1919 Major League Baseball season explained

1919 MLB season
League:American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport:Baseball
Duration:Regular season:World Series:
No Of Games:140
No Of Teams:16 (8 per league)
Playoffs:Pennant Winners
Conf1:AL
Conf1 Champ:Chicago White Sox
Conf1 Runner-Up:Cleveland Indians
Conf2:NL
Conf2 Champ:Cincinnati Reds
Conf2 Runner-Up:New York Giants
Finals:World Series
Finals Link:1919 World Series
Finals Champ:Cincinnati Reds
Finals Runner-Up:Chicago White Sox
Seasonslist:List of Major League Baseball seasons
Seasonslistnames:MLB
Prevseason Link:1918 Major League Baseball season
Prevseason Year:1918
Nextseason Link:1920 Major League Baseball season
Nextseason Year:1920

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.

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 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 which saw both leagues end on different days, as well as the first season since 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.

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
Boston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park35,000Ed Barrow
Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park28,000Kid Gleason
Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioLeague Park21,414Lee Fohl, Tris Speaker
Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganNavin Field23,000Hughie Jennings
New York YankeesNew York, New YorkBrush Stadium36,000Miller Huggins
Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park23,000Connie Mack
St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park18,000Jimmy Burke
Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium27,000Clark Griffith
Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsBraves Field40,000George Stallings
Brooklyn RobinsNew York, New YorkEbbets Field30,000Wilbert Robinson
Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWeeghman Park15,000Fred Mitchell
Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioRedland Field20,696Pat Moran
New York GiantsNew York, New YorkBrush Stadium36,000John McGraw
Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Jack Coombs, Gavvy Cravath
Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field25,000Hugo Bezdek
St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriRobison Field21,000Branch Rickey

Standings

National League

Postseason

Bracket

Managerial changes

Off-season changes

Only one team announced a new manager in the offseason:

DateTeamNew managerReplacedFormer job
December 31Chicago White SoxKid GleasonPants RowlandCoach for the Chicago White Sox (1912–1914, 1916–1917)
January 30Cincinnati RedsPat MoranChristy Mathewson & Heinie GrohWon the 1915 World Series as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
—Philadelphia PhilliesJack CoombsPat MoranPitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Robins
—St. Louis CardinalsBranch RickeyJack HendricksGeneral manager for the St. Louis Cardinals (1917–1918)

In-season changes

One team replaced their manager during the season:

DateTeamNew ManagerReplacedPrevious Job
July 8Philadelphia PhilliesGavvy CravathJack CoombsRight fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (became player-manager)
July 18Cleveland IndiansTris SpeakerLee FohlCenter fielder for the Cleveland Indians (became player-manager)

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
Ty Cobb (DET) .384
Babe Ruth (BRS) 29
Babe Ruth (BRS) 114
Babe Ruth (BRS) 103
Ty Cobb (DET)
Bobby Veach (DET) 		191
Eddie Collins (CWS) 33
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
Eddie Cicotte (CWS) 29
Harry Harper (WSH) 21
Walter Johnson (WSH) 1.49
Walter Johnson (WSH) 147
Eddie Cicotte (CWS)
Jim Shaw (WSH) 		306.2
Allen Russell (BRS/NYY)
Jim Shaw (WSH)
Bob Shawkey (NYY) 		5

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
Edd Roush (CIN) .321
Gavvy Cravath (PHP) 12
Hi Myers (BKN) 73
George Burns (NYG) 86
Ivy Olson (BKN) 164
George Burns (NYG) 40
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
Jesse Barnes (NYG) 25
Lee Meadows (PHP/SLC) 20
Grover Cleveland Alexander (CHC) 1.72
Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 141
Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 306.2
Oscar Tuero (SLC) 4

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendance
New York Giants[4] 8722.5%708,857176.2%10,273
Detroit Tigers[5] 8045.5%643,805216.0%9,197
Chicago White Sox[6] 8854.4%627,186221.5%8,960
New York Yankees[7] 8033.3%619,164119.5%8,482
Cleveland Indians[8] 8415.1%538,13582.1%7,799
Cincinnati Reds[9] 9641.2%532,501226.7%7,607
Chicago Cubs[10] 75-10.7%424,43025.8%5,978
Boston Red Sox[11] 66-12.0%417,29167.2%6,323
Brooklyn Robins[12] 6921.1%360,721330.3%5,153
St. Louis Browns[13] 6715.5%349,350186.2%4,991
Pittsburgh Pirates[14] 719.2%276,81029.6%3,954
Philadelphia Phillies[15] 47-14.5%240,42496.6%3,386
Washington Senators[16] 56-22.2%234,09628.5%3,251
Philadelphia Athletics[17] 36-30.8%225,20926.6%3,217
Boston Braves[18] 577.5%167,40197.1%2,462
St. Louis Cardinals[19] 545.9%167,05951.0%2,421

