1931 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1931 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1931. The regular season ended on September 27, 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 28th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Cardinals defeated the Athletics, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1926. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Philadelphia Athletics from the 1930 season.
National League (NL)
- April 14 – September 27, 1931
- October 1–10, 1931
| 1931 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Lefty Grove (PHA) NL: Frankie Frisch (STL) |
| AL champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| AL runners-up | New York Yankees |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | New York Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Athletics |
This was the first season that the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) selected a Most Valuable Player in each league.
Schedule
The 1931 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.
Opening Day, April 14, featured all sixteen teams, the first time since the 1926 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27, which also saw all sixteen teams play on the final day continuing the trend which began the previous season. This was the first time that both Opening Day and the final day of the season saw all sixteen teams play. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 10.
Rule changes
The 1931 season saw the following rule changes:
- The rule previously implemented in 1926, that a sacrifice hit was awarded when any base runner advanced on a fly out, was eliminated.[1][2][3]
- Regulations referring to a batter contacting his own ball were clarified as was the area of bases awarded a batter when a defensive player threw his glove at a batted or thrown ball or in the case of spectator interference.[2]
- In the National League:
- The ground rule double rule was implemented, which states that balls that bounce over the fence entitle the batter to two bases.[1] The rule was previously implemented by the American League in 1929.[2][4][5]
- Barnstorming rules were loosened, allowing a squad of players to go to Japan.[1]
- A rule that only people in uniform be allowed on the playing field after ballpark gates were open was approved.[1]
- The American League adopted the early-1920 rule that when calling home runs, balls are to be called based on where the ball crosses the outfield fence, no matter if the ball lands in the stands or leaves the ballpark.[1][2] The National League previously implemented this rule in 1929.[6]
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 | 107 | 45 | .704 | — | 60–15 | 47–30 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 59 | .614 | 13½ | 51–25 | 43–34 |
| Washington Senators | 92 | 62 | .597 | 16 | 55–22 | 37–40 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 76 | .506 | 30 | 45–31 | 33–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 63 | 91 | .409 | 45 | 39–38 | 24–53 |
| Boston Red Sox | 62 | 90 | .408 | 45 | 39–40 | 23–50 |
| Detroit Tigers | 61 | 93 | .396 | 47 | 36–41 | 25–52 |
| Chicago White Sox | 56 | 97 | .366 | 51½ | 31–45 | 25–52 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 54–24 | 47–29 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 65 | .572 | 13 | 50–27 | 37–38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 70 | .545 | 17 | 50–27 | 34–43 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 79 | 73 | .520 | 21 | 46–29 | 33–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | 79 | .487 | 26 | 44–33 | 31–46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 88 | .429 | 35 | 40–36 | 26–52 |
| Boston Braves | 64 | 90 | .416 | 37 | 36–41 | 28–49 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 58 | 96 | .377 | 43 | 38–39 | 20–57 |
Tie games
9 tie games (5 in AL, 4 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
American League
- Boston Red Sox, 1
- Chicago White Sox, 3
- Cleveland Indians, 1
- New York Yankees, 2
- Philadelphia Athletics, 1
- Washington Senators, 2
National League
- Boston Braves, 2
- Brooklyn Robins, 1
- Chicago Cubs, 2
- New York Giants, 1
- Philadelphia Phillies, 1
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 1
Postseason
The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 10 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1931 World Series in seven games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 3 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | Heinie Wagner | Shano Collins |
| New York Yankees | Bob Shawkey | Joe McCarthy |
League leaders
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Al Simmons (PHA) | .390 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.195 |
| HR | Lou Gehrig (NYY) Babe Ruth (NYY) |
46 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 185 |
| R | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 163 |
| H | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 211 |
| SB | Ben Chapman (NYY) | 61 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 31 |
| L | Pat Caraway (CWS) Sam Gray (SLB) |
24 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 2.06 |
| K | Lefty Grove1 (PHA) | 175 |
| IP | Rube Walberg (PHA) | 291.0 |
| SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) Wilcy Moore (BBOS) |
8 |
| WHIP | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 1.077 |
1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Chick Hafey (STL) | .349 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | .996 |
| HR | Chuck Klein (PHI) | 31 |
| RBI | Chuck Klein (PHI) | 121 |
| R | Chuck Klein (PHI) Bill Terry (NYG) |
121 |
| H | Lloyd Waner (PIT) | 214 |
| SB | Frankie Frisch (STL) | 28 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Jumbo Elliott (PHI) Bill Hallahan (STL) Heinie Meine (PIT) |
19 |
| L | Si Johnson (CIN) | 19 |
| ERA | Bill Walker (NYG) | 2.26 |
| K | Bill Hallahan (STL) | 159 |
| IP | Heinie Meine (PIT) | 284.0 |
| SV | Jack Quinn (BRO) | 13 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.121 |
Milestones
Batters
Cycles
- Babe Herman (BRO):
- Herman hit for his first cycle and third in franchise history, on May 18 against the Cincinnati Reds.[12]
- Herman hit for his second cycle and fourth in franchise history, on July 24 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[13] He is the third player in major league history to hit two in one season.
- Chuck Klein (PHI):
- Klein hit for his first cycle and fourth in franchise history, on July 1 against the Chicago Cubs.[14]
Other batting accomplishments
- Babe Ruth (NYY):
- Became the first player in Major League history to hit 600 home runs on August 21 against the St. Louis Browns.[15]
- Lou Gehrig (NYY):
- Tied a Major League record by becoming the third player and second American League player to hit home runs in six consecutive games between August 28 and September 1.[16]
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Wes Ferrell (CLE):
- Ferrell threw his first career no-hitter and the fifth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Browns 9–0 on April 29. Ferrell walked three and struck out eight.[17]
- Bobby Burke (WSH):
- Burke threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Red Sox 5–0 on August 8. Burke walked five and struck out eight.[18]
Awards and honors
Regular season
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Frankie Frisch (STL) | Lefty Grove (PHA) |
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[19] | Chuck Klein (PHI) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs[20] | 84 | −6.7% | 1,086,422 | −25.8% | 14,109 |
| New York Yankees[21] | 94 | 9.3% | 912,437 | −22.0% | 11,850 |
| New York Giants[22] | 87 | 0.0% | 812,163 | −6.5% | 10,412 |
| Brooklyn Robins[23] | 79 | −8.1% | 753,133 | −31.4% | 9,910 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[24] | 107 | 4.9% | 627,464 | −13.1% | 8,366 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[25] | 101 | 9.8% | 608,535 | 19.7% | 7,802 |
| Boston Braves[26] | 64 | −8.6% | 515,005 | 10.8% | 6,603 |
| Washington Senators[27] | 92 | −2.1% | 492,657 | −19.8% | 6,236 |
| Cleveland Indians[28] | 78 | −3.7% | 483,027 | −8.6% | 6,356 |
| Detroit Tigers[29] | 61 | −18.7% | 434,056 | −33.2% | 5,637 |
| Chicago White Sox[30] | 56 | −9.7% | 403,550 | −0.6% | 5,241 |
| Boston Red Sox[31] | 62 | 19.2% | 350,975 | −21.0% | 4,387 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[32] | 66 | 26.9% | 284,849 | −4.7% | 3,748 |
| Cincinnati Reds[33] | 58 | −1.7% | 263,316 | −31.9% | 3,420 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[34] | 75 | −6.3% | 260,392 | −27.2% | 3,338 |
| St. Louis Browns[35] | 63 | −1.6% | 179,126 | 17.8% | 2,326 |
Venues
Across 80 homes games, the Boston Red Sox played all 15 of their Sunday games at the Boston Braves home field of Braves Field (the remaining 65 home games were played at Fenway Park).[36][37] This was the last of three consecutive seasons playing all Sunday games at Braves Field and 3rd of four consecutive season playing some games at Braves Field.
This was the last of 31 consecutive seasons that the Cleveland Indians played at their inaugural field, League Park (they would play full seasons at the Park in 1934 and 1935, while 1932, and 1936 to 1946 saw home games split with Cleveland Stadium.