1959 Washington Senators season

1959 Washington Senators
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Griffith Stadium (since 1911)
Washington, D.C. (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Cookie Lavagetto
Local television	WTOP
Local radio	WTOP (Chuck Thompson, Bob Wolff, Jack Guinan)
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The 1959 Washington Senators won 63 games, lost 91, and finished in eighth place in the American League, 31 games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox in their penultimate season in The Nation's Capital. They were managed by Cookie Lavagetto and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Regular season

On September 7, Ron Samford hit a home run in the last at bat of his career.

Pedro Ramos led the American League in losses.

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	--
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	5
New York Yankees	79	75	.513	15
Detroit Tigers	76	78	.494	18
Boston Red Sox	75	79	.487	19
Baltimore Orioles	74	80	.481	20
Kansas City Athletics	66	88	.429	28
Washington Senators	63	91	.409	31

Record vs. opponents

1959 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	8–14	11–11–1	10–12	13–9	8–14	12–10	12–10
Boston	14–8	—	8–14	8–14	11–11	11–11	13–9	10–12
Chicago	11–11–1	14–8	—	15–7	13–9	12–10	13–9–1	16–6
Cleveland	12–10	14–8	7–15	—	14–8	15–7	11–11	16–6
Detroit	9–13	11–11	9–13	8–14	—	15–7	14–8	10–12
Kansas City	14–8	11–11	10–12	7–15	7–15	—	5–17	12–10
New York	10–12	9–13	9–13–1	11–11	8–14	17–5	—	15–7
Washington	10–12	12–10	6–16	6–16	12–10	10–12	7–15	—

Notable transactions

• April 1, 1959: Vito Valentinetti was traded by the Senators to the Baltimore Orioles for Billy Loes. The trade was voided and the players returned to their original teams on April 8.
• July 25, 1959: Jay Porter was selected off waivers from the Senators by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Roster

1959 Washington Senators
Roster
Pitchers 12 Tex Clevenger 18 Bill Fischer 24 Hal Griggs 35 Dick Hyde 21 Jim Kaat 16 Russ Kemmerer 19,37 Jack Kralick 15 Ralph Lumenti 25 Tom McAvoy 17 Camilo Pascual 28 Pedro Ramos 34,38 John Romonosky 27 Chuck Stobbs 15 Vito Valentinetti 35 Murray Wall 19 Hal Woodeshick		Catchers 14 Clint Courtney  8 Ed Fitz Gerald 10 Steve Korcheck  8 Hal Naragon  9 Jay Porter Infielders  4 Ken Aspromonte 29 Julio Becquer  1 Reno Bertoia 6,25 Billy Consolo  3 Harmon Killebrew 25 Herb Plews 32 Ron Samford  9 Johnny Schaive  2 Roy Sievers 36 José Valdivielso 5,36 Zoilo Versalles  5 Norm Zauchin		Outfielders 26 Bob Allison 22 Dan Dobbek  7 Lenny Green 23 Jim Lemon  6 Albie Pearson 30 Faye Throneberry Other batters  7 Bobby Malkmus		Manager 51 Cookie Lavagetto Coaches 55 Boom-Boom Beck 53 Ellis Clary 54 Billy Jurges 54 Sam Mele

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

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
Ron Samford	91	237	53	.224	5	22
Jay Porter	37	106	24	.226	1	10
José Valdivielso	24	14	4	.286	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

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

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
Tex Clevenger	50	8	5	8	3.91	71

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Chattanooga Lookouts	Southern Association	Red Marion
A	Charlotte Hornets	Sally League	Gene Verble
B	Fox Cities Foxes	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Jack McKeon
C	Missoula Timberjacks	Pioneer League	Ralph Rowe
D	Fort Walton Beach Jets	Alabama–Florida League	Vince Magi
D	Lynchburg Senators	Appalachian League	Chick Payne
D	Sanford Greyhounds	Florida State League	Packy Rogers, Ed Barberito and Joe Abernethy

References

• 1959 Washington Senators at Baseball-Reference
• 1959 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com