Joe Cronin (1956)


Date of Birth: 10/12/1906
Date of Death: 9/7/1984
Birthplace: San Francisco, California

Joe Cronin was already an accomplished athlete as a teenager. At the age of 14, he won a tennis championship. However, he didn't sign with a professional baseball team until 1925, when he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played his first season in the minor leagues.

Pittsburgh Pirates

In 1926, Cronin was with the Pirates, playing in 38 games with them. The next year, he played in just 12 games.

Washington Senators

Cronin's contract was purchased by a team in the American Association on April 1, 1928. After playing in 74 games with that team, the Washington Senators purchased his contract in July. He then played in 63 games with the Senators and he batted .242 with 55 hits.

In 1929, his first full season in the major leagues, Cronin batted .281 with 139 hits, 29 doubles, and 61 RBIs in 145 games. He walked 85 times and struck out 37 times. He played well defensively, leading all AL shortstops in assists with 459.

Cronin had a strong season in 1930, and he was named the Sporting News MVP. He led the AL in games played with 154, and he had career highs in hits with 203 and in RBIs with 126. He batted .346 with 41 doubles. Defensively, he led all AL shortstops in assists with 509, double plays turned with 95, and putouts with 336.

Cronin again led the AL in games played in 1931. He finished that season with 187 hits, 44 doubles, 13 triples, 12 home runs, a career high 126 RBIs, and a .306 batting average in a career high 156 games. He again led AL shortstops in double plays turned (94) and in putouts (323).

Cronin led the AL in triples in 1932 with a career high of 18 and in doubles in 1933 with 45. He finished the 1932 season with 177 hits, 43 doubles, 116 RBIs, and a .318 batting average in 143 games. That year, he led AL shortstops in assists with 448, double plays turned with 95, and putouts with 306. In 1933, he had 186 hits, 11 triples, 118 RBIs, and a .309 batting average in 152 games.

Cronin was made player-manager of the Senators in 1933 and in his two years as manager of the Senators, he had 165 wins to 139 losses. As a player in 1934, he batted .284 in 127 games, and he had 143 hits, 30 doubles, and 101 RBIs.

Boston Red Sox

Cronin was traded to the Boston Red Sox on October 26, 1934. He was made player-manager of the team and he continued to manage the team through the 1947 season.

In 1935, his first season with Boston, Cronin batted .295 in 144 games. He had 164 hits, 37 doubles, 14 triples, and 95 RBIs. The following season, he played in just 81 games. He finished the 1936 season with 83 hits, 22 doubles, 43 RBIs, and a .281 batting average.

Cronin had a full season as a player in 1937, when he batted .307 in 148 games. He had 175 hits, 40 doubles, 18 home runs, and 110 RBIs. He walked 84 times and he struck out 73 times.

Cronin led the AL in doubles in 1938. That season, he had career highs in doubles with 51 and in walks with 91 (to 60 strikeouts). He finished the season with 172 hits, 17 home runs, 94 RBIs, and a .325 batting average in 143 games.

Cronin had similar seasons in 1939, 1940, and 1941. He played in 143 games in 1939 and 1941, and in 149 games in 1940. He batted .308 in 1939, .285 in 1940, and .311 in 1941. He had a career high 24 home runs in 1940. He had 160 hits in 1939, 156 hits in 1940, and 161 hits in 1941. He had 33 doubles in 1939, 35 doubles in 1940, and 38 doubles in 1941. His RBI numbers were 107 in 1939, 111 in 1940, and 95 in 1941.

From 1942 through 1945, his last season as a major league player, Cronin's playing time diminished. He played in just 45 games in 1942, and he batted .304. The next year, he batted .312 in 59 games, and in 1944, he batted .241 in 76 games. In his last season, he played in just three games with the Red Sox.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Sporting News MVP
  • Led AL in doubles (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Cronin in 13 full seasons (1929-1941) in the major leagues include:

  • 10 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 203 in 1930
  • 11 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 51 in 1938
  • 4 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 18 in 1932
  • 8 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 126 in 1930 and 1931
  • 8 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .346 in 1930

Career batting statistics for Cronin include:

  • 2,124 games played
  • 2,285 hits
  • 515 doubles
  • 118 triples
  • 1,424 RBIs
  • 700 strikeouts to 1,059 walks
  • .301 batting average
  • .390 on-base percentage
  • .858 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Cronin as a shortstop include:

  • 1,843 games played
  • 5,814 assists
  • 1,165 double plays
  • 3,696 putouts
  • 485 errors
  • .951 fielding percentage

Managerial Record

In addition to having a successful career as a player, Cronin had a good record as a manager. His overall record was 1,236 wins to 1,055 losses. He led the Washington Senators to an American League pennant in 1933, and he led the Red Sox to a pennant in 1946.

Post Playing and Managing Career

After retiring as manager of the Red Sox, Cronin was promoted to general manager, a position he held from 1947 until the beginning of 1959.

From 1959 until 1973, Cronin was president of the American League.

Cronin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956 on the 10th ballot with 78.8% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Joe Cronin
ESPN - Joe Cronin
Baseball Reference - Joe Cronin

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