1939 St. Louis Cardinals season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969
name = St. Louis Cardinals
season = 1939
misc =

---

current league = National League
y1 = 1892
Uniform
ballpark = Sportsman's Park
y4 = 1920
city = St. Louis, Missouri
y5 = 1882
owners = Sam Breadon
managers = Ray Blades
television =
radio = KMOX
(France Laux, Cy Casper)
KWK
(John O'Hara, Jim Bottomley)
espntn = stl
brtn = stl

The St. Louis Cardinals 1939 season was the team's 58th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 48th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 92-61 during the season and finished 2nd in the National League.

Season Recap

Shortly after the end of the 1938 season, Sam Breadon appointed former reserve Cardinals outfielder Ray Blades as manager. He had managed many of the organization's top young players in Columbus, Ohio, and Rochester, New York.

A feisty skipper, Blades guided the Cardinals back into the pennant race. The Cincinnati Reds took over first place on May 26 and never fell back. The Cards seized second place at midseason and played at a .708 clip in the final 65 games-including a 29-6 record at home the second half-but never could catch the Reds.

The Redbirds made Cincinnati work down the stretch,though. They took two games from the Reds with the third of the three-game series washed out as a tie, and that pulled the Cards to only 3 and a half games back. Twice the Cardinals drew a game closer in September.

An old trade haunted the Cards-Paul Derringer, a former St. Louis farmhand, went 25-7 for the Reds. That record included a 5-3 victory in September that clinched the pennant for the Reds.

Still, we have to credit the best offense in the league for the Cardinals' dramatic turn. They led the NL in runs and made the most of their speed to head the league in doubles and triples. Their .294 team batting average was 16 points higher than anyone else's.

The trade that sent Dizzy Dean to the Chicago Cubs actually paid some dividens. Curt Davis, one of the two pitchers picked up in the deal, led the Redbirds' staff in almost every category. Clye Shoun, the other ex-Cub, worked a team-high 51 games out of the bullpen. With rookie Mort Cooper winning 12 games and working more than 200 innings, the Cards pitchers posted the league's second-best ERA.

Following the season, on December 27, pitcher Ken Raffensberger was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Gene Lillard, third baseman Steve Mesner and cash.

eason standings

Roster

Starting pitchers

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/1939.shtml 1939 St. Louis Cardinals]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1939&t=SLN 1939 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]