The 1926 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1926. The regular season ended on September 29, 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 23rd World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history.
1926 MLB season | |
---|---|
League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
Sport | Baseball |
Duration | Regular season:
|
Number of games | 154 |
Number of teams | 16 (8 per league) |
Regular Season | |
Season MVP | AL: George Burns (CLE) NL: Bob O'Farrell (SLC) |
AL champions | New York Yankees |
AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
NL runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
World Series | |
Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
Runners-up | New York Yankees |
This was the fifth of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.
Schedule
editThe 1926 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 13, featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend which started with the 1924 season. The American League would see its final day of the regular season was on September 27, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 29 with a doubleheader between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 10.
Rule changes
editThe 1926 season saw the following rule changes:[1]
- A pitcher is now allowed to use a rosin bag prior to pitching the ball.
- A sacrifice hit is now awarded when any base runner advances on a fly out.
Teams
editStandings
editAmerican League
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 91 | 63 | .591 | — | 50–25 | 41–38 |
Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | .571 | 3 | 49–31 | 39–35 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 67 | .553 | 6 | 44–27 | 39–40 |
Washington Senators | 81 | 69 | .540 | 8 | 42–30 | 39–39 |
Chicago White Sox | 81 | 72 | .529 | 9½ | 47–31 | 34–41 |
Detroit Tigers | 79 | 75 | .513 | 12 | 39–41 | 40–34 |
St. Louis Browns | 62 | 92 | .403 | 29 | 40–39 | 22–53 |
Boston Red Sox | 46 | 107 | .301 | 44½ | 25–51 | 21–56 |
National League
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | .578 | — | 47–30 | 42–35 |
Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 67 | .565 | 2 | 53–23 | 34–44 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 69 | .549 | 4½ | 49–28 | 35–41 |
Chicago Cubs | 82 | 72 | .532 | 7 | 49–28 | 33–44 |
New York Giants | 74 | 77 | .490 | 13½ | 43–33 | 31–44 |
Brooklyn Robins | 71 | 82 | .464 | 17½ | 38–38 | 33–44 |
Boston Braves | 66 | 86 | .434 | 22 | 43–34 | 23–52 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 58 | 93 | .384 | 29½ | 33–42 | 25–51 |
Postseason
editBracket
editWorld Series | ||||||||||
AL | New York Yankees | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 310 | 2 | 2 | ||
NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
Managerial changes
editOff-season
editTeam | Former Manager | New Manager |
---|---|---|
Chicago Cubs | George Gibson | Joe McCarthy |
New York Giants | Hughie Jennings | John McGraw |
League leaders
editAmerican League
editStat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Heinie Manush (DET) | .378 |
OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.253 |
HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 47 |
RBI | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 153 |
R | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 139 |
H | George Burns (CLE) Sam Rice (WSH) |
216 |
SB | Johnny Mostil (CWS) | 35 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | George Uhle (CLE) | 27 |
L | Milt Gaston (SLB) Paul Zahniser (BRS) |
18 |
ERA | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 2.51 |
K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 194 |
IP | George Uhle (CLE) | 318.1 |
SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) | 22 |
WHIP | Herb Pennock (NYY) | 1.265 |
National League
editStat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Bubbles Hargrave (CIN) | .353 |
OPS | Cy Williams (PHP) | .986 |
HR | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 21 |
RBI | Jim Bottomley (SLC) | 120 |
R | Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 113 |
H | Eddie Brown (BSB) | 201 |
SB | Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 35 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | Pete Donohue (CIN) Ray Kremer (PIT) Lee Meadows (PIT) Flint Rhem (SLC) |
20 |
L | Jesse Petty (BKN) Charlie Root (CHC) |
17 |
ERA | Ray Kremer (PIT) | 2.61 |
K | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 140 |
IP | Pete Donohue (CIN) | 285.2 |
SV | Chick Davies (NYG) | 6 |
WHIP | Grover Alexander (STL/CHC) | 1.108 |
Awards and honors
edit- League Award: Bob O'Farrell (SLC, National); George Burns (CLE, American)
Home field attendance
editTeam name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees[2] | 91 | 31.9% | 1,027,675 | 47.4% | 13,702 |
Chicago Cubs[3] | 82 | 20.6% | 885,063 | 42.2% | 11,347 |
Pittsburgh Pirates[4] | 84 | −11.6% | 798,542 | −0.7% | 10,108 |
Philadelphia Athletics[5] | 83 | −5.7% | 714,508 | −17.8% | 10,063 |
Detroit Tigers[6] | 79 | −2.5% | 711,914 | −13.3% | 8,789 |
Chicago White Sox[7] | 81 | 2.5% | 710,339 | −14.6% | 8,992 |
New York Giants[8] | 74 | −14.0% | 700,362 | −10.1% | 9,215 |
Cincinnati Reds[9] | 87 | 8.8% | 672,987 | 44.8% | 8,740 |
St. Louis Cardinals[10] | 89 | 15.6% | 668,428 | 65.1% | 8,461 |
Brooklyn Robins[11] | 71 | 4.4% | 650,819 | −1.3% | 8,563 |
Cleveland Indians[12] | 88 | 25.7% | 627,426 | 49.7% | 7,843 |
Washington Senators[13] | 81 | −15.6% | 551,580 | −32.5% | 7,454 |
Boston Braves[14] | 66 | −5.7% | 303,598 | −3.2% | 3,943 |
Boston Red Sox[15] | 46 | −2.1% | 285,155 | 6.5% | 3,703 |
St. Louis Browns[16] | 62 | −24.4% | 283,986 | −38.7% | 3,595 |
Philadelphia Phillies[17] | 58 | −14.7% | 240,600 | −21.1% | 3,166 |
Notable events
edit- August 26 – Dutch Levsen of the Cleveland Indians becomes the last pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader, hurling two 9 inning games back to back, winning 6–1 and 5–1.[18][19] Levsen is also the last pitcher to throw two nine-inning complete games on the same day.[19]
References
edit- ^ "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ World's Strangest Baseball stories. Watermill Press. 1993. p. 72. ISBN 0-8167-2850X.
- ^ a b Preston, JG (September 13, 2009). "A thorough account of pitchers who have started both games of a doubleheader in the major leagues". prestonjg.wordpress.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
External links
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