1959 Cleveland Indians season

1959 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	William R. Daley
General manager(s)	Frank Lane
Manager(s)	Joe Gordon
Local television	WEWS-TV
Local radio	WERE (1300)
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The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, five games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.

Offseason

October 27, 1958: Jay Porter was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Ossie Álvarez.^[1]
November 20, 1958: Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and Ossie Álvarez were traded by the Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Billy Martin and Al Cicotte.^[2]
December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall.^[3]
January 23, 1959: Earl Averill, Jr. and Morrie Martin were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.^[4]

Regular season

On June 10, right fielder Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.^[5]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	--
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	5
New York Yankees	79	75	.513	15
Detroit Tigers	76	78	.494	18
Boston Red Sox	75	79	.487	19
Baltimore Orioles	74	80	.481	20
Kansas City Athletics	66	88	.429	28
Washington Senators	63	91	.409	31

Record vs. opponents

1959 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	8–14	11–11–1	10–12	13–9	8–14	12–10	12–10
Boston	14–8	—	8–14	8–14	11–11	11–11	13–9	10–12
Chicago	11–11–1	14–8	—	15–7	13–9	12–10	13–9–1	16–6
Cleveland	12–10	14–8	7–15	—	14–8	15–7	11–11	16–6
Detroit	9–13	11–11	9–13	8–14	—	15–7	14–8	10–12
Kansas City	14–8	11–11	10–12	7–15	7–15	—	5–17	12–10
New York	10–12	9–13	9–13–1	11–11	8–14	17–5	—	15–7
Washington	10–12	12–10	6–16	6–16	12–10	10–12	7–15	—

Notable transactions

April 11, 1959: Mickey Vernon was traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Braves for Humberto Robinson.^[6]
May 4, 1959: Randy Jackson was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Smith.^[7]
June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Jones.^[4]
September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.^[8]

Roster

1959 Cleveland Indians

Roster

Pitchers

39 Gary Bell

32 John Briggs

48 Dick Brodowski

20 Al Cicotte

34 Don Ferrarese

25 Mike Garcia

33 Mudcat Grant

23 Jack Harshman

23,29 Bobby Locke

22 Cal McLish

31 Jim Perry

23 Bud Podbielan

29 Humberto Robinson

27 Herb Score

28 Bob Smith

23 Jake Striker

Catchers

11 Dick Brown

8 Ed Fitz Gerald

18 Hal Naragon

15 Russ Nixon

Infielders

32 Jim Baxes

45 Gordy Coleman

7 Granny Hamner

3 Woodie Held

2 Randy Jackson

12 Willie Jones

7 Gene Leek

1 Billy Martin

18 Billy Moran

10 Vic Power

4 George Strickland

5 Ray Webster

Outfielders

6 Rocky Colavito

14 Tito Francona

30 Carroll Hardy

9 Minnie Miñoso

37 Jimmy Piersall

26 Chuck Tanner

17 Elmer Valo

Other batters

45 Jim Bolger

38 Don Dillard

Manager

35 Joe Gordon

Coaches

43 Mel Harder (Pitching)

42 Red Kress

21 Bob Lemon

41 Bill Lobe

40 Jo-Jo White

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
2B	Martin, BillyBilly Martin	73	242	63	.260	9	24
CF	Piersall, JimmyJimmy Piersall	100	317	78	.246	4	30
RF	Colavito, RockyRocky Colavito	154	588	151	.257	42	111

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
Bolger, JimJim Bolger	8	7	0	.000	0	0
Cash, NormNorm Cash		101	25	.240	4	16

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
Bell, GaryGary Bell	44	234	16	11	4.04	136

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
Grant, MudcatMudcat Grant	38	165.1	10	7	4.14	85
Locke, BobbyBobby Locke	24	77.2	0	1	5.22	17
Garcia, MikeMike Garcia	29	72	3	6	4.00	49
Ferrarese, DonDon Ferrarese	15	76	5	3	3.20	45
Smith, BobBob Smith	12	29.1	0	1	5.22	17
Briggs, JohnJohn Briggs	4	12.2	0	1	5.22	17

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
Brodowski, DickDick Brodowski	18	2	2	5	1.80	9
Cicotte, AlAl Cicotte	26	3	1	1	5.32	23
Robinson, HumbertoHumberto Robinson	5	1	0	0	4.15	6

Awards and honors

First All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power
Second All-Star Game: Rocky Colavito, Vic Power

League leaders

Rocky Colavito, American League leader in home runs (tied)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	San Diego Padres	Pacific Coast League	Catfish Metkovich
AA	Mobile Bears	Southern Association	Mel McGaha
A	Reading Indians	Eastern League	Al Hollingsworth
B	Burlington Indians	Carolina League	Pinky May
C	Minot Mallards	Northern League	Ken Landenberger
D	Selma Cloverleafs	Alabama–Florida League	Johnny Lipon
D	North Platte Indians	Nebraska State League	Mark Wylie
D	Batavia Indians	New York–Penn League	Paul O'Dea

Notes

↑ Jay Porter page at Baseball Reference
↑ Billy Martin page at Baseball Reference
↑ Jim Piersall page at Baseball Reference
1 2 Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference
↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
↑ Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
↑ Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
↑ Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac
↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

1959 MLB season by team

American League	Baltimore Boston Chicago Cleveland Detroit Kansas City New York Washington

National League	Chicago Cincinnati Los Angeles Milwaukee Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis San Francisco

1959 All-Star Game (1st, 2nd) 1959 World Series

Cleveland Indians

Formerly the Grand Rapids Rustlers, Cleveland Lake Shores, Cleveland Bluebirds, and Cleveland Naps
Based in Cleveland, Ohio

Franchise

Ballparks

League Park
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Progressive Field
Spring training: Henley Field
Terry Park Ballfield
Clearwater Athletic Field
Hi Corbett Field
Chain of Lakes Park
Goodyear Ballpark

Culture and lore

Rivalries

Cincinnati Reds

Key personnel

Owner: Larry Dolan
Chairman/CEO: Paul Dolan
President: Chris Antonetti
General manager: Mike Chernoff
Manager: Terry Francona

Postseason appearances (11)

Division championships (7)

American League pennants (5)

World Series championships (2)

1920
1948

Hall of Fame inductees

Minor league affiliations

Media

Seasons (116)

1900s	1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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