1936 Cincinnati Reds season

1936 Cincinnati Reds
League	National League
Ballpark	Crosley Field
City	Cincinnati
Owners	Powel Crosley, Jr.
General managers	Larry MacPhail, Warren Giles
Managers	Chuck Dressen
Radio	WCPO (Harry Hartman) WSAI (Red Barber)
Seasons

The 1936 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the National League with a record of 74–80, 18 games behind the New York Giants.

Offseason

On November 22, 1935, the Reds signed free agent centerfielder Hub Walker. Walker saw limited action with the Detroit Tigers in 1935, batting .160 with one RBI in only nine games. With the Tigers AA affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, Walker hit .335 with 11 home runs in 113 games. On the same date, the Reds acquired first baseman George McQuinn from the New York Giants. McQuinn played with the Giants AA affiliate, the Newark Bears in 1935, hitting .288 with 11 home runs in 148 games.

On December 12, Cincinnati purchased infielder Tommy Thevenow from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thevenow hit .238 with 47 RBI in 122 games during the 1935 season, playing mostly at third base. His best season was in 1926, when Thevenow finished fourth in National League MVP voting when he batted .256 with two home runs and 63 RBI in 156 games for the St. Louis Cardinals. He helped the Cardinals win the 1926 World Series over the New York Yankees with a .417 batting average with a home run and four RBI in seven games. The Reds also purchased minor league pitcher Johnny Vander Meer from the Boston Braves. Vander Meer had a 7-10 record with a 5.35 ERA in 24 games with the Scranton Miners of the New York-Penn League.

The Reds sold infielder Billy Sullivan to the Cleveland Indians on January 29. Sullivan hit .266 with two home runs and 36 RBI with the Reds during the 1935 season.

The Reds held spring training at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Reds opened camp at San Juan on February 10, 1936.

During spring training, the Reds traded first baseman Jim Bottomley to the St. Louis Browns for infielder Johnny Burnett. Bottomley struggled with Cincinnati in 1935, hitting .258 with one home run and 49 RBI in 107 games. Burnett hit .223 with 26 RBI in 70 games in his first season with the Browns, after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians.

Regular season

The Reds had a solid start to the regular season, winning six of their first ten games to sit in second place in the National League, 1.5 games behind the pennant leading New York Giants. Following the strong start of the season, Cincinnati lost nine of their next 13 games, dropping to 10-13 and slipping into fifth place.

On May 31, the Reds purchased pitcher Bill Hallahan from the St. Louis Cardinals. Hallahan, who had spent ten seasons with the Cardinals, had a 2-2 record with a 6.32 ERA with the club in 1936. His career record with St. Louis was 93-68 with a 3.82 ERA in 259 games. In 1931, he led the National League with 19 victories. On the same date, Cincinnati sold pitcher Tony Freitas to the Cardinals. Freitas had a 0-2 record with a 1.29 ERA in four games with the Reds.

Cincinnati had a very solid month of June, as by the end of the month, the club had a record of 36-30, however, the Reds remained in fifth place, five games out of first place behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, who were tied for first place.

The club struggled in July, posting a record of 11-18 during the month, dropping their overall record under .500 to 47-48. Cincinnati was still in fifth place, but was now 11.5 games out of first.

On August 2, the Reds traded pitcher Si Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Bill Walker. Johnson, who had played with Cincinnati since 1928, appeared in only two games with the Reds in 1936. He played most of his games with the Reds AA affiliate, the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he posted a 10-9 record with a 2.38 ERA in 26 games. Walker posted a 5-5 record with a 5.50 ERA in 19 games with the Cardinals in 1936. The Reds assigned Walker to Toronto for the remainder of the season. Walker had previously pitched with the New York Giants, where he led the NL with the lowest ERA in 1929 at 3.09, and again in 1931 at 2.26.

Cincinnati continued to struggle in August, as by the end of the month, the club had a 60-65 record, remaining in fifth place, but falling to 17.5 games out of first. During September, the Reds sent pitcher Bill Walker back to the Cardinals in an unknown transaction.

The Reds had a strong start to the month of September, earning a 10-5 record in their first 15 games to reach the .500 mark. In the middle of the month, Cincinnati would go on a nine game losing streak, eliminating their chance of finishing above .500. Overall, the club finished the 1936 season with a record of 74-80, 18 games behind the pennant winning New York Giants.

Offensively, the Reds were led by outfielder Kiki Cuyler, who in his first full season with the club, batted .326 with seven home runs, 74 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 144 games. Catcher Ernie Lombardi led Cincinnati with a .333 batting average and 12 home runs, while driving in 68 runs in 121 games. Outfielder Ival Goodman hit .284 with a team high 17 home runs and tied Cuyler for the RBI lead with 74 in 136 games. Rookie first baseman Les Scarsella hit .313 with three home runs and 65 RBI in 115 games.

Paul Derringer anchored the pitching staff, earning a record of 19-19 with a 4.02 ERA in 51 games played. His 282.1 innings pitched and 121 strikeouts led the Reds. Al Hollingsworth earned a record of 9-10 with a 4.16 ERA in 29 games, while Gene Schott had a record of 11-11 with a team best 3.80 ERA in 31 games.

The 74 victories and .481 winning percentage represented the Reds highest total since 1928, when they won 78 games and finished with a .513 winning percentage. The Reds attendance of 466,345 was an increase of nearly 20,000 from the 1935 season, and was the highest since 1928, when the Reds drew 490,490 fans.