Significant events

  • April 19 – Legislation is passed by future New York City mayor Jimmy Walker that allows teams in the state of New York to play baseball on Sundays. The New York Giants were the first team to take advantage of this change, losing 4–3 to the Philadelphia Phillies in front of 35,000 fans at the Polo Ground.[20]
  • May 11 – Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hod Eller pitches a 6–0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.[21]
    • Walter Johnson retires 28 consecutive batters during a 12-inning scoreless tie against Jack Quinn and the New York Yankees. Future football immortal George Halas, batting leadoff for New York, goes 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.[22]
  • May 20 – Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth hit his first career grand slam home run; the bomb comes against Dave Davenport of the St. Louis Browns in St. Louis. Boston wins 6–4.[23]
  • August 11 – Cleveland Indians center fielder Tris Speaker ties the AL record for run scoring, crossing the plate five times in 15–9 win at New York.[24]
  • July 1 – Going 5-for-5 in a 9–4 win over the Phillies, Brooklyn's Ed Konetchy gets his 10th straight hit, tying Jake Gettman's record set with Washington in 1897. Both will be topped by Walt Dropo in 1952.
  • August 14 – Babe Ruth hits his 17th home run, the first of seven homers in 12 days, which will include his fourth grand slam, setting an AL record until 1959.[25]
  • August 24 – Cleveland Indians pitcher Ray Caldwell is hit by lightning during the ninth inning of his début for the tribe. He quickly recovered, reportedly saying "Give me that danged ball and turn me toward the plate", before pitching the final out of the game.[26]
  • September 2 – The National Commission recommends a best-of-nine World Series, abandoning the traditional seven-game series. However, the change was reverted three years later, and the seven-game format has remained ever since.
  • September 10 – Ray Caldwell, the pitcher hit by lightning just a couple of weeks before, throws a no hitter in the Cleveland Indians 3–0 victory over his former team, the New York Yankees.[27]
  • September 16 – Dutch Ruether beats the New York Giants, 4–3, to clinch the Cincinnati Reds first NL pennant and their first pennant of any kind since their American Association days.[28]
  • September 21 – In a period of rapidly played games, the Cubs beat the Braves 3–0 in 58 minutes of playing time.[29] It takes the Robins 55 minutes to beat the Reds 3–1,[30] with Slim Sallee throwing 65 pitches, managing to top Christy Mathewson's 69-pitch complete game.
  • September 24:
    • The Chicago White Sox's 6–5 win over the St. Louis Browns clinches the AL pennant; the final margin will be 3½ games over the Cleveland Indians.[31]
    • 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, who is presented with a diamond stickpin and gold watch between the games to commemorate his endurance effort. He will end the season with a consecutive-game streak of 553.[32]
    • Boston Red Sox pitcher Waite Hoyt throws nine perfect innings against the New York Yankees, but they score in the 13th in which he gives up 5 hits, ruining his perfect game, and losing the game 2–1.[33]
  • September 27 – Babe Ruth hit his 29th home run and his first of the year in Washington, to become the first player to hit at least one home run in every AL park in the same season.
  • September 28 – The New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies set a record for the quickest nine-inning game in Major League history – 51 minutes for a Giants 6–1 victory at the Polo Grounds.[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Purdy, Dennis (2006). The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. New York City: Workman. .
  2. Web site: April 19, 1919 Brooklyn Robins at Boston Braves Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  3. Web site: September 29, 1919 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Athletics Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  4. Web site: San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. Web site: Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. Web site: Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. Web site: New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. Web site: Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. Web site: Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  10. Web site: Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. Web site: Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. Web site: Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. Web site: Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  14. Web site: Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. Web site: Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  16. Web site: Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. Web site: Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  18. Web site: Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. Web site: St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors . March 28, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com.
  20. Web site: May 4, 1919 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  21. Web site: May 11, 1919 St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  22. Web site: May 11, 1919 Washington Senators at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  23. Web site: Babe Ruth Career Home Runs – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  24. Web site: August 11, 1919 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  25. Web site: August 14, 1919 Boston Red Sox at Chicago White Sox Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  26. Web site: Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame – Special Features – 35 Years Ago Today Ray Caldwell Survived Lightning To Beat A's. Chautauquasportshalloffame.org. December 26, 2014.
  27. Web site: September 10, 1919 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  28. Web site: Regular Season Standings. Major League Baseball. December 26, 2014.
  29. Web site: September 21, 1919 Boston Braves at Chicago Cubs Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  30. Web site: September 21, 1919 Brooklyn Robins at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  31. Web site: Regular Season standings. Major League Baseball. December 26, 2014.
  32. Web site: The Ballplayers – Fred Luderus – baseballbiography.com. baseballbiography.com. December 26, 2014. mdy-all.
  33. Web site: September 24, 1919 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.
  34. Web site: September 28, 1919 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball-Reference.com. December 26, 2014.

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