1935 Boston Braves season

1935 Boston Braves
Babe Ruth's final season in majors
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 38–115 (.248)
League place 8th
Other information
Owner(s) Emil Fuchs (April–August)
Bob Quinn (August–September)
Manager(s) Bill McKechnie
Local television none
Local radio Yankee Network
(Fred Hoey)
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The 1935 Boston Braves season saw the Braves finish with the worst record in the National League and the majors, with a record of 38 wins and 115 losses.[1]

In an attempt to make his dream come true to manage, Babe Ruth came to the Braves in February 1935. He was hired as vice president and assistant manager, and team owner Emil Fuchs promised Ruth a share of team profits.

Offseason

Regular season

On opening day, Babe Ruth was part of all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 win over the New York Giants. However, Ruth was only a shadow of his former self. Although he had a fairly decent season in 1934, years of high living had begun taking their toll on his conditioning. His deterioration became more pronounced in early 1935. He couldn't run, and his fielding was so terrible that three of the Braves' pitchers threatened to go on strike if Ruth was in the lineup. A month into the season, Ruth stopped hitting as well. It soon became obvious that Ruth's titles as vice president and assistant manager were mere window dressing, and that he was only on the team due to the attention he commanded. He also discovered that rather than give him a share of the Braves' profits, Fuchs expected him to invest some of his money in the team.[4]

Seeing a team in utter collapse and realizing he was finished even as a part-time player, Ruth retired on June 1, six days after he had what remains one of the most memorable afternoons in baseball history. He clouted what turned out to be the last three home runs of his career in a game at Forbes Field while playing the Pittsburgh Pirates. He'd wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every National League park. Fuchs lost control of the team soon afterward.[4]

Despite fielding essentially the same team that finished fourth a year earlier, the 1935 season quickly turned into a debacle. In fact, their Opening Day win was the only time they were over .500 all year. They won only four games in May, and by the time Ruth retired they were 9-27, their season all but finished. They ultimately finished 38–115, the worst season in franchise history. Their .248 winning percentage is tied for the seventh-worst in baseball history, and the sixth-worst in National League history. It is the second-worst in modern baseball history (behind only the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics), and the worst in modern National League history. During the season, Braves pitcher Ben Cantwell would be the last pitcher in the 20th century to lose at least 25 games in one season.[5] The only highlight was outfielder Wally Berger, who led the League in home runs (34) and RBIs (130).[1]

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 100 54 0.649 — 56–21 44–33
St. Louis Cardinals 96 58 0.623 4 53–24 43–34
New York Giants 91 62 0.595 8½ 50–27 41–35
Pittsburgh Pirates 86 67 0.562 13½ 46–31 40–36
Brooklyn Dodgers 70 83 0.458 29½ 38–38 32–45
Cincinnati Reds 68 85 0.444 31½ 41–35 27–50
Philadelphia Phillies 64 89 0.418 35½ 35–43 29–46
Boston Braves 38 115 0.248 61½ 25–50 13–65

Record vs. opponents

1935 National League Records

Sources:

Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston — 6–16 3–19 10–12 5–16 8–14 2–20 4–18
Brooklyn 16–6 — 5–17 11–11 9–13 12–9–1 11–11 6–16
Chicago 19–3 17–5 — 14–8 14–8 13–9 15–7 8–14
Cincinnati 12–10 11–11 8–14 — 8–14–1 13–9 8–13 8–14
New York 16–5 13–9 8–14 14–8–1 — 12–10–2 14–8 14–8
Philadelphia 14–8 9–12–1 9–13 9–13 10–12–2 — 6–16 7–15
Pittsburgh 20–2 11–11 7–15 13–8 8–14 16–6 — 11–11
St. Louis 18–4 16–6 14–8 14–8 8–14 15–7 11–11 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1935 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 Spohrer, AlAl Spohrer 92 260 63 .242 1 16
1B Jordan, BuckBuck Jordan 130 470 131 .279 5 35
2B Mallon, LesLes Mallon 116 412 113 .274 2 25
3B Whitney, PinkyPinky Whitney 126 458 125 .273 4 60
SS Urbanski, BillyBilly Urbanski 132 514 118 .230 4 30
OF Berger, WallyWally Berger 150 589 174 .295 34 130
OF Lee, HalHal Lee 112 422 128 .303 0 39
OF Thompson, TommyTommy Thompson 112 297 81 .273 4 30

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
Moore, RandyRandy Moore 125 407 112 .275 4 42
Coscarart, JoeJoe Coscarart 86 284 67 .236 1 29
Hogan, ShantyShanty Hogan 59 163 49 .301 2 25
Ruth, BabeBabe Ruth 28 72 13 .181 6 12
Maranville, RabbitRabbit Maranville 23 67 10 .149 0 5
Lewis, BillBill Lewis 6 4 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
Frankhouse, FredFred Frankhouse 40 230.2 11 15 4.76 64
Brandt, EdEd Brandt 29 174.2 5 19 5.00 61

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
Cantwell, BenBen Cantwell 39 210.2 4 25 4.61 34
Smith, BobBob Smith 46 203.1 8 18 3.94 58
Betts, HuckHuck Betts 44 159.2 2 9 5.47 40
Brown, BobBob Brown 15 65 1 8 6.37 17
Rhem, FlintFlint Rhem 10 40.1 0 5 5.36 10

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
Benton, LarryLarry Benton 29 2 3 0 6.88 21
Blanche, AlAl Blanche 6 0 0 0 1.56 4
Mangum, LeoLeo Mangum 3 0 0 0 3.86 0

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AA Seattle Indians Pacific Coast League Dutch Ruether
A Harrisburg Senators New York–Pennsylvania League Art Shires
D McKeesport Braves Pennsylvania State Association Wilbur Cooper

[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hollingsworth, Harry (1994). The Best & Worst Baseball Teams of All Time: From the '16 A's to the '27 Yanks to the Present!. United States: SPI Books. p. 189. ISBN 1561713082.
  2. ↑ Bill Lewis page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Babe Ruth page at Baseball Reference
  4. 1 2 Neyer, Rob (2006). Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders. New York City: Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-8491-7.
  5. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.349, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  6. ↑ Shanty Hogan page at Baseball Reference
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

External links

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