1918 Boston Red Sox season

1918  Boston Red Sox
World Series Champions American League Champions
1918 Boston Red Sox team photo, with Babe Ruth fourth from left in the back row
League	American League
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	75–51 (.595)
League place	1st
Owners	Harry Frazee
Managers	Ed Barrow
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
←  1917 Seasons 1919  →

The 1918 Boston Red Sox season was the 18th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League (AL) with a record of 75 wins and 51 losses, in a season cut short due to World War I. The team then faced the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs in the 1918 World Series, which the Red Sox won in six games to capture the franchise's fifth World Series. This would be the last World Series championship for the Red Sox until 2004.

With World War I ongoing, a "work or fight" mandate was issued by the government, requiring men with non-essential jobs to enlist or take war-related jobs by July 1, else risk being drafted. ^[1] Secretary of War Newton D. Baker granted an extension to MLB players through Labor Day, September 2. ^[2] In early August, MLB clubs decided that the regular season would end at that time. ^[3] As a result, AL teams played between 123 and 130 regular-season games (including ties), ^[4] reduced from their original 154-game schedules. Later in August, Baker granted a further extension to allow for the World Series to be contested; ^[2] it began on September 5 and ended on September 11. ^[5] World War I would end two months later, with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Due to the entry of the United States into World War I, several Red Sox players enlisted with the military over the winter of 1917-1918. Notable players who enlisted included Pitchers Ernie Shore and Herb Pennock, Outfielder Duffy Lewis, as well as Manager Jack Barry. ^[6]

The Red Sox' pitching staff, led by Carl Mays and Bullet Joe Bush, allowed the fewest runs in the league. Babe Ruth was the fourth starter and also spent significant time in the outfield, as he was the best hitter on the team, leading the AL in home runs and slugging percentage.

After this season the Red Sox would fall into mediocrity as they traded away most of their star players to other teams, most notably sending Ruth to the Yankees in 1920. The team would not have another winning record until 1935, 18 years later.

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	75	51	.595	—	49‍–‍21	26‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians	73	54	.575	2½	38‍–‍22	35‍–‍32
Washington Senators	72	56	.562	4	41‍–‍32	31‍–‍24
New York Yankees	60	63	.488	13½	37‍–‍29	23‍–‍34
St. Louis Browns	58	64	.475	15	23‍–‍30	35‍–‍34
Chicago White Sox	57	67	.460	17	30‍–‍26	27‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers	55	71	.437	20	28‍–‍29	27‍–‍42
Philadelphia Athletics	52	76	.406	24	35‍–‍32	17‍–‍44

Record vs. opponents

1918 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHA	SLB	WSH
Boston	—	12–7	10–10	13–5	6–11	13–6	14–5	7–7
Chicago	7–12	—	10–11	6–10	12–6	11–10	5–5	6–13
Cleveland	10–10	11–10	—	10–3	11–7–1	13–7–1	10–6	8–11
Detroit	5–13	10–6	3–10	—	9–10–1	9–11	10–10	9–11–1
New York	11–6	6–12	7–11–1	10–9–1	—	8–4	10–10–1	8–11
Philadelphia	6–13	10–11	7–13–1	11–9	4–8	—	8–10	6–12–1
St. Louis	5–14	5–5	6–10	10–10	10–10–1	10–8	—	12–7
Washington	7–7	13–6	11–8	11–9–1	11–8	12–6–1	7–12	—

Opening Day lineup

Harry Hooper	RF
Dave Shean	2B
Amos Strunk	CF
Dick Hoblitzel	1B
Stuffy McInnis	3B
George Whiteman	LF
Everett Scott	SS
Sam Agnew	C
Babe Ruth	P

Roster

1918 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Lore Bader Joe Bush Jean Dubuc Sad Sam Jones Walt Kinney Dutch Leonard Carl Mays Dick McCabe Vince Molyneaux Bill Pertica Weldon Wyckoff		Catchers Sam Agnew Wally Mayer Wally Schang Infielders Walter Barbare George Cochran Jack Coffey Eusebio González Dick Hoblitzel Stuffy McInnis Everett Scott Dave Shean Jack Stansbury Fred Thomas Frank Truesdale Heinie Wagner		Outfielders Harry Hooper Hack Miller Babe Ruth Amos Strunk George Whiteman Other batters Red Bluhm		Manager Ed Barrow

