1940 Cleveland Indians season

1940 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
League Park (Since 1901) Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1936)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Alva Bradley
General manager(s)	Cy Slapnicka
Manager(s)	Ossie Vitt
Local radio	WCLE
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The 1940 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 89–65, one game behind the Detroit Tigers. The season is infamous for ten Indian players going to owner Alva Bradley and demanding the removal of manager Ossie Vitt, saying the man's behavior was harming the team. When the news broke, the public sided with Vitt and the Indians were dismissed as "crybabies." The movement has since been named the "Crybaby Mutiny."

Regular season

• April 16, 1940: Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw what is, to date, the only Opening Day no-hitter. Feller walked five and struck out eight as the Indians beat the White Sox, 1–0, at Comiskey Park.^[1]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Detroit Tigers	90	64	.584	--
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	1
New York Yankees	88	66	.571	2
Boston Red Sox	82	72	.532	8
Chicago White Sox	82	72	.532	8
St. Louis Browns	67	87	.435	23
Washington Senators	64	90	.416	26
Philadelphia Athletics	54	100	.351	36

Record vs. opponents

1940 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	11–11	8–14	11–11	9–13	18–4	12–10	13–9
Chicago	11–11	—	6–16	13–9	11–11–1	16–6	13–9	12–10
Cleveland	14–8	16–6	—	11–11	10–12	14–8	11–11–1	13–9
Detroit	11–11	9–13	11–11	—	14–8	11–11	18–4–1	16–6
New York	13–9	11–11–1	12–10	8–14	—	13–9	14–8	17–5
Philadelphia	4–18	6–16	8–14	11–11	9–13	—	8–14	8–14
St. Louis	10–12	9–13	11–11–1	4–18–1	8–14	14–8	—	11–11
Washington	9–13	10–12	9–13	6–16	5–17	14–8	11–11	—

Notable transactions

• May 13, 1940: Willis Hudlin was released by the Indians.^[2]

Roster

1940 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 15 Johnny Allen 12 Nate Andrews 17 Joe Dobson 24 Cal Dorsett 10 Harry Eisenstat 19 Bob Feller 18 Mel Harder 35 Dixie Howell 12 Willis Hudlin 21 Johnny Humphries 33 Ken Jungels 20 Al Milnar 30,25 Mike Naymick 27,32 Al Smith 14 Bill Zuber		Catchers 40 Hank Helf  9 Rollie Hemsley  8 Frankie Pytlak Infielders  5 Lou Boudreau  1 Oscar Grimes  4 Odell Hale 25 Ken Keltner  6 Ray Mack  3 Rusty Peters  7 Hal Trosky		Outfielders 23 Beau Bell 34 Soup Campbell 44,11 Ben Chapman 24,33 Jeff Heath 22 Roy Weatherly		Manager 26 Ossie Vitt Coaches 28 Johnny Bassler 27 Ski Melillo 16 Luke Sewell

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
OF	Chapman, BenBen Chapman	143	548	157	.286	4	50

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

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
Feller, BobBob Feller	43	320.1	27	11	2.61	261
Smith, AlAl Smith	31	183	15	7	3.44	46
Hudlin, WillisWillis Hudlin	4	23.2	2	1	4.94	8

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
Allen, JohnnyJohnny Allen	32	138.2	9	8	3.44	62

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
Dobson, JoeJoe Dobson	40	3	7	3	4.95	57
Andrews, NateNate Andrews	6	0	1	0	6.00	3

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
A	Wilkes-Barre Barons	Eastern League	Earl Wolgamot
B	Cedar Rapids Raiders	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Ollie Marquardt
C	Flint Gems	Michigan State League	Jack Knight
C	Charleston Senators	Middle Atlantic League	Ed Hall
D	Thomasville Tommies	North Carolina State League	Jimmy Maus
D	Fargo-Moorhead Twins	Northern League	Chet Bujace and Wes Griffin
D	Mansfield Braves	Ohio State League	Dewey Strong
D	Warren Redskins	Pennsylvania State Association	Billy Rhiel
D	Salem-Roanoke Friends	Virginia League	Eli Harris and Arnold Anderson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Cedar Rapids^[3]

References

1. SI.com – Statitudes – Statitudes: Opening Day 2002, By the Numbers – Sunday March 30, 2003 01:50 AM
2. Willis Hudlin at Baseball Reference
3. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

• 1940 Cleveland Indians season at Baseball Reference