1919 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1919 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1919 in baseball.
1919 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 23 – September 29, 1919 (AL)
  • April 19 – September 28, 1919 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 1–9, 1919
Games140
Teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant Winners
AL championsChicago White Sox
  AL runners-upCleveland Indians
NL championsCincinnati Reds
  NL runners-upNew York Giants
World Series
ChampionsCincinnati Reds
  Runners-upChicago White Sox
Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
American League
Locations of teams for the 1916–1919 National League seasons
National League

The 1919 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1919. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 16th World Series, known for the infamous Black Sox Scandal, on October 1 and ended with Game 8 on October 9. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago White Sox, five games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Boston Red Sox from the 1918 season.

The Black Sox Scandal, for which the 1919 season is best remembered for, saw the Chicago White Sox throw (purposely lose) the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, 5–3, in order to illegally gain money from gambling. This scandal resulted in the dissolution of the National Baseball Commission and the creation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball. The new commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned eight players from baseball for life.[1]

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1919 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This 140-game schedule format had been previously used in 1903. The 154-game schedule was re-instituted for the 1920 season.

National League Opening Day took place on April 19, when the Brooklyn Robins defeated the Boston Braves 5–2 at Braves Field in the first game of a doubleheader.[2] American League Opening Day (and most other National League teams' Opening Day) wouldn't take place until April 23, where each league saw six of their teams play. This continued the trend from the previous season which saw both leagues' Opening Day start on different days. The National League regular season ended on September 28, while the American League regular season ended on September 29 with the New York Yankees defeating the Philadelphia Athletics 4–2 at Shibe Park.[3] This was the first season since 1915 which saw both leagues end on different days, as well as the first season since 1903 that saw the leagues begin and conclude on different days. The World Series would begin in Cincinnati on October 1, before concluding on October 9.

Rule change

The minor leagues withdrew from the National Agreement, resulting in the abolition of the Rule 5 draft, as well as all existing optional agreements between major- and minor-league teams. The only way in which major-league clubs could acquire players from the minors was by directly purchasing their contracts. This change resulted in the previous $2,500 (equivalent to $45,300 in 2024) draft fee cap being removed.[4]

Teams

League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[5]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 27,000 Ed Barrow
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 28,000 Kid Gleason
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Dunn Field 21,414 Lee Fohl
Tris Speaker
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Navin Field 23,000 Hughie Jennings
New York Yankees New York, New York Brush Stadium 36,000 Miller Huggins
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 23,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 18,000 Jimmy Burke
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. National Park 27,000 Clark Griffith
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 40,000 George Stallings
Brooklyn Robins New York, New York Ebbets Field 30,000 Wilbert Robinson
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Weeghman Park 15,000 Fred Mitchell
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Redland Field 20,696 Pat Moran
New York Giants New York, New York Brush Stadium 36,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Jack Coombs
Gavvy Cravath
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 25,000 Hugo Bezdek
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Robison Field 21,000 Branch Rickey

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago White Sox 88 52 .629 — 48‍–‍22 40‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians 84 55 .604 3½ 44‍–‍25 40‍–‍30
New York Yankees 80 59 .576 7½ 46‍–‍25 34‍–‍34
Detroit Tigers 80 60 .571 8 46‍–‍24 34‍–‍36
St. Louis Browns 67 72 .482 20½ 40‍–‍30 27‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox 66 71 .482 20½ 35‍–‍30 31‍–‍41
Washington Senators 56 84 .400 32 32‍–‍40 24‍–‍44
Philadelphia Athletics 36 104 .257 52 21‍–‍49 15‍–‍55

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 96 44 .686 — 51‍–‍19 45‍–‍25
New York Giants 87 53 .621 9 46‍–‍23 41‍–‍30
Chicago Cubs 75 65 .536 21 40‍–‍31 35‍–‍34
Pittsburgh Pirates 71 68 .511 24½ 39‍–‍31 32‍–‍37
Brooklyn Robins 69 71 .493 27 36‍–‍34 33‍–‍37
Boston Braves 57 82 .410 38½ 29‍–‍38 28‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals 54 83 .394 40½ 34‍–‍35 20‍–‍48
Philadelphia Phillies 47 90 .343 47½ 26‍–‍44 21‍–‍46

Tie games

5 tie games (3 in AL, 2 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
  • New York Yankees, 2
  • St. Louis Browns, 1
  • Washington Senators, 2

National League

  • Boston Braves, 1
  • Brooklyn Robins, 1
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 1
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 1

Postseason

The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 9 with the Cincinnati Reds defeating the Chicago White Sox in the 1919 World Series in eight games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Chicago White Sox 3
NL Cincinnati Reds 5

Managerial changes

Off-season changes

Only one team announced a new manager in the offseason:

Date Team New manager Replaced Former job
December 31 Chicago White Sox Kid Gleason Pants Rowland Coach for the Chicago White Sox (1912–1914, 1916–1917)
January 30 Cincinnati Reds Pat Moran Christy Mathewson & Heinie Groh Won the 1915 World Series as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
— Philadelphia Phillies Jack Coombs Pat Moran Pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Robins
— St. Louis Cardinals Branch Rickey Jack Hendricks General manager for the St. Louis Cardinals (1917–1918)

In-season changes

One team replaced their manager during the season:

Date Team New Manager Replaced Previous Job
July 8 Philadelphia Phillies Gavvy Cravath Jack Coombs Right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (became player-manager)
July 18 Cleveland Indians Tris Speaker Lee Fohl Center fielder for the Cleveland Indians (became player-manager)

