Joe Cronin
Joseph "Joe" Edward Cronin ( born October 12, 1906 in San Francisco, † September 7, 1984 in Osterville, Massachusetts ) was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball.
Biography
Joe Cronin, who was born in San Francisco and there worked as a bank clerk made his debut in the National League with the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 29, 1926. In Pittsburgh he had on his position of shortstop strong competition in Arky Vaughan, so he 1928 moved to the Washington Senators. There he made the breakthrough. In 1930 he had his best year. He achieved a batting average of 34.6 % and scored 126 RBI. The magazine The Sporting News voted him player of the year. The official MVP title, there was only from 1931.
1933, Cronin also the post of manager for the Senators. In his first year he was able to win the championship in the American League with his team. In the World Series, however, retained the New York Giants the upper hand.
Before the season 1935 he moved to the Boston Red Sox, where he held the dual role as player and manager. His last game with the Red Sox, he played on 19 April 1945. Through a broken leg he had to end his playing career. As a manager, he won the championship with the Red Sox in 1946, but was beaten again, this time against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
Cronin had eight times in his career, a batting average of over 30% in a season and eight seasons with over 100 RBI. Seven times he was nominated as an All Star.
After the 1947 season, he was appointed general manager of the Red Sox. He held until 1958 this post. During his tenure, no African-American players played with the Red Sox in the major league team. In 1956 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In January 1959 he was elected president of the American League. In 1973 he was replaced Lee MacPhail from this position.
Cronin died at the age of 77 years in 1984. His jersey number 4 is no longer available from the Boston Red Sox.