The 1959 Cleveland Indians season was the 59th in franchise history. The Indians finished in second place in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, five games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.

Offseason

* October 27, 1958:

Jay Porter J. W. "Jay" Porter (January 17, 1933 – October 11, 2020) was a Major League Baseball player who appeared with the St. Louis Browns (1952), Detroit Tigers (1955–1957), Cleveland Indians (1958), Washington Senators (1959), and St. Louis Cardin ...

was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for

Ossie Álvarez Oswaldo Álvarez González (October 19, 1933 – March 7, 2008) was a Cubans, Cuban professional baseball baseball player, player. A shortstop and second baseman born in Bolondron in Matanzas Province, he appeared in 95 Major League Baseball (ML ...

. * November 20, 1958: Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and

were traded by the Indians to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for Billy Martin and

Al Cicotte Alva Warren Cicotte (; December 23, 1929 – November 29, 1982), nicknamed "Bozo", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. Cicotte pitched in 102 MLB games, 16 as a starter, and compiled a record of 10–13. In 260 innings pitched, Cicotte h ...

. * December 2, 1958: Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Jimmy Piersall. *January 23, 1959:

Earl Averill, Jr. Earl Douglas Averill (September 9, 1931 – May 13, 2015) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and outfielder in the Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Whit ...

and

Morrie Martin Morris Webster Martin (September 3, 1922 – May 24, 2010), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher worked in 250 games in Major League Baseball over ten seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949) ...

were traded by the Indians 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 ...

for Jim Bolger and John Briggs.Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference
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Regular season

On June 10, right fielder

Rocky Colavito Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr. (born August 10, 1933) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1955 to 1968, most prominently as a m ...

hit four home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 11, 1959: Mickey Vernon was traded by the Indians to the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

for

Humberto Robinson Humberto Valentino Robinson (June 25, 1930 – September 29, 2009) was a middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1955 through 1960 for the Milwaukee Braves (1955, 1958), Cleveland Indians (1959) and Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...

. * May 4, 1959:

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

was traded by the Indians to the

for Bob Smith. * June 6, 1959: Jim Bolger and cash were traded by the Indians to the

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 ...

for

Willie Jones Willie Jones may refer to: Sports *Willie Jones (American football) (born 1957), former American football player with the Oakland Raiders *Willie Jones (third baseman) (1925–1983), American Major League Baseball player * Willie Jones (catcher) ( ...

. * September 9, 1959: Chuck Tanner was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.

Opening Day Lineup

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''

Awards and honors

* First All-Star Game:

Vic Power Victor Felipe Pellot (November 1, 1927November 29, 2005), also known professionally as Vic Power, was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican professional baseball first baseman. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athl ...

* Second All-Star Game:

League leaders

, American League leader in home runs (tied)

Farm system

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

References

External links

1959 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference1959 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com1959 WS page at Baseball Reference
{{Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians seasons Cleveland Indians season Cleveland Indians