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Ty Cobb (DET) .384
OPS Babe Ruth (BOS) 1.114
HR Babe Ruth (BOS) 29
RBI Babe Ruth (BOS) 114
R Babe Ruth (BOS) 103
H Ty Cobb (DET)
Bobby Veach (DET) 		191
SB Eddie Collins (CWS) 33
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W Eddie Cicotte (CWS) 29
L Harry Harper (WSH) 21
ERA Walter Johnson (WSH) 1.49
K Walter Johnson (WSH) 147
IP Eddie Cicotte (CWS)
Jim Shaw (WSH) 		306.2
SV Allen Russell (BOS/NYY)
Jim Shaw (WSH)
Bob Shawkey (NYY) 		5
WHIP Walter Johnson (WSH) 0.985

National League

Hitting leaders[8]
Stat Player Total
AVG Edd Roush (CIN) .321
OPS Heinie Groh (CIN) .823
HR Gavvy Cravath (PHI) 12
RBI Hy Myers (BRO) 73
R George Burns (NYG) 86
H Ivy Olson (BRO) 164
SB George Burns (NYG) 40
Pitching leaders[9]
Stat Player Total
W Jesse Barnes (NYG) 25
L Lee Meadows (PHI/STL) 20
ERA Grover Alexander (CHC) 1.72
K Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 141
IP Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 306.2
SV Oscar Tuero (STL) 4
WHIP Babe Adams (CIN) 0.896

Milestones

Batters

Pitchers

No-hitters

See also: List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
  • Hod Eller (CIN):
    • Threw the first no-hitter of the season, first and only of his career, and the fifth in team history in a 6–0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 11. He walked three and struck out eight batters.[14]
  • Ray Caldwell (CLE/BOS):
    • Threw the second and final no-hitter of the season, first and only of his career, and the fourth in team history in a 3–0 victory for the Cleveland Indians against the New York Yankees on September 10, on game one of a doubleheader. He walked one batter and struck out five batters. Just two weeks prior on August 24, he was struck by lightning.[15]

Other pitching accomplishments

Miscellaneous

  • Ray Caldwell (CLE/BOS):
    • Struck by lightning during the ninth inning during his Cleveland Indian debut, following a trade from the Red Sox. He quickly recovered, reportedly saying "Give me that danged ball and turn me toward the plate", before pitching the final out of the game.[18]
  • Boston Braves vs. Chicago Cubs / Brooklyn Robins vs. Cincinnati Reds:
    • On September 21 – In a period of rapidly played games, the Cubs beat the Braves 3–0 in 58 minutes of playing time.[19] It takes the Robins 55 minutes to beat the Reds 3–1,[20] with Slim Sallee throwing 65 pitches, managing to top Christy Mathewson's 69-pitch complete game.
  • Fred Luderus (PHI):
    • Is presented with a diamond stickpin and gold watch between doubleheader games on September 24 to commemorate his endurance effort for playing over 500 games in a row. The Brooklyn Robins defeat the Phillies twice on Fred Luderus Day in Philadelphia. The second game is the 525th in a row played by the Phillies first baseman, and he will end the season with a consecutive-game streak of 553.[21]
  • Philadelphia Phillies / New York Giants:
    • Set a record for the quickest nine-inning game in Major League history on September 28, lasting only 51 minutes for a Giants 6–1 victory at Brush Stadium.[22]

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
New York Giants[23] 87 22.5% 708,857 176.2% 10,273
Detroit Tigers[24] 80 45.5% 643,805 216.0% 9,197
Chicago White Sox[25] 88 54.4% 627,186 221.5% 8,960
New York Yankees[26] 80 33.3% 619,164 119.5% 8,482
Cleveland Indians[27] 84 15.1% 538,135 82.1% 7,799
Cincinnati Reds[28] 96 41.2% 532,501 226.7% 7,607
Chicago Cubs[29] 75 −10.7% 424,430 25.8% 5,978
Boston Red Sox[30] 66 −12.0% 417,291 67.2% 6,323
Brooklyn Robins[31] 69 21.1% 360,721 330.3% 5,153
St. Louis Browns[32] 67 15.5% 349,350 186.2% 4,991
Pittsburgh Pirates[33] 71 9.2% 276,810 29.6% 3,954
Philadelphia Phillies[34] 47 −14.5% 240,424 96.6% 3,386
Washington Senators[35] 56 −22.2% 234,096 28.5% 3,251
Philadelphia Athletics[36] 36 −30.8% 225,209 26.6% 3,217
Boston Braves[37] 57 7.5% 167,401 97.1% 2,462
St. Louis Cardinals[38] 54 5.9% 167,059 51.0% 2,421

See also

References

  1. ^ Purdy, Dennis (2006). The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. New York City: Workman. ISBN 0-7611-3943-5.
  2. ^ "April 19, 1919 Brooklyn Robins at Boston Braves Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "September 29, 1919 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Athletics Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  4. ^ Pomrenke, Jacob. "1918 Winter Meetings: Baseball Returns from the Great War – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  5. ^ "1919 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1919 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "1919 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "1919 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "1919 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Babe Ruth Career Home Runs – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "Grand Slams Single Season Leaders on Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  12. ^ "Babe Ruth Home Runs | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "August 11, 1919 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "May 11, 1919 St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  15. ^ "September 10, 1919 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  16. ^ "May 11, 1919 Washington Senators at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  17. ^ "September 24, 1919 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  18. ^ "Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame – Special Features – 35 Years Ago Today Ray Caldwell Survived Lightning To Beat A's". Chautauquasportshalloffame.org. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  19. ^ "September 21, 1919 Boston Braves at Chicago Cubs Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  20. ^ "September 21, 1919 Brooklyn Robins at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  21. ^ "The Ballplayers – Fred Luderus – baseballbiography.com". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "September 28, 1919 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  23. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  27. ^ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  28. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  29. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  30. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  31. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  32. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  33. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  34. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  35. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  36. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  37. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  38. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
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