1942 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1942 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1942. The regular season ended on September 27, with the St. Louis Cardinals 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 39th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 5 on October 5. In the third iteration of this World Series matchup, the Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to one, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1934. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1941 season.
National League (NL)
- April 14 – September 27, 1942
- September 30 – October 5, 1942
| 1942 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: Joe Gordon (NYY) NL: Mort Cooper (STL) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| World Series | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Runners-up | New York Yankees |
The 10th All-Star Game was played on July 6 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York, home of the New York Giants. The American League won, 3–1.
In the National League, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a record of 104–50, but finished two games behind the Cardinals; the Dodgers tied the 1909 Chicago Cubs, who had a record of 104–49, for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason.[1]
The Philadelphia Athletics set a record for the fewest runs batted in during a season, with only 354.[2]
The St. Louis Browns nearly moved to Los Angeles, California for the start of the 1942 season. During the 1941 Winter Meetings in Chicago, Illinois, a vote was scheduled for the morning of December 8, and was expected to be approved. However, due to the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan the previous day (and subsequent entry of the United States into World War II), when it came time to vote, all teams (including the Browns) unanimously voted against the move.[3][4] The team would eventually leave for Baltimore, Maryland in 1954 where they remain today as the Baltimore Orioles, while Los Angeles would eventually get a major league team in 1958 when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn, New York.
Schedule
The 1942 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 16, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1940 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27 and featured ten teams. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 5.
Rule changes
The 1942 season saw the following rule changes:
- Any player drafted for World War II would be regarded as voluntarily retired, though placed on a separate list.[5]
- Regarding doubleheaders:
- It was made official that both St. Louis teams could schedule doubleheaders after the third Sunday home game (as opposed to the other fourteen teams, who must wait until after the fourth home Sunday game).[5]
- Regularly scheduled games could not be pushed back to the final series of the season for the purpose of causing a doubleheader.[5]
- If the postponement of a contest requires transfer between cities, a game cannot be called off less than one hour before the game’s scheduled start time.[5]
- In the American League, a rule that was previously implemented for the 1940 season, which limited a defending champion team from trading with other American League teams, except through waivers, was repealed.[6][7]
- The number of night games allowed per team was increased from 7 to 14 (with the Washington Senators allowed 21).[8]
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 | 103 | 51 | .669 | — | 58–19 | 45–32 |
| Boston Red Sox | 93 | 59 | .612 | 9 | 53–24 | 40–35 |
| St. Louis Browns | 82 | 69 | .543 | 19½ | 40–37 | 42–32 |
| Cleveland Indians | 75 | 79 | .487 | 28 | 39–39 | 36–40 |
| Detroit Tigers | 73 | 81 | .474 | 30 | 43–34 | 30–47 |
| Chicago White Sox | 66 | 82 | .446 | 34 | 35–35 | 31–47 |
| Washington Senators | 62 | 89 | .411 | 39½ | 35–42 | 27–47 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 99 | .357 | 48 | 25–51 | 30–48 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 106 | 48 | .688 | — | 60–17 | 46–31 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 104 | 50 | .675 | 2 | 57–22 | 47–28 |
| New York Giants | 85 | 67 | .559 | 20 | 47–31 | 38–36 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 76 | .500 | 29 | 38–39 | 38–37 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 81 | .449 | 36½ | 41–34 | 25–47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 68 | 86 | .442 | 38 | 36–41 | 32–45 |
