275 | 7 | 49 | |
| 50 | 172 | 40 | .233 | 1 | 10 | |
| Pete Daley | 65 | 169 | 38 | .225 | 1 | 11 |
| Jim Busby | 61 | 102 | 23 | .225 | 1 | 5 |
| Bobby Ávila | 22 | 45 | 11 | .244 | 3 | 6 |
| Jim Mahoney | 31 | 23 | 3 | .130 | 1 | 4 |
| Bill Renna | 14 | 22 | 2 | .091 | 0 | 2 |
| Jerry Mallett | 4 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 1 |
| Billy Consolo | 10 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 0 |
| Herb Plews | 13 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Gile | 3 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Ted Lepcio | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Haywood Sullivan | 4 | 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 | 215.1 | 10 | 12 | 3.76 | 121 | |
| 31 | 179.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.31 | 93 | |
| Frank Sullivan | 30 | 177.2 | 9 | 11 | 3.95 | 107 |
| Ted Wills | 9 | 56.1 | 2 | 6 | 5.27 | 24 |
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 |
| Bill Monbouquette | 34 | 151.2 | 7 | 7 | 4.15 | 87 |
| Ike Delock | 28 | 134.1 | 11 | 6 | 2.95 | 55 |
| 26 | 95.2 | 6 | 4 | 4.05 | 48 | |
| Al Schroll | 14 | 46.0 | 1 | 4 | 4.70 | 26 |
| Jack Harshman | 8 | 24.2 | 2 | 3 | 6.57 | 14 |
| 9 | 23.2 | 1 | 1 | 6.08 | 17 | |
| Billy Hoeft | 5 | 17.2 | 0 | 3 | 5.60 | 8 |
| 5 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 4 | |
| Herb Moford | 4 | 8.2 | 0 | 2 | 11.42 | 7 |
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 |
| Mike Fornieles | 46 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 3.07 | 54 |
| Leo Kiely | 41 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4.20 | 30 |
| Murray Wall | 26 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5.51 | 14 |
| Nelson Chittum | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.19 | 12 |
| Dave Sisler | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
Awards and honors
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Minneapolis, Waterloo, AlpineSource: