Lou Boudreau (1970)


Date of Birth: 7/17/1917
Date of Death: 8/10/2001
Birthplace: Harvey, Illinois
College: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne

Lou Boudreau was a top athlete at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he served as captain of both the baseball and basketball teams. During his senior year, he played semi-pro basketball. In 1940, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education and he helped coach the University's basketball team from 1939 through 1942.

Cleveland Indians

Boudreau signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1938. That season, he played first base in one game with them. The following season, he became a shortstop and he batted .258 in 53 games with the Indians.

In 1940, his first full season in the major leagues, Boudreau batted .295 with 185 hits. He had a career high 46 doubles, 10 triples, and 101 RBIs. He led the AL in games played with a career high 155. Defensively, he led all AL shortstops in double plays with 116.

Boudreau led the AL in doubles in 1941 with 45. He also led all AL shortstops in putouts with 296. He finished the season with 149 hits, 56 RBIs, 57 strikeouts to 85 walks, and a .257 batting average in 148 games.

In 1942, at the age of 25, Boudreau was made player-manager of the Indians, a position he held through the 1950 season. He batted .283 with 18 doubles and 58 RBIs in 147 games in 1942. The following season, he had 154 hits, 32 doubles, 67 RBIs, 31 strikeouts to 90 walks, and a .286 batting average in 152 games. He led all AL shortstops in double plays (122) and putouts (328) in 1943.

Boudreau won the American League batting title in 1944, batting .327 that season. He had 191 hits, 45 doubles, and 67 RBIs in 150 games. Defensively, he led the AL in assists with 517, and he led AL shortstops in double plays with 134 and in putouts with 339.

Boudreau played in only 97 games in 1945. He batted .307 with 106 hits, 24 doubles, and 48 RBIs. The next year, he batted .293 in 140 games. He finished the 1946 season with 151 hits, 30 doubles, and 62 RBIs. He once again led all AL shortstops in putouts with 315.

In 1947, Boudreau led the AL in doubles with 45. He had 165 hits, 67 RBIs, and a .307 batting average in 150 games. He again led all AL shortstops in double plays with 120.

Boudreau's best season was 1948, when he won the American League MVP award, the Sporting News Player of the Year award, and the Associated Press Athlete of the Year award. He had career highs in hits (199), home runs (18), RBIs (106), walks (98 to 9 strikeouts), and batting average (.355).

Boudreau's batting average dropped to .284 in 1949. He had 135 hits, 20 doubles, and 60 RBIs in 134 games. The next year, he played in only 81 games and he batted .269.

Boston Red Sox

Boudreau was released by the Indians after the 1950 season and he signed with the Boston Red Sox. He played in only 82 games in 1951, and he batted .267 with 73 hits, 18 doubles, and 47 RBIs. In 1952, the Red Sox named him player-manager but he played in just four games with them that season, his last in the major leagues.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year
  • Associated Press Athlete of the Year
  • Led AL in doubles (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Boudreau in 15 seasons (1938-1952) in the major leagues include:

  • 6 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 199 in 1948
  • 7 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 46 in 1940
  • 4 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .355 in 1948

Career batting statistics for Boudreau include:

  • 1,646 games played
  • 1,779 hits
  • 385 doubles
  • 789 RBIs
  • 309 strikeouts to 796 walks
  • .295 batting average
  • .380 on-base percentage
  • .795 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Boudreau as a shortstop include:

  • 1,539 games played
  • 4,760 assists
  • 1,180 double plays
  • 3,132 putouts
  • 223 errors
  • .973 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Boudreau continued to manage the Red Sox through the 1953 and 1954 seasons. From 1955 until he was fired in 1957, he managed the Kansas City Athletics. He ended his major league managing career in 1960 with the Chicago Cubs. His record as a manager was 1,162 wins to 1,224 losses in 2,404 games. He led the 1948 Cleveland Indians to a pennant and a World Series win.

After his career as a player-manager ended, Boudreau had a long career as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs (1958-1959, 1961-1987).

Boudreau was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970 on the tenth ballot with 77.3% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Lou Boudreau
ESPN - Lou Boudreau
Baseball Reference - Lou Boudreau

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