1959 Cleveland Indians season

March 2026 November 2013 Cleveland Indians 1959 American League Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland, Ohio William R. Daley Frank Lane Joe Gordon WEWS-TV(Ken Coleman, Bill McColgan) WERE(Jimmy Dudley, Bob Neal) The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th season in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, 5 games behind the American League Champion Chicago White Sox. Offseason October 27, 1958: Jay Porter was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Ossie Álvarez.Jay Porter page at Baseball Reference 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.Billy Martin page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall.Jim Piersall page at Baseball Reference January 23, 1959: Earl Averill, Jr. and Morrie Martin were traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference Regular season On June 10, right fielder Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, 978-0-451-22363-0 Season standings Record vs. opponents CLE Notable transactions April 11, 1959: Mickey Vernon was traded by the Indians to the Milwaukee Braves for Humberto Robinson.Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference May 4, 1959: Randy Jackson was traded by the Indians to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Smith.Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie Jones. September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.Chuck Tanner Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position37 Jimmy Piersall CF1 Billy Martin 2B9 Minnie Miñoso LF6 Rocky Colavito RF15 Russ Nixon C10 Vic Power 1B3 Woodie Held 3B4 George Strickland 2B39 Gary Bell P "1959 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference" 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 (First Base) 21 Bob Lemon 41 Bill Lobe (Bullpen) 40 Jo-Jo White (Third Base) 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 C Russ Nixon 82 258 62 .240 1 29 1B Vic Power Vic Power (baseball) 147 595 172 .289 10 60 2B Billy Martin 73 242 63 .260 9 24 SS Woodie Held 143 525 132 .251 29 71 3B George Strickland George Strickland (baseball) 132 441 105 .238 3 48 LF Minnie Miñoso 148 570 172 .302 21 92 CF Jimmy Piersall 100 317 78 .246 4 30 RF Rocky Colavito 154 588 151 .257 42* 111 Tied with Harmon Killebrew (WSH) for league lead 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 Tito Francona 122 399 145 .363 20 79 Jim Baxes 77 247 59 .239 15 34 Dick Brown Dick Brown (baseball) 48 141 31 .220 5 16 Ed Fitz Gerald 49 129 35 .271 1 4 Ray Webster Ray Webster (second baseman) 40 74 15 .203 2 10 Granny Hamner 27 67 11 .164 1 3 Carroll Hardy 32 53 11 .208 0 2 Chuck Tanner 14 48 12 .250 1 5 Hal Naragon 14 36 10 .278 0 5 Gene Leek 13 36 8 .222 1 5 Elmer Valo 34 24 7 .292 0 5 Willie Jones Willie Jones (third baseman) 11 18 4 .222 0 1 Billy Moran 11 17 5 .294 0 2 Gordy Coleman 6 15 8 .533 0 2 Don Dillard 10 10 4 .400 0 1 Jim Bolger baseball 8 7 0 .000 0 0 Randy Jackson Randy Jackson (baseball) 7 7 1 .143 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 Cal McLish 35 235.1 19 8 3.63 113 Gary Bell baseball 44 234.0 16 11 4.04 136 Herb Score 30 160.2 9 11 4.71 147 Jake Striker 1 6.2 1 0 2.70 5 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 Mudcat Grant 38 165.1 10 7 4.14 85 Jim Perry Jim Perry (baseball) 44 153.0 12 10 2.65 79 Bobby Locke Bobby Locke (baseball) 24 77.2 0 1 5.22 17 Don Ferrarese 15 76.0 5 3 3.20 45 Mike Garcia Mike Garcia (AL pitcher) 29 72.0 3 6 4.00 49 Jack Harshman 13 66.0 5 1 2.59 35 Bob Smith Bob Smith (pitcher born 1927) 12 29.1 0 1 5.22 17 John Briggs John Briggs (baseball) 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 Dick Brodowski 18 2 2 5 1.80 9 Al Cicotte 26 3 1 1 5.32 23 Bud Podbielan 6 0 1 0 5.84 5 Humberto 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 Minor League Baseball 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 LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, SelmaJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 References 2 External links 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference 1959 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com 1959 WS page at Baseball Reference Category:Cleveland Guardians seasons Cleveland Indians season Cleveland Indians