1909 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1909 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 12 – October 3, 1909 (AL)
  • April 12 – October 7, 1909 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 8–16, 1909
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
NL champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-up Chicago Cubs
AL champions Detroit Tigers
  AL runners-up Philadelphia Athletics
World Series
Champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  Runners-up Detroit Tigers
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1909 American League season
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1909–1910 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1909 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1909. The regular season ended on October 7, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the sixth modern World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. The Pirates defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Chicago Cubs from the 1908 season.

Contents

In the National League, the Chicago Cubs had a record of 104–49 but finished 6+1⁄2 games behind the Pirates, setting a record for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason, which has only been equaled once, by the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers, who had a record of 104–50. [1]

Schedule

The 1909 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 for the 1904 season. This format would last until 1919.

Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The American League would see its final day of the regular season on October 3, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season was on October 7. The World Series took place between October 8 and October 16.

Rule changes

The 1909 season saw the creation of a rule that a pitcher must face a minimum of one batter, due to a time-wasting trick to enable a team's intended pitcher to warmup for longer. This had previously occurred when one pitcher initially threw warmup pitches on the mound, before being taken out of the game (before facing a batter) to make way for a relief pitcher who now had extra warmup time. [2]

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the departure from a ballpark mid-season.

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [3]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Huntington Avenue Grounds 11,500 Fred Lake
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois South Side Park 15,000 Billy Sullivan
Cleveland Naps Cleveland, Ohio League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Nap Lajoie
Deacon McGuire
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Bennett Park 8,500 Hughie Jennings
New York Highlanders New York, New York Hilltop Park 16,000 George Stallings
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 23,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 18,000 Jimmy McAleer
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. National Park 9,000 Joe Cantillon
National League Boston Doves Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 9,800 Harry Smith
Frank Bowerman
Brooklyn Superbas New York, New York Washington Park 14,000 Harry Lumley
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois West Side Park 16,000 Frank Chance
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Palace of the Fans 12,000 Clark Griffith
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Billy Murray
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Exposition Park*16,000* Fred Clarke
Forbes Field 23,000
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri League Park (St. Louis) 21,000 Roger Bresnahan

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 9854.645—57‍–‍1941‍–‍35
Philadelphia Athletics 9558.6213½49‍–‍2746‍–‍31
Boston Red Sox 8863.5839½47‍–‍2841‍–‍35
Chicago White Sox 7874.5132042‍–‍3436‍–‍40
New York Highlanders 7477.49023½41‍–‍3533‍–‍42
Cleveland Naps 7182.46427½39‍–‍3732‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 6189.4073640‍–‍3721‍–‍52
Washington Senators 42110.2765627‍–‍4815‍–‍62

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 11042.724—56‍–‍2154‍–‍21
Chicago Cubs 10449.6806½47‍–‍2957‍–‍20
New York Giants 9261.60118½44‍–‍3348‍–‍28
Cincinnati Reds 7776.50333½39‍–‍3838‍–‍38
Philadelphia Phillies 7479.48436½40‍–‍3734‍–‍42
Brooklyn Superbas 5598.35955½34‍–‍4521‍–‍53
St. Louis Cardinals 5498.3555626‍–‍4828‍–‍50
Boston Doves 45108.29465½27‍–‍4718‍–‍61

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Detroit Tigers 3
NL Pittsburgh Pirates 4

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Doves Joe Kelley Harry Smith
Brooklyn Superbas Patsy Donovan Harry Lumley
Chicago White Sox Fielder Jones Billy Sullivan
Cincinnati Reds John Ganzel Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders Kid Elberfeld George Stallings
St. Louis Cardinals John McCloskey Roger Bresnahan

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Doves Harry Smith Frank Bowerman
Cleveland Naps Nap Lajoie Deacon McGuire

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders [4]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Ty Cobb 1 (DET).377
OPS Ty Cobb (DET).947
HR Ty Cobb 1 (DET)9
RBI Ty Cobb 1 (DET)107
R Donie Bush (DET)
Ty Cobb (DET)		115
H Ty Cobb (DET)216
SB Ty Cobb (DET)76

1 American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders [5]
StatPlayerTotal
W George Mullin (DET)29
L Bob Groom (WSH)26
ERA Harry Krause (PHA)1.39
K Frank Smith (CWS)177
IP Frank Smith (CWS)365.0
SV Frank Arellanes (BRS)6
WHIP Ed Walsh (CWS)0.938

National League

Hitting leaders [6]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Honus Wagner (PIT).339
OPS Honus Wagner (PIT).909
HR Red Murray (NYG)7
RBI Honus Wagner (PIT)100
R Tommy Leach (PIT)126
H Larry Doyle (NYG)172
SB Bob Bescher (CIN)54
Pitching leaders [7]
StatPlayerTotal
W Mordecai Brown (CHC)27
L Cecil Ferguson (BSD)23
ERA Christy Mathewson (NYG)1.14
K Orval Overall (CHC)205
IP Mordecai Brown (CHC)342.2
SV Mordecai Brown (CHC)7
WHIP Christy Mathewson (NYG)0.828

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Giants [8] 92-6.1%783,700-13.9%10,178
Philadelphia Athletics [9] 9539.7%674,91548.3%8,880
Boston Red Sox [10] 8817.3%668,96541.4%8,920
Chicago Cubs [11] 1045.1%633,480-4.8%8,227
Pittsburgh Pirates [12] 11012.2%534,95039.9%6,772
New York Highlanders [13] 7445.1%501,00064.0%6,506
Detroit Tigers [14] 988.9%490,49012.4%6,288
Chicago White Sox [15] 78-11.4%478,400-24.8%5,906
Cincinnati Reds [16] 775.5%424,6436.4%5,308
St. Louis Browns [17] 61-26.5%366,274-40.8%4,636
Cleveland Naps [18] 71-21.1%354,627-16.0%4,606
Brooklyn Superbas [19] 553.8%321,30016.6%4,067
Philadelphia Phillies [20] 74-10.8%303,177-27.9%3,937
St. Louis Cardinals [21] 5410.2%299,98246.2%3,947
Washington Senators [22] 42-37.3%205,199-22.3%2,665
Boston Doves [23] 45-28.6%195,188-23.1%2,568

Events

References

  1. ↑ Adler, David (September 30, 2019). "Best MLB teams to miss the postseason". MLB.com . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "A guide to rules changes in MLB (and sports) history". MLB.com. February 1, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  3. ↑ "1909 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1909 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1909 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1909 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "1909 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ↑ Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts . United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp.  352. ISBN   9781402742736.
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