1938 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1938 Major League Baseball season began on April 18, 1938. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 35th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees swept the Cubs in four games, capturing their seventh championship in franchise history, and their third in a four-World Series run, becoming the first team to win three consecutive World Series.
National League (NL)
- April 18 â October 2, 1938 (AL)
- April 19 â October 2, 1938 (NL)
- October 5â9, 1938
| 1938 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: Jimmie Foxx (BOS) NL: Ernie Lombardi (CIN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| NL champions | Chicago Cubs |
| NL runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Chicago Cubs |
The sixth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The National League won, 4â1.
Schedule
The 1938 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 18 with four teams playing, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight teams. This was the first season since 1932 that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on October 2 and featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 9.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 99 | 53 | .651 | â | 55âââ22 | 44âââ31 |
| Boston Red Sox | 88 | 61 | .591 | 9½ | 52âââ23 | 36âââ38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 86 | 66 | .566 | 13 | 46âââ30 | 40âââ36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | 70 | .545 | 16 | 48âââ31 | 36âââ39 |
| Washington Senators | 75 | 76 | .497 | 23½ | 44âââ33 | 31âââ43 |
| Chicago White Sox | 65 | 83 | .439 | 32 | 33âââ39 | 32âââ44 |
| St. Louis Browns | 55 | 97 | .362 | 44 | 31âââ43 | 24âââ54 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | 99 | .349 | 46 | 28âââ47 | 25âââ52 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | 89 | 63 | .586 | â | 44âââ33 | 45âââ30 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 86 | 64 | .573 | 2 | 44âââ33 | 42âââ31 |
| New York Giants | 83 | 67 | .553 | 5 | 43âââ30 | 40âââ37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 82 | 68 | .547 | 6 | 43âââ34 | 39âââ34 |
| Boston Bees | 77 | 75 | .507 | 12 | 45âââ30 | 32âââ45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 71 | 80 | .470 | 17½ | 36âââ41 | 35âââ39 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 69 | 80 | .463 | 18½ | 31âââ41 | 38âââ39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45 | 105 | .300 | 43 | 26âââ48 | 19âââ57 |
Tie games
16 tie games (8 in AL, 8 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, 1
- Cleveland Indians, 1
- Detroit Tigers, 1
- New York Yankees, 5
- Philadelphia Athletics, 2
- St. Louis Browns, 4
- Washington Senators, 1
National League
- Boston Bees, 1
- Brooklyn Dodgers, 2
- Chicago Cubs, 2
- Cincinnati Reds, 1
- New York Giants, 2
- Philadelphia Phillies, 1
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 2
- St. Louis Cardinals, 5
Postseason
The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 9 with the New York Yankees sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the 1938 World Series in four games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 0 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
In-season
League leaders
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Jimmie Foxx (BOS) | .349 |
| OPS | Jimmie Foxx (BOS) | 1.166 |
| HR | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 58 |
| RBI | Jimmie Foxx (BOS) | 175 |
| R | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 143 |
| H | Joe Vosmik (BOS) | 201 |
| SB | Frankie Crosetti (NYY) | 27 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Red Ruffing (NYY) | 21 |
| L | George Caster (PHA) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (BOS) | 3.08 |
| K | Bob Feller (CLE) | 240 |
| IP | Bobo Newsom (SLB) | 329.2 |
| SV | Johnny Murphy (NYY) | 11 |
| WHIP | Dutch Leonard (WSH) | 1.227 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bill Lee (CHC) | 22 |
| L | Hugh Mulcahy (PHI) | 20 |
| ERA | Bill Lee (CHC) | 2.66 |
| K | Clay Bryant (CHC) | 135 |
| IP | Paul Derringer (CIN) | 307.0 |
| SV | Dick Coffman (NYG) | 12 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.140 |
Milestones
Batters
Cycles
- Odell Hale (CLE):
- Hale hit for his first cycle and third in franchise history, on July 12 against the Washington Senators.[6]
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Johnny Vander Meer (CIN):
- Vander Meer threw his first career no-hitter and sixth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Bees 3â0 on June 11. Vander Meer walked three and struck out four.[7]
- Vander Meer threw his second career no-hitter and seventh no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 6â0 on June 15. Vander Meer walked eight and struck out seven.[8] He is the first in major league history to throw two no-hitters in a season, as well as the only player to ever throw no-hitters in back-to-back starts, the latter of which has been described as "the most unbreakable of all baseball records" by LIFE.[9]
- Monte Pearson (NYY):
- Pearson threw his first career no-hitter and third no-hitter in franchise, by defeating the Cleveland Indians 13â0 on August 27. Pearson walked two and struck out seven.[10]
Awards and honors
Regular season
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Ernie Lombardi (CIN) | Jimmie Foxx (BSN) |
Other awards
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[11] | Ernie Lombardi (CIN) | Jimmie Foxx (BSN) |
| Player of the Year[12] | Johnny Vander Meer (CIN) | â |
| Manager of the Year[13] | â | Joe McCarthy (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year[14] | Warren Giles (CIN) | â |
Baseball Hall of Fame
- Grover Cleveland Alexander
- Alexander Cartwright (pioneer contributor)
- Henry Chadwick (pioneer contributor)
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees[15] | 99 | â2.9% | 970,916 | â2.7% | 12,290 |
| Chicago Cubs[16] | 89 | â4.3% | 951,640 | 6.3% | 12,359 |
| New York Giants[17] | 83 | â12.6% | 799,633 | â13.7% | 10,954 |
| Detroit Tigers[18] | 84 | â5.6% | 799,557 | â25.4% | 10,121 |
| Cincinnati Reds[19] | 82 | 46.4% | 706,756 | 71.9% | 9,179 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[20] | 69 | 11.3% | 663,087 | 37.4% | 8,961 |
| Cleveland Indians[21] | 86 | 3.6% | 652,006 | 15.4% | 8,579 |
| Boston Red Sox[22] | 88 | 10.0% | 646,459 | 15.5% | 8,619 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[23] | 86 | 0.0% | 641,033 | 39.5% | 8,218 |
| Washington Senators[24] | 75 | 2.7% | 522,694 | 31.4% | 6,701 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[25] | 53 | â1.9% | 385,357 | â10.5% | 5,070 |
| Boston Bees[26] | 77 | â2.5% | 341,149 | â11.5% | 4,549 |
| Chicago White Sox[27] | 65 | â24.4% | 338,278 | â42.6% | 4,634 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[28] | 71 | â12.3% | 291,418 | â32.4% | 3,598 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[29] | 45 | â26.2% | 166,111 | â21.9% | 2,215 |
| St. Louis Browns[30] | 55 | 19.6% | 130,417 | 5.9% | 1,694 |
Venues
Over 76 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 58 games at League Park and 18 games at Cleveland Stadium.[31] All Thursday games took place at League Park. This would be the 4th of 12 seasons since 1932 that saw the Indians play at both venues.
The Detroit Tigers' venue, Navin Field, named after former owner Frank Navin, was renamed to Briggs Stadium, named after new owner Walter Briggs Sr., prior to the season's start.
The Philadelphia Phillies would play their last game at the Baker Bowl on June 30 after 28 home games, having played 52 seasons there going back to 1887, and moved into the Philadelphia Athletics' home at Shibe Park, where they would go on to play for 33 seasons through 1970.