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Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player,
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
and executive. He played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) as a
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
, most notably as a member of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Cronin spent over 48 years in baseball, culminating with 14 years as president of the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
(AL). During his 20-year playing career (1926–1945), Cronin played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
, Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox; he was a
player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
for 13 seasons (1933–1945), and served as manager for two additional seasons (1946–1947). A seven-time
All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...
, Cronin became the first
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
player to become an All-Star with two teams; he was elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
in
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
.


Early life

Cronin was born in the Excelsior District of
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. His parents lost almost all of their possessions in the
1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...
. Cronin attended Sacred Heart High School. He played several sports as a child and he won a city tennis championship for his age group when he was 14. As he was not greatly interested in school, Cronin's grades improved only when the San Francisco Seals of the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
began giving away tickets to students with good conduct and attendance. At the time, the nearest MLB team was nearly from San Francisco.


Major league career


As a player

Cronin began his major league baseball career playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1926 and 1927. Baseball promoter Joe Engel, who scouted for the Washington Senators and managed the
Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...
at
Engel Stadium Engel Stadium is a stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The stadium was built in 1930 and holds 12,000 people. It was the home of the Chattanooga Lookouts until 1999 when they moved to their current stadium, AT&T Field. The former Tennessee Temple ...
, signed Cronin to the Senators in 1928, after spotting Cronin play in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
. In , Cronin ranked 26th in the league for batting average at .346, 35th for
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s with 13, and 13th for RBI with 126. Cronin won both the AL Writers' MVP (the forerunner of the BBWAA MVP, established in 1931) and the AL Sporting News MVP. In his 1931 season, he posted a .306
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
, 12 home runs, and 126 RBIs. Cronin led the Senators to the 1933 World Series and later married Mildred Robertson, the niece of Senators' owner Clark Griffith.


As a player-manager and manager

Cronin was named player-manager of the Senators in , a post he would hold for two years. In his first year, he led the Senators to what would be their last pennant in Washington. While Cronin was on his honeymoon with Mildred in his hometown of San Francisco, he received a telegram from Griffith informing him that the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
had offered the Senators their starting shortstop, Lyn Lary, in return for Cronin and $250,000. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey also offered Cronin a five-year contract as player-manager. Well aware of the Senators' perennial financial problems (Griffith had no income apart from the Senators), Cronin accepted the trade. Cronin remained as player-manager of the Red Sox until , then continued solely as manager until . As early as , it was apparent to the Red Sox that Cronin's playing career was nearly over. Red Sox farm system director Billy Evans thought he had found Cronin's successor in
Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. ...
, the star shortstop for the
Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
of the Triple-A American Association. He was so impressed by Reese that he was able to convince Yawkey to buy the Colonels and make them the Red Sox' top farm club. However, when Yawkey and Evans asked Cronin to scout Reese, Cronin realized he was scouting his potential replacement. Believing he still had enough left to be a regular player, Cronin deliberately downplayed Reese's talent and suggested the Red Sox trade him. Reese was eventually traded to the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
, where he had a Hall of Fame career. As it turned out, Evans and Yawkey's concerns about Cronin were valid. His last year as a full-time player was ; after that season he never played more than 76 games per season. Even when
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
saw many young players either enlist or drafted in the armed services, Cronin limited his playing appearances to cameo roles as a utility infielder and pinch-hitter. On June 17, 1943, Cronin sent himself to pinch hit in both games of a doubleheader and hit a home run each time. In April 1945, he broke his leg in a game against the Yankees. He sat out the remainder of the season and retired as a player at the end of the year. Over his career, Cronin batted .300 or higher eight times, as well as driving in 100 runs or more eight times. He retired with a career .301 average, with 2,285 hits, 515 doubles, 118 triples, 170 home runs, and 1,424 RBIs. As a manager, he compiled a 1,236–1,055 record and won two
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
pennants (in 1933 and 1946). His 1933 Senators lost the 1933 World Series to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
, and his 1946 Red Sox–the franchise's first pennant winner in 28 years–lost the 1946 World Series to the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
.


As a general manager

At the end of the 1947 season, Cronin succeeded Eddie Collins as
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the Red Sox and held the post for over 11 years, through mid-January . With Cronin as general manager, the Red Sox competed for the AL pennant in and , finishing second by a single game each season, thanks to Cronin's aggressive trades. In his first off-season, he acquired shortstop Vern Stephens and
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
s Ellis Kinder and Jack Kramer from the St. Louis Browns; all played major roles for the 1948 Red Sox, who finished the season tied for first place with the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
but lost a tie-breaking playoff game against the Indians for the AL pennant. Kinder and Stephens were centerpieces of the Red Sox' 1949–1950 contenders as well. In the former year, they were edged out by the Yankees during the regular season's final weekend; in the latter, they finished third but came within four games of the league-leading Yanks. With the exception of
Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
(who missed most of the 1952–1953 seasons while serving in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
), the core of the 1946–1950 team aged quickly and the Red Sox faced a significant rebuilding job starting in . Cronin's acquisition of future American League Most Valuable Player Jackie Jensen from Washington in represented a coup, but the club misfired on several "bonus babies" who never lived up to their potential. The Red Sox posted winning season records for all but two of Cronin's 11 seasons as general manager, but from 1951 through 1958 they lagged behind the AL pennant-winners (except for 1954, the Yankees) by an average of almost 18 games. In January of , Cronin left the team and became American League president. By the end of Cronin's eleven-year term as general manager, the Red Sox were the only major-league team that had not fielded a black player.Edes, Gordon, ''George Digby and Willie Mays: The One Who Got Away''
ESPN Boston, May 3, 2014
During this time, he reportedly made unsuccessful efforts to integrate the team, including attempts to sign or trade for Bill Greason,
Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball color line, bas ...
and Charlie Neal. At the minor-league level, Cronin made some attempts to sign black players. Notably, in 1949, he sent
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...
Larry Woodall to evaluate an 18-year-old
Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...
of the Birmingham Black Barons of the
Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...
. But Woodall and Cronin passed on Mays and instead signed Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, 32, who was Mays’ player-manager and a five-time All-star shortstop. Davis became the first black player to sign with the Red Sox organization in 1949, but he was released after one season, which included 15 games played with the 1950 Scranton Red Sox of the Eastern League. During the 1950s, Cronin's farm system signed pitcher Earl Wilson in 1953 and purchased infielder Pumpsie Green in 1955. Wilson rose through the Red Sox' system until he was called to military service in the U.S. Marines for two years. Finally, in the middle of
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
, both were promoted from the Triple-A
Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...
by Cronin's successor,
Bucky Harris Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris (November 8, 1896 – November 8, 1977) was an American professional baseball second baseman, Manager (baseball), manager and executive. While Harris played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senato ...
: Green became the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
to play in a major league game for the Red Sox on July 21; one week later, Wilson became the second, and their first black pitcher.


As AL president

In January 1959, Cronin was elected president of the American League, the first former player to be so elected and the fourth full-time chief executive in the league's history. When he replaced the retiring
Will Harridge William Harridge (October 16, 1883 – April 9, 1971) was an American executive in professional baseball whose most significant role was as president of the American League (AL) from 1931 to 1959. Harridge, who was formative in creating the Base ...
, who became board chairman, Cronin moved the league's headquarters from
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Cronin served as AL president until December 31, 1973, when he was succeeded by
Lee MacPhail Leland Stanford MacPhail Jr. (October 25, 1917 – November 8, 2012) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. MacPhail was a baseball executive for 45 years, serving as the director of player personnel for the New York Y ...
. During Cronin's 15 years in office, the Junior Circuit expanded from eight to 12 teams, adding the
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
and expansion Washington Senators in and the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
and
Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...
in . The league also underwent four franchise shifts: the relocation of the original Senators club (now owned by Cronin's brother-in-law and sister-in-law,
Calvin Griffith Calvin Robertson Griffith (December 1, 1911 – October 20, 1999), born Calvin Griffith Robertson, was a Canadian-born American Major League Baseball team owner. As president, majority owner and ''de facto'' general manager (baseball), general m ...
and Thelma Griffith Haynes) to
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
, creating the
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
(1961); the shift of the Athletics from
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
to
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
(); the transfer of the Pilots after only one season in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
to
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
as the Brewers (); and the transplantation of the expansion Senators after 11 seasons in Washington, D.C., to Dallas–Fort Worth as the Texas Rangers (). The Angels also moved from Los Angeles to adjacent Orange County in and adopted a regional identity, in part because of the dominance of the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
Dodgers, who were the Angels' landlords at "Chavez Ravine" (Dodger Stadium) from 1962–1965. Of the four expansion teams that joined the league beginning in 1961, three abandoned their original host cities within a dozen years (the Pilots after only one season), and only one team—the Royals—remained in its original municipality. Two of the charter members of the old eight-team league, the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
and
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
, also suffered significant attendance woes and were targets of relocation efforts by other cities. In addition, the AL found itself at a competitive disadvantage compared with the National League during Cronin's term. With strong teams in larger markets and a host of new stadiums, the NL outdrew the AL for 33 consecutive years (1956–1988). In 1973, Cronin's final season as league president, the NL attracted 55 percent of total MLB attendance, 16.62 million vs. 13.38 million total fans, despite the opening of
Royals Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. B ...
in Kansas City and the American League's adoption of the
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
rule, which was designed to spark scoring and fan interest. While the National League held only an 8–7 edge in
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
play during the Cronin era, it dominated the
Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
, going 15–3–1 in the 19 games played from 1959–1973. In 1966, while American League president, Cronin hired the first black major league umpire, Emmett Ashford. In an interview with Larry Gerlach, Ashford stated, “
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
had his
Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...
, I had my Joe Cronin.” After the season, Cronin drew headlines when he fired AL umpires Al Salerno and Bill Valentine, ostensibly for poor performance; however, it later surfaced that the two officials were fired for attempting to organize an umpires' union. Neither man was reinstated (Valentine became a successful
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
front-office executive), but the Major League Umpires Association was formed anyway, two years later.


Hall of Fame

Joe Cronin was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
(with
Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...
) in 1956.


Career statistics

Sourc


Managerial record


Death

In the last months of his life, Cronin struggled with cancer that had invaded his prostate and bones; he suffered a great deal of bone pain as a result. Cronin came to
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
for one of his last public appearances when his jersey number 4 was retired by the Red Sox on May 29, 1984. He died at the age of 77 on September 7, 1984, at his home in
Osterville, Massachusetts Osterville is one of seven villages within the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. The village of Osterville is located on the south side of Barnstable on Nantucket Sound. Osterville is a residential community that includes marshes, ...
. He is buried in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in nearby Centerville.


Legacy

At the number retirement ceremony shortly before Cronin's death, teammate
Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
commented on how much he respected Cronin as a father and a man. Cronin was also remembered as a clutch hitter. Manager
Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...
once commented, "With a man on third and one out, I'd rather have Cronin hitting for me than anybody I've ever seen, and that includes Cobb, Simmons and the rest of them." In 1999, he was a nominee for the
Major League Baseball All-Century Team In 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of Sports fan, fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball (MLB) players from the 20th century. Over tw ...
. The Joe Cronin Award was established in 1973 to reward
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
players for significant achievement.


See also

*
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of selected former Boston Red Sox players, coaches and managers, and non-uniformed personnel. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, ...
* Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame *
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit (baseball), hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
* List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders *
List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders In baseball, a Triple (baseball), triple is a hit in which the batter advances to third base in one play, with neither the benefit of a Error (baseball), fielding error nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice. Triples were more com ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in boldface are active as of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. Key List *Stats updated as of June 16, 2025. Through June 16, 2025, th ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders This is a list of Major League Baseball players who have compiled 1,000 runs batted in (RBIs). RBIs are usually accumulated when a batter in baseball enables a runner on base (including himself, in the case of a home run) to score as a result of m ...
* List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders *
List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders In baseball, a Triple (baseball), triple is recorded when the ball is hit so that the Batting (baseball), batter is able to advance all the way to third base, Run (baseball), scoring any Baserunning, runners who were already on base, with no Erro ...
*
List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle In baseball, completing hitting for the cycle, the cycle is the accomplishment of hit (baseball), hitting a single (baseball), single, a double (baseball), double, a triple (baseball), triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of freque ...
*
List of Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Founded in 1869, it is composed of 30 Current Major League Baseball franchises, teams. Each team in the league has a manager (baseball), manager, wh ...
* List of Major League Baseball managerial wins and winning percentage leaders


Notes


References

*Armour, Mark (2010)
''Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball''
University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...
. .


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Joe 1906 births 1984 deaths American League All-Stars American League presidents American people of Irish descent Baseball players from San Francisco Boston Red Sox executives Boston Red Sox managers Boston Red Sox players Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Johnstown Johnnies players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Major League Baseball shortstops National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees New Haven Profs players People from Osterville, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Barnstable, Massachusetts Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Barnstable County, Massachusetts Washington Senators (1901–1960) managers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory alumni