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Sam Agnew	72	199	33	.166	0	6
1B	Stuffy McInnis	117	423	115	.272	0	56
2B	Dave Shean	115	425	112	.264	0	34
SS	Everett Scott	126	443	98	.221	0	43
3B	Fred Thomas	44	144	37	.257	1	11
OF	George Whiteman	71	214	57	.266	1	28
OF	Amos Strunk	114	413	106	.257	0	35
OF	Harry Hooper	126	474	137	.289	1	44

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Babe Ruth	90	317	95	.300	11	66
Wally Schang	88	225	55	.244	0	20
Dick Hoblitzel	25	69	11	.159	0	4
George Cochran	24	60	7	.117	0	3
Wally Mayer	26	49	11	.224	0	5
Jack Stansbury	20	47	6	.128	0	2
Jack Coffey	15	44	7	.159	1	2
Frank Truesdale	15	36	10	.278	0	2
Walter Barbare	13	29	5	.172	0	2
Hack Miller	12	29	8	.276	0	4
Heinie Wagner	3	8	1	.125	0	0
Eusebio González	3	5	2	.400	0	0
Red Bluhm	1	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Carl Mays	35	293.1	21	13	2.21	114
Joe Bush	36	272.2	15	15	2.11	125
Sam Jones	24	184.0	16	5	2.25	44
Babe Ruth	20	166.1	13	7	2.22	40
Dutch Leonard	16	125.2	8	6	2.72	47
Lore Bader	5	27.0	1	3	3.33	10

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jean Dubuc	2	10.2	0	1	4.22	1
Dick McCabe	3	9.2	0	1	2.79	3

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Vince Molyneaux	6	1	0	0	3.38	1
Walt Kinney	5	0	0	0	1.80	4
Bill Pertica	1	0	0	0	3.00	1
Weldon Wyckoff	1	0	0	0	0.00	2

Awards and honors

League top ten finishers

Bullet Joe Bush

• #3 strikeouts (125)
• #5 earned run average (2.11)

Harry Hooper

• #3 runs scored (81)

Carl Mays

• #3 wins (21)
• #5 strikeouts (114)

Babe Ruth

• #1 home runs (11)
• #1 slugging percentage (.555)
• #2 on-base percentage (.411)
• #3 runs batted in (66)

1918 World Series

Main article: 1918 World Series

AL Boston Red Sox (4) vs. NL Chicago Cubs (2)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Red Sox – 1, Cubs – 0	September 5	Comiskey Park	19,274
2	Red Sox – 1, Cubs – 3	September 6	Comiskey Park	20,040
3	Red Sox – 2, Cubs – 1	September 7	Comiskey Park	27,054
4	Cubs – 2, Red Sox – 3	September 9	Fenway Park	22,183
5	Cubs – 3, Red Sox – 0	September 10	Fenway Park	24,694
6	Cubs – 1, Red Sox – 2	September 11	Fenway Park	15,238

References

1. Baker, Kendall; Tracy, Jeff (April 6, 2020). "Special report: War, fever and baseball in 1918". axios.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
2. Verducci, Tom (June 22, 2020). "Love, Loss and Baseball: Letters From the Hub, Chapters VI - IX". SI.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
3. "Cutting Down Baseball Season Favors Present Club Leaders for Final Honors". Star-Gazette . Elmira, New York. August 5, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved October 8, 2020– via newspapers.com.
4. "The 1918 Season". Retrosheet . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
5. "The 1918 Post-Season Games". Retrosheet . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
6. Golenbock, Peter (2015). Red Sox Nation: The Rich and Colorful History of the Boston Red Sox (4th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. p. 54. ISBN   9781629370507.

External links

• 1918 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1918 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com