1930 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1930 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1930. The regular season ended on September 28, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Athletics as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 27th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 6 on October 8. The Athletics defeated the Cardinals, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, winning back-to-back World Series.
National League (NL)
- April 14 â September 28, 1930 (AL)
- April 15 â September 28, 1930 (NL)
- October 1â8, 1930
| 1930 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Pennant Winners | |
| AL champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| AL runners-up | Washington Senators |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | Chicago Cubs |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
Offense dominated this season. The National League batted .303, with six teams batting better than .300. The American League came in at .288, with three teams batting over .300.
Schedule
The 1930 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.
American League Opening Day took place on April 14 with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators playing, while National League Opening Day took place the following day. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which saw all sixteen teams play on the final day for the first time. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 8.
Rule changes
The 1930 season saw the following rule changes:
- Any player who was transferred to another team must report with their new team within 72 hours, with exceptions to those who had to travel from one coast to another.[1]
- League presidents must now appoint the official scorers for each team based on the recommendations of the team presidents and local BBWAA chapters.[1]
Teams
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | 102 | 52 | .662 | â | 58âââ18 | 44âââ34 |
| Washington Senators | 94 | 60 | .610 | 8 | 56âââ21 | 38âââ39 |
| New York Yankees | 86 | 68 | .558 | 16 | 47âââ29 | 39âââ39 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 73 | .526 | 21 | 44âââ33 | 37âââ40 |
| Detroit Tigers | 75 | 79 | .487 | 27 | 45âââ33 | 30âââ46 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | 90 | .416 | 38 | 38âââ40 | 26âââ50 |
| Chicago White Sox | 62 | 92 | .403 | 40 | 34âââ44 | 28âââ48 |
| Boston Red Sox | 52 | 102 | .338 | 50 | 30âââ46 | 22âââ56 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 62 | .597 | â | 53âââ24 | 39âââ38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 90 | 64 | .584 | 2 | 51âââ26 | 39âââ38 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 67 | .565 | 5 | 46âââ31 | 41âââ36 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 86 | 68 | .558 | 6 | 49âââ28 | 37âââ40 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 74 | .519 | 12 | 42âââ35 | 38âââ39 |
| Boston Braves | 70 | 84 | .455 | 22 | 39âââ38 | 31âââ46 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 59 | 95 | .383 | 33 | 37âââ40 | 22âââ55 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 52 | 102 | .338 | 40 | 35âââ42 | 17âââ60 |
Tie games
2 tie games (0 in AL, 2 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
National League
The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies had two tie games each.
- August 16 (game 2), Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs, tied at 3 after 11 innings on account of darkness.[3]
- August 19 (game 2), Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs, tied at 6 after 16 innings on account of darkness.[4]
Postseason
The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 8 with the Philadelphia Athletics defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930 World Series in six games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 4 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 2 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | Joe McCarthy | Rogers Hornsby |
League leaders
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Al Simmons (PHA) | .381 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.225 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 49 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 173 |
| R | Al Simmons (PHA) | 152 |
| H | Johnny Hodapp (CLE) | 225 |
| SB | Marty McManus (DET) | 23 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 28 |
| L | Milt Gaston (BOS) Jack Russell (BOS) |
20 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 2.54 |
| K | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 209 |
| IP | Ted Lyons (CWS) | 297.2 |
| SV | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 9 |
| WHIP | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 1.144 |
1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Bill Terry (NYG) | .401 |
| OPS | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 1.177 |
| HR | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 56 |
| RBI | Hack Wilson2 (CHC) | 191 |
| R | Chuck Klein (PHI) | 158 |
| H | Bill Terry (NYG) | 254 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 37 |
2 All-time single-season runs batted in record
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Ray Kremer (PIT) Pat Malone (CHC) |
20 |
| L | Larry French (PIT) Benny Frey (CIN) |
18 |
| ERA | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 2.61 |
| K | Bill Hallahan (STL) | 177 |
| IP | Ray Kremer (PIT) | 276.0 |
| SV | Herman Bell (STL) | 8 |
| WHIP | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 1.144 |
Milestones
Batters
Cycles
- Freddie Lindstrom (NYG):
- Lindstrom hit for his first cycle and 10th in franchise history, on May 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[9]
- Hack Wilson (CHC):
- Wilson hit for his first cycle and third in franchise history, on June 23 against the Philadelphia Phillies.[10]
- Chick Hafey (STL):
- Hafey hit for his first cycle and sixth in franchise history, on August 21 against the Philadelphia Phillies.[11]
Awards and honors
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[12] | Bill Terry (NYG) | Joe Cronin (WSH) |
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs[13] | 90 | â8.2% | 1,463,624 | â1.5% | 18,527 |
| New York Yankees[14] | 86 | â2.3% | 1,169,230 | 21.8% | 15,385 |
| Brooklyn Robins[15] | 86 | 22.9% | 1,097,329 | 49.9% | 14,251 |
| New York Giants[16] | 87 | 3.6% | 868,714 | 0.0% | 11,282 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[17] | 102 | â1.9% | 721,663 | â14.0% | 9,496 |
| Detroit Tigers[18] | 75 | 7.1% | 649,450 | â25.3% | 8,326 |
| Washington Senators[19] | 94 | 32.4% | 614,474 | 72.8% | 7,980 |
| Cleveland Indians[20] | 81 | 0.0% | 528,657 | â1.4% | 6,866 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[21] | 92 | 17.9% | 508,501 | 27.2% | 6,604 |
| Boston Braves[22] | 70 | 25.0% | 464,835 | 24.8% | 6,037 |
| Boston Red Sox[23] | 52 | â10.3% | 444,045 | 12.5% | 5,843 |
| Chicago White Sox[24] | 62 | 5.1% | 406,123 | â4.8% | 5,207 |
| Cincinnati Reds[25] | 59 | â10.6% | 386,727 | 31.1% | 5,022 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[26] | 80 | â9.1% | 357,795 | â27.2% | 4,647 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[27] | 52 | â26.8% | 299,007 | 6.3% | 3,883 |
| St. Louis Browns[28] | 64 | â19.0% | 152,088 | â45.8% | 1,950 |
Venues
Across 76 homes games, the Boston Red Sox played their Saturday, April 19 doubleheader against the New York Yankees, Friday, July 4 doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics, as well as all 16 of their Sunday games at the Boston Braves home field of Braves Field (the remaining 56 home games were played at Fenway Park).[29][30] This was the 2nd of three consecutive seasons playing all Sunday games at Braves Field and 2nd of four consecutive season playing some games at Braves Field.