Season standings

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Giants	92	62	.597	—	52‍–‍26	40‍–‍36
St. Louis Cardinals	87	67	.565	5	43‍–‍33	44‍–‍34
Chicago Cubs	87	67	.565	5	50‍–‍27	37‍–‍40
Pittsburgh Pirates	84	70	.545	8	46‍–‍30	38‍–‍40
Cincinnati Reds	74	80	.481	18	42‍–‍34	32‍–‍46
Boston Bees	71	83	.461	21	35‍–‍43	36‍–‍40
Brooklyn Dodgers	67	87	.435	25	37‍–‍40	30‍–‍47
Philadelphia Phillies	54	100	.351	38	30‍–‍48	24‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

1936 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	10–12–2	6–16	13–9	9–13	12–10	8–14–1	13–9
Brooklyn	12–10–2	—	7–15	9–13	9–13	12–10	9–13	9–13
Chicago	16–6	15–7	—	10–12	11–11	16–6	10–12	9–13
Cincinnati	9–13	13–9	12–10	—	9–13	13–9	8–14	10–12
New York	13–9	13–9	11–11	13–9	—	17–5	15–7	10–12
Philadelphia	10–12	10–12	6–16	9–13	5–17	—	7–15	7–15
Pittsburgh	14–8–1	13–9	12–10	14–8	7–15	15–7	—	9–13–1
St. Louis	9–13	13–9	13–9	12–10	12–10	15–7	13–9–1	—

Roster

1936 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers 28 Don Brennan 32 Peaches Davis 25 Paul Derringer 26 Tony Freitas 22 Benny Frey 32 Lee Grissom 24 Bill Hallahan 31 Whitey Hilcher 19 Al Hollingsworth 24 Si Johnson 27 Dee Moore 35 Whitey Moore 39 Jake Mooty 27,31 Emmett Nelson 20 Gene Schott 21 Lee Stine		Catchers  1 Gilly Campbell  2 Ernie Lombardi Infielders 15 Lee Handley 17 Eddie Joost  3 Alex Kampouris 11 George McQuinn 13 Eddie Miller  5 Billy Myers  9 Lew Riggs 11 Les Scarsella 17 Tommy Thevenow		Outfielders  8 Sammy Byrd 14 Calvin Chapman  4 Kiki Cuyler 10 Ival Goodman  6 Babe Herman 16 Hub Walker		Manager  7 Chuck Dressen Coaches 30 George Kelly 29 Tom Sheehan 12 Ivy Wingo

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	Ernie Lombardi	121	387	129	.333	12	68
1B	Les Scarsella	115	485	152	.313	3	65
2B	Alex Kampouris	122	355	85	.239	5	46
SS	Billy Myers	98	323	87	.269	6	27
3B	Lew Riggs	141	538	138	.257	6	57
OF	Ival Goodman	136	489	139	.284	17	71
OF	Babe Herman	119	380	106	.279	13	71
OF	Kiki Cuyler	144	567	185	.326	7	74

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
Tommy Thevenow	106	321	75	.234	0	36
Hub Walker	92	258	71	.275	4	23
Gilly Campbell	89	235	63	.268	1	40
Calvin Chapman	96	219	54	.247	1	22
Samuel Byrd	59	141	35	.248	2	13
George McQuinn	38	134	27	.201	0	13
Lee Handley	24	78	24	.308	2	8
Eddie Joost	13	26	4	.154	0	1
Eddie Miller	5	10	1	.100	0	0
Dee Moore	6	10	4	.400	0	1

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
Paul Derringer	51	282.1	19	19	4.02	21
Al Hollingsworth	29	184.0	9	10	4.16	76
Gene Schott	31	180.0	11	11	3.80	65
Bill Hallahan	23	135.0	5	9	4.33	32

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
Benny Frey	31	131.1	10	8	4.25	20
Peaches Davis	26	125.2	8	8	3.58	32
Lee Stine	40	121.2	3	8	5.03	26
Lee Grissom	6	24.1	1	1	6.29	13
Emmett Nelson	6	17.0	1	0	3.18	3
Dee Moore	2	7.0	0	0	0.00	3

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
Don Brennan	41	5	2	9	4.39	40
Whitey Hilcher	14	1	2	0	6.17	10
Jake Mooty	8	0	0	1	3.95	11
Tony Freitas	4	0	2	0	1.29	1
Si Johnson	2	0	0	0	13.50	2
Whitey Moore	1	1	0	0	5.40	4

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	Ike Boone
A1	Nashville Vols	Southern Association	Lance Richbourg
B	Durham Bulls	Piedmont League	Johnny Gooch
B	Macon Peaches	Sally League	Possum Whitted and Milt Stock
C	El Dorado Lions	Cotton States League	Frank O'Rourke
C	Marshall Orphans/Tigers	East Texas League	Harvey Albrecht, Tex Nugent and Bama Jones
D	Siloam Springs Travelers	Arkansas–Missouri League	Ray Powell
D	Mt. Airy Reds	Bi-State League	Mickey Shader, El Conway and Frank Packard
D	DeLand Reds	Florida State League	Lester "Pat" Patterson
D	Cordele Reds	Georgia–Florida League	Ivy Griffin
D	Paducah Indians	KITTY League	Ben Tincup
D	Lincoln Red Links	Nebraska State League	Pid Purdy
D	Fremont Reds	Ohio State League	Marty Purtell

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: El Dorado, Siloam Springs

Lincoln club folded, July 16, 1936

External links

• 1936 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference