| 1926 MLB season | |
| League: | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Duration: | Regular season:World Series: |
| No Of Games: | 154 |
| No Of Teams: | 16 (8 per league) |
| Season: | Regular Season |
| Mvp: | AL |
| Mvp Link: | Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award#League Awards |
| Conf1: | AL |
| Conf1 Champ: | New York Yankees |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Cleveland Indians |
| Conf2: | NL |
| Conf2 Champ: | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Cincinnati Reds |
| Finals: | World Series |
| Finals Link: | 1926 World Series |
| Finals Champ: | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Seasonslist: | List of MLB seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | MLB |
| Prevseason Link: | 1925 Major League Baseball season |
| Prevseason Year: | 1925 |
| Nextseason Link: | 1927 Major League Baseball season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1927 |
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.
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.
See also: Major League Baseball schedule. The 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 season (except for) and would be used until in the American League and in the National League.
Opening Day, April 13, featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend which started with the 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.
The 1926 season saw the following rule changes:[1]
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | George Gibson | Joe McCarthy | |
| New York Giants | Hughie Jennings | John McGraw |
| Stat | Player | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heinie Manush (DET) | .378 | ||
| Babe Ruth (NYY) | 47 | ||
| Babe Ruth (NYY) | 153 | ||
| Babe Ruth (NYY) | 139 | ||
| George Burns (CLE) Sam Rice (WSH) | 216 | ||
| Johnny Mostil (CWS) | 35 |
| Stat | Player | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Uhle (CLE) | 27 | ||
| Milt Gaston (SLB) Paul Zahniser (BRS) | 18 | ||
| Lefty Grove (PHA) | 2.51 | ||
| Lefty Grove (PHA) | 194 | ||
| George Uhle (CLE) | 318.1 | ||
| Firpo Marberry (WSH) | 22 |
| Stat | Player | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bubbles Hargrave (CIN) | .353 | ||
| Hack Wilson (CHC) | 21 | ||
| Jim Bottomley (SLC) | 120 | ||
| Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 113 | ||
| Eddie Brown (BSB) | 201 | ||
| Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 35 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Donohue (CIN) Ray Kremer (PIT) Lee Meadows (PIT) Flint Rhem (SLC) | 20 | |
| Jesse Petty (BKN) Charlie Root (CHC) | 17 | |
| Ray Kremer (PIT) | 2.61 | |
| Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 140 | |
| Pete Donohue (CIN) | 285.2 | |
| Team name | Wins | Home attendance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |