Joe Cronin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Joe Cronin | ||
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| Shortstop/Manager | ||
| Born: October 12, 1906 San Francisco, California |
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| Died: September 7, 1984 (aged 77) Osterville, Massachusetts |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 29, 1926 for the Pittsburgh Pirates |
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| Final game | ||
| April 19, 1945 for the Boston Red Sox |
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| Career statistics | ||
| AVG | .301 | |
| HR | 170 | |
| Hits | 2285 | |
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As Player As Manager
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Elected | 1956 | |
| Vote | 78.76% (tenth ballot) | |
Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was a Major League Baseball player from 1926 to 1945 and manager from 1933 to 1947. He was a shortstop and was an All-Star seven times. Born in the Excelsior district of San Francisco, Cronin broke into the majors in 1926 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and moved to the Washington Senators in 1928.
[edit] Major League career
Legendary baseball promoter Joe Engel, who scouted for the Senators and managed the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium got a steal of a deal on Cronin. When Engel first spotted Cronin playing in Kansas City, "I knew I was watching a great player. I bought Cronin at a time he was hitting .221. When I told Clark Griffith what I had done, he screamed, "You paid $7,500 for that bum? Well, you didn't buy him for me. You bought him for yourself. He's not my ballplayer - he's yours. You keep him and don't either you or Cronin show up at the ballpark." Cronin led the Senators ball club to the 1933 World Series and even married Griffith's niece, Mildred Robertson.
In 1930, Cronin had a break out year, batting .346 with 13 home runs and 126 RBI. Cronin won both the AL Writers' MVP (forerunner of BBWAA official MVP established in 1931) and the AL Sporting News MVP for his work in 1930. His 1931 season was also outstanding, posting a .306 average, 12 home runs and 126 RBI.
Cronin assumed managerial duties in 1933, a role he would continue with the Boston Red Sox, the team he was traded to prior to the 1935 season, by Senators' owner Clark Griffith - his own uncle-in-law. Cronin's playing career finished in 1945 but he remained a manager until 1947.
Over his career, Cronin batted .300 or higher eight times as well as knocked in 100 runs or more eight times. He finished with a .301 average, 170 home runs and 1424 RBI. As a manager, he compiled a 1,236-1,055 record and won two American League championships (in 1933 and 1946). His 1933 Senators dropped the 1933 World Series to the New York Giants in six games, and his 1946 Bosox lost the 1946 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven contests.
At the end of the 1947 season, he succeeded Eddie Collins as general manager of the Red Sox and continued in that post through 1958. The Red Sox challenged for the AL pennant in 1948-49 (finishing second by a single game both seasons) thanks to Cronin's aggressive trades, but they began a slow decline during the 1950s and did not seriously contend after 1950. The Red Sox lavished bonus contracts on a series of young players who never became stars, and were the last team in major league baseball to integrate its roster. In January 1959, Cronin was elected president of the American League, the first former player to be so elected. Six months later, on July 21, 1959, infielder Pumpsie Green was recalled from the AAA Minneapolis Millers, becoming the first African-American to wear a Red Sox uniform.
Cronin served as AL president until the end of 1973, when he was succeeded by Lee MacPhail. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (with Hank Greenberg) in 1956. Joe Cronin died at the age of 77 on September 7, 1984 in Osterville, Massachusetts, and is buried in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in nearby Centerville.
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| Joe Cronin's number 4 was retired by the Boston Red Sox in 1984 |
His jersey number 4 was formally retired by the Red Sox on May 29, 1984. In 1999, he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
[edit] See also
- Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
- Hitting for the cycle
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Major league career managerial statistics from Baseball-Reference
- baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page
| Preceded by Will Harridge |
American League president 1959–1973 |
Succeeded by Lee MacPhail |
| Preceded by Eddie Collins |
Red Sox General Manager 1948 - 1958 |
Succeeded by Bucky Harris |
| Preceded by Bucky Harris |
Boston Red Sox Manager 1935-1947 |
Succeeded by Joe McCarthy |
| Preceded by Walter Johnson |
Washington Senators Manager 1933-1934 |
Succeeded by Bucky Harris |
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