| Boston Braves | 59 | 89 | .399 | 44 | 33–36 | 26–53 |
| Philadelphia Phils | 42 | 109 | .278 | 62½ | 23–51 | 19–58 |
Tie games
9 tie games (2 in AL, 7 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
American League
- Cleveland Indians, 2
- Detroit Tigers, 2
National League
- Boston Braves, 2
- Brooklyn Dodgers, 1
- Chicago Cubs, 1
- Cincinnati Reds, 2
- New York Giants, 2
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 4
- St. Louis Cardinals, 2
Postseason
The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 5 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the New York Yankees in the 1942 World Series in five games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 1 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | Roger Peckinpaugh | Lou Boudreau |
| New York Giants | Bill Terry | Mel Ott |
| Philadelphia Phils | Doc Prothro | Hans Lobert |
League leaders
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | .356 |
| OPS | Ted Williams (BOS) | 1.147 |
| HR | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | 36 |
| RBI | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | 137 |
| R | Ted Williams (BOS) | 141 |
| H | Johnny Pesky (BOS) | 205 |
| SB | George Case (WSH) | 44 |
1 American League Triple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Tex Hughson (BOS) | 22 |
| L | Eddie Smith (CWS) | 20 |
| ERA | Ted Lyons (CWS) | 2.10 |
| K | Tex Hughson (BOS) Bobo Newsom (WSH) |
113 |
| IP | Tex Hughson (BOS) | 281.0 |
| SV | Johnny Murphy (NYY) | 11 |
| WHIP | Tiny Bonham (NYY) | 0.987 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Mort Cooper (STL) | 22 |
| L | Jim Tobin (BSN) | 21 |
| ERA | Mort Cooper (STL) | 1.78 |
| K | Johnny Vander Meer (CIN) | 186 |
| IP | Jim Tobin (BSN) | 287.2 |
| SV | Hugh Casey (BRO) | 13 |
| WHIP | Mort Cooper (STL) | 0.987 |
Milestones
Batters
- Paul Waner (BSN):
- Became the seventh member of the 3,000-hit club with a single in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 19.[14]
Awards and honors
Regular season
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Mort Cooper (STL) | Joe Gordon (NYY) |
Other awards
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[15] | Mort Cooper (STL) | Joe Gordon (NYY) |
| Player of the Year[16] | — | Ted Williams (BOS) |
| Manager of the Year[17] | Billy Southworth (STL) | — |
| Executive of the Year[18] | Branch Rickey (STL) | — |
Baseball Hall of Fame
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers[19] | 104 | 4.0% | 1,037,765 | −14.6% | 13,136 |
| New York Yankees[20] | 103 | 2.0% | 922,011 | −4.4% | 11,974 |
| New York Giants[21] | 85 | 14.9% | 779,621 | 2.2% | 9,869 |
| Boston Red Sox[22] | 93 | 10.7% | 730,340 | 1.6% | 9,485 |
| Chicago Cubs[23] | 68 | −2.9% | 590,972 | 8.4% | 7,577 |
| Detroit Tigers[24] | 73 | −2.7% | 580,087 | −15.3% | 7,534 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[25] | 106 | 9.3% | 553,552 | −12.6% | 7,097 |
| Cleveland Indians[26] | 75 | 0.0% | 459,447 | −38.4% | 5,743 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[27] | 66 | −18.5% | 448,897 | −6.9% | 5,830 |
| Cincinnati Reds[28] | 76 | −13.6% | 427,031 | −33.6% | 5,546 |
| Chicago White Sox[29] | 66 | −14.3% | 425,734 | −37.1% | 6,082 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[30] | 55 | −14.1% | 423,487 | −19.9% | 5,572 |
| Washington Senators[31] | 62 | −11.4% | 403,493 | −2.9% | 5,240 |
| Boston Braves[32] | 59 | −4.8% | 285,332 | 8.2% | 4,019 |
| St. Louis Browns[33] | 82 | 17.1% | 255,617 | 45.0% | 3,320 |
| Philadelphia Phils[34] | 42 | −2.3% | 230,183 | −0.5% | 3,111 |
Venues
Over 80 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 46 games at Cleveland Stadium and 34 games at League Park.[35] All Thursday home games took place at League Park. This would be the 8th of 12 seasons since 1932 that saw the Indians play at both venues.
Following the reversion of the Boston Bees name to Boston Braves the previous season, National League Park's name was also reverted, to Braves Field.
Retired numbers
The Cincinnati Reds re-entered Willard Hershberger's No. 5 into circulation, only two years after his number was retired. This was the first number to be de-retired by any team in MLB. His number would later be re-retired to honor Johnny Bench in 1984.