The 1933

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The team finished eighth and last in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

with a record of 58–94, 33 games behind the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Offseason

The Reds hired

Larry MacPhail Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail Sr. (February 3, 1890 – October 1, 1975) was an American lawyer and an executive in Major League Baseball. He served as a high-ranking executive, including club president and general manager, with the Cincinn ...

as chief executive and general manager during the off-season. MacPhail had previously purchased an interest in the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

, a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals before being hired by the Reds after being recommended for the position by Cardinals general manager

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

. Following two consecutive last place finishes with a combined record of 177-285, the Reds replaced manager

Dan Howley Daniel Philip "Dapper Dan" Howley (October 16, 1885 – March 10, 1944) was a Major League Baseball manager with the St. Louis Browns and the Cincinnati Reds. His first year as manager of the Browns saw his team lose 94 games and finish games be ...

. The club hired Donie Bush as his replacement for the 1933 season. Bush had previous managerial experience, as in 1923, he was a player/manager with the Washington Senators, leading the club to a 75-78 record and a fourth-place finish in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. Bush was the manager of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

from 1927-1929, leading them to the

National League pennant The National League pennant winner of a given Major League Baseball season is the team that wins the championship—the pennant—of MLB's National League (NL). This team receives the Warren C. Giles Trophy and the right to play in the World S ...

in 1927 with a 94-60 record. Bush also managed the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

from 1930-31. On November 30, the Reds traded away outfielder

Babe Herman Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman (June 26, 1903 – November 27, 1987) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder between and , most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn Dodg ...

to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, getting pitcher Bob Smith, catcher Rollie Hemsley, outfielder Johnny Moore and outfielder

Lance Richbourg Lance Clayton Richbourg (December 18, 1897 – September 10, 1975) was an American professional baseball player who was a Major League right fielder for eight seasons between and . Richbourg played college baseball for the University of Florid ...

.Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
/ref> Smith had a 4-3 record with a 4.61 ERA in 34 games with the Cubs in 1932. Hemsley split the 1932 season between the Cubs and the

, batting .289 with three home runs and 32 RBI in 76 games split between the two clubs. Moore had a .305 batting average with 13 home runs and 64 RBI in 119 games, and Richbourg hit .257 with a home run and 21 RBI in 44 games. On December 17, Cincinnati and the St. Louis Cardinals made a trade, in which the Reds traded pitcher Ownie Carroll and outfielder Estel Crabtree in exchange for first baseman Jim Bottomley. Bottomley hit .296 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 91 games with the Cardinals during the 1932 season. During his career with St. Louis, Bottomley hit .325 with 181 home runs and 1105 RBI in 1392 games since the 1922 season. Bottomley won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1928 when he hit .325 with a league leading 31 home runs and 136 RBI and 20 triples in 149 games. In 1925, Bottomley led the NL with 227 hits and 44 doubles, while in 1925, he again led the NL in doubles with 40, and in runs batted in with 120.Jim Bottomley page at Baseball Reference
/ref> The Reds sold pitcher

Al Eckert Albert George Eckert (May 17, 1906 – April 20, 1974), nicknamed "Obbie", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He first played with the Cincinnati Reds in 1930 and 1931. Later in his career, he would play with the St. Louis Cardinals The S ...

and outfielder

to the St. Louis Cardinals on January 3, then on January 23, the Reds sold infielder

Wally Gilbert Walter John Gilbert (December 19, 1900 – September 7, 1958) was an American athlete who performed in professional baseball, football and basketball. Over his career, Gilbert played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1932 as a third basem ...

to the Cardinals. On February 4, the Reds purchased outfielder Harry Rice and pitcher

Dutch Henry Frank John "Dutch" Henry (May 12, 1902 – August 23, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Robins, New York Giants and Chicago White Sox between 1921 and 1930. Henry batted and threw left handed. ...

from the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. In 1932, Rice hit .345 with 11 home runs with the Millers. He previously played in the

, with his last season with the Washington Senators in 1931. Rice's best season in the AL was in 1925, as he finished fifth in American League Most Valuable Player voting after hitting .359 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 103 games with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. Henry appeared in only 10 games with the Millers in 1932, going 2-4. In 1931 with Minneapolis, Henry had a 23-10 record with a 4.41 ERA in 50 games. Henry last played in the

with the

in 1930, struggling to a 2-17 record with a 4.88 ERA in 35 games. His best season was in 1927, as Henry posted a record of 11-6 with a 4.23 ERA with the

Regular season

The rebuilding Reds got off to a mediocre start to the season, going 8-8 in their first 16 games to sit in a tie for third place, 4.5 games behind the pennant leading

. On May 6, the Reds signed 48 year old free agent pitcher Jack Quinn. Quinn, who began his major league career with the New York Highlanders in 1909, had pitched with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in 1932, going 3-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 42 games. The Reds made a trade on May 7, trading shortstop Leo Durocher and pitchers

and

Jack Ogden John Mahlon Ogden (November 5, 1897 – November 9, 1977), was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played five seasons in the majors, between and , for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and St. Louis Browns. He played several seasons with t ...

to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Sparky Adams and pitchers

Paul Derringer Samuel Paul Derringer (October 17, 1906 – November 17, 1987) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three National League teams from 1931 to 1945, primarily the Cincinnati Reds. He won 20 games for Cincin ...

and

Allyn Stout Allyn McClelland Stout (October 31, 1904 – December 22, 1974) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and Boston Braves. On May 7, 1933, he was involved in the trade tha ...

. At the time of the trade, Adams was hitting .167 in eight games with the Cardinals. In 1931, Adams led the National League with 46 doubles. Derringer was 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA in three games with St. Louis in 1933. In 1931, Derringer was 18-8 with a league best .692 winning percentage with the Cardinals. Stout had appeared in one game with St. Louis, pitching a scoreless two innings. In 1931, Stout went 6-0 with a 4.21 ERA in 30 games. Cincinnati continued to hover around the .500 mark through the middle of June, as after a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader on June 18, the Reds had a record of 28-29, sitting in fifth place and 7 games behind the pennant leading

. The team then went 6-18 in their next 24 games, falling to 34-47 and into last place in the NL on July 11. Cincinnati released struggling infielder

Andy High Andrew Aird High (November 21, 1897 – February 18, 1981) was an American professional baseball third baseman, scout and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds ...

on this date, then two days later, the team released pitcher Jack Quinn. As the season went on, the losses continued to pile on, as the Reds finished in last place for the third consecutive season with a record of 58-94, 33 games behind the pennant winning

and two games behind the seventh place

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The Reds attendance dropped by nearly 150,000 fans from the 1932 season, as Cincinnati drew 218,281 fans, their lowest total since the 1918 season. Outfielder

Chick Hafey Charles James "Chick" Hafey (February 12, 1903 – July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–1931) and Cincinnati Reds (1932–1935, 1937), Hafey was a strong line-drive hitt ...

led the team with a .303 batting average, while hitting seven home runs and 62 RBI in 144 games. Hafey led Cincinnati with 172 hits. First baseman Jim Bottomley hit .250 with a team high 13 home runs and 83 RBI in 145 games, his first season with the club. Catcher Ernie Lombardi hit .283 with four home runs and 47 RBI in 107 games.

, who was acquired early in the season in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, had a record of 7-25 with a team best 3.23 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 33 games. Derringer, who lost two games with St. Louis, led the National League with 27 losses in 1933. Red Lucas went 10-16 with a 3.40 ERA while throwing a team high 21 complete games, while

Larry Benton Lawrence James Benton (November 20, 1897 – April 3, 1953) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Braves, New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds over parts of thirteen seasons from 1923 to 1935. He ...

tied Lucas for the team lead in wins, as he was 10-11 with a 3.71 ERA in 34 games. Eppa Rixey had a record of 6-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 16 games as a 42 year old.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* July 31, 1933: Bob Smith was selected off waivers from the Reds by the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links

1933 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference
{{Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season