Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 15: Heinie Manush

HEINIE MANUSH
Years with Boston: 1936 (.291/.329/.371, 45 RBIs, 15 doubles, 5 triples in 82 games)
Best Year in Boston: 1936 (.291/.329/.371, 45 RBIs, 15 doubles, 5 triples in 82 games)

Heinie Manush was the fifth future Hall of Famer acquired by Tom Yawkey within just a few years of buying the Red Sox.  Manush was 34 years old though and his best years were behind him.  He had already solidified his Hall of Fame case with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators when he was acquired by Boston.  Boston gave up Roy Johnson and Carl Reynolds to get Manush, two players who had been pretty good with Boston.  None of the three players involved in the trade did much afterwards.

The idea in acquiring Manush was to solidify the outfield by manning left field.  The Red Sox outfield that season mostly consisted of Doc Cramer, Mel Almada, and Dusty Cooke, as injuries and less than stellar hitting stats kept Manush from contributing much to the team.  Manush's batting average was not bad, but it was significantly lower than his career average and he provided no power or speed.  He also only made it into 82 games, 72 in the field.

Manush was released after the season and caught on with Brooklyn for whom he had a nice comeback season in 1937.  He played two more years after that, but his days as a regular were gone.

Manush did not have a good season for Boston, one of the worst seasons in his career.  His time in Boston is mostly irrelevant to his Hall of Fame case.