Thursday, March 16, 2023

The Worst Red Sox Team of All Time Pt. 18: Marty McManus

Failure is often even more fascinating than success. I am definitely intrigued by the 1932 Boston Red Sox, the worst Red Sox team of all time. The team finished with a record of 43-111, for a winning percentage of .279 and very little went right. 

I was a little surprised when I looked into Marty McManus's stats.  He was a pretty good player for quite a long time.  I had been aware of him for awhile, since I pulled a card of him out of a Conlon box early on.  McManus spent most of the 1932 season as player/manager for the Red Sox.

McManus came up with the Browns in 1920 and spent the next seven years in St. Louis.  He played primarily second base and became a very good contact hitter.  He batted over .300 three times with the Browns and led the league in doubles in 1925.  After the 1926 season, he was traded to the Tigers and had a few more strong seasons, including leading the league in stolen bases in 1930 while hitting .320 and driving in 89 runs.  

Late in the 1931 season, McManus was traded to the Red Sox for catcher Muddy Ruel.  In 17 games the rest of that season, he hit .290/.371/.403 with four doubles, a home run, nine RBIs and a stolen base.  He split that time between second base and third base.

Which brings us to 1932.  McManus spent time primarily between second and third, with more time at second.  He did play the other infield positions as well.  After the first 55 games in which Boston went 11-44, manager Shano Collins was dismissed and McManus became player/manager.  Under him, the team had a record of 32-67.  He took a bit of a back seat in playing time, but still played in 93 games, hitting .235/.317/.374 with five home runs and 24 RBIs.  

He seemed to figure out how to balance the two roles in 1933.  The team was still not great, but improved.  The Red Sox had a record of 63-86.  His numbers improved as well, as he hit .284/.369/.413 with 30 doubles, three home runs, 36 RBIs and three stolen bases.  It would be McManus's last year with the Red Sox, but not in Boston, though there was a short stint in time that he was in the Dodgers organization.  McManus finished his Major League career with the Braves in 1934.  

For his career, McManus hit .289/.357/.430 with 1,926 hits, 401 doubles, 120 home runs, 992 RBIs and 126 stolen bases.  Much better numbers than I expected.  McManus was near the end of his career when he went to the Red Sox, but he still put up a line of .264/.348/.396 with 53 doubles, nine home runs and 69 RBIs in 216 games over two-plus seasons.

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