1918 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1918 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1918 in baseball.

1918 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 15 – September 11, 1918
Number of games	154 (scheduled) 123–131 (actual)
Number of teams	16
Pennant Winners
AL champions	Boston Red Sox
AL runners-up	Cleveland Indians
NL champions	Chicago Cubs
NL runners-up	New York Giants
World Series
Champions	Boston Red Sox
Runners-up	Chicago Cubs
MLB seasons
← 1917 1919 →

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of AL teams for the 1916–1919 MLB seasons
American League

Braves

Robins

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of NL teams for the 1916–1919 MLB seasons
National League

The 1918 Major League Baseball season began on April 15, 1918. The regular season ended earlier than originally scheduled, September 2, because of a reduced schedule due to American participation in World War I. ^[1] The National League and American League champions were the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 15th World Series on September 5 and ended with Game 6 on September 11. The Red Sox defeated the Cubs, four games to two.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
American League	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	35,000
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	28,000
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	League Park	21,414
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Navin Field	23,000
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Brush Stadium	36,000
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	23,000
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	18,000
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	27,000
National League	Boston Braves	Boston, Massachusetts	Braves Field	40,000
	Brooklyn Robins	New York, New York	Ebbets Field	30,000
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Weeghman Park	15,000
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Redland Field	20,696
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Brush Stadium	36,000
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	National League Park	18,000
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	25,000
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Robison Field	21,000

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

Scheduled start

Opening Day took place on April 15 with four American League teams playing, the Philadelphia Athletics at Boston Red Sox, and the New York Yankees at Washington Senators.

Shortened season

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, or else risk being drafted. ^[2] Secretary of War Newton D. Baker granted an extension to MLB players through Labor Day, September 2. ^[3] In early August, MLB clubs decided that the regular season would end at that time. ^[4] As a result, the number of regular-season games that each team played varied—123 to 130 for AL teams and 124 to 131 for NL teams, including ties ^[5] —reduced from their original 154-game schedules. Later in August, Baker granted a further extension to allow for the World Series to be contested; ^[3] it began on September 5 and ended on September 11. ^[6] World War I would end two months later, with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Standings

American League v t e American League W L Pct. GB Home Road Boston Red Sox 75 51 0.595 — 49–21 26–30 Cleveland Indians 73 54 0.575 2½ 38–22 35–32 Washington Senators 72 56 0.562 4 41–32 31–24 New York Yankees 60 63 0.488 13½ 37–29 23–34 St. Louis Browns 58 64 0.475 15 23–30 35–34 Chicago White Sox 57 67 0.460 17 30–26 27–41 Detroit Tigers 55 71 0.437 20 28–29 27–42 Philadelphia Athletics 52 76 0.406 24 35–32 17–44

National League v t e National League W L Pct. GB Home Road Chicago Cubs 84 45 0.651 — 49–25 35–20 New York Giants 71 53 0.573 10½ 35–21 36–32 Cincinnati Reds 68 60 0.531 15½ 46–24 22–36 Pittsburgh Pirates 65 60 0.520 17 42–28 23–32 Brooklyn Robins 57 69 0.452 25½ 33–21 24–48 Philadelphia Phillies 55 68 0.447 26 27–29 28–39 Boston Braves 53 71 0.427 28½ 23–29 30–42 St. Louis Cardinals 51 78 0.395 33 32–40 19–38

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Boston Red Sox	4
	NL	Chicago Cubs	2

Managers

American League Team Manager Comments Boston Red Sox Ed Barrow Won 5th World Series Chicago White Sox Pants Rowland Cleveland Indians Lee Fohl Finished 2nd Detroit Tigers Hughie Jennings New York Yankees Miller Huggins Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack St. Louis Browns Fielder Jones Jimmy Austin Jimmy Burke Washington Senators Clark Griffith Finished 3rