Lou Boudreau

Lore & Background

Boudreau was an All-Star for seven seasons. In 1948, Boudreau won the American League Most Valuable Player Award and managed the Cleveland Indians to the World Series title. He won the 1944 American League batting title (.327), and led the league in doubles in 1941, 1944, and 1947. He led AL shortstops in fielding eight times. Boudreau still holds the MLB record for hitting the most consecutive doubles in a game (four), set on July 14, 1946. He had the most hits (1,578) for all players in the 1940s. In 1970, Boudreau was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and his No. 5 was retired by the Indians that same year.

In Their Own Story

The October night in 1940 still lives in the memory of the old Stadium. The air smells of tobacco and cold beer; the lights buzz overhead like a hive. Boudreau stands in the shallow outfield grass between the bases, glove up, watching the Tigers' batter load the pitch. He's the manager, the shortstop, the twenty-five-year-old kid who somehow has the whole club's fate balanced on his shoulders. The ball comes in hot, a grounder screaming at his knees. He doesn't watch it. He's already turned, already set, the Boudreau bounce crisp and silent off the leather. The throw to first is a laser. The runner is out. He jogs back to the bag, adjusts his cap, and says nothing. The crowd roars. He knows it's not enough. Not yet. Not tonight. But he'll be here tomorrow, glove up, eyes on the next pitch, the youngest boss in the league doing what he does best: making the impossible look like a routine play.

Reader's Guide

Boudreau made his major league debut on September 9, 1938, for the Cleveland Indians at 21 as a third baseman. In 1939, Indian manager Ossie Vitt told him he would have to move to shortstop. After the 1941 season, owner Alva Bradley promoted Boudreau to player-manager at age 24. He played and managed the Indians throughout World War II. In 1944, Boudreau turned 134 double plays, the most ever by a player-manager in MLB history. He was released by the Indians as both player and manager following the 1950 season. He signed with the Boston Red Sox, playing full-time in 1951, moving up to player-manager in 1952 and managing from the bench in 1953–54. He then became the first manager of the Kansas City Athletics in 1955 until he was fired after 104 games in 1957. He last managed the Chicago Cubs in 1960.

Did You Know?

• Boudreau is credited with inventing the infield shift, known as the 'Boudreau shift,' to counter Ted Williams.
• He did play-by-play for Cub games in 1958–59 before managing the Cubs in 1960, then returned to the radio booth until 1987.
• Boudreau also did radio play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls (1966–1968) and worked on Chicago Blackhawks games.
• He earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Illinois in 1940 and worked as the Illinois freshman basketball coach for the 1939 and 1940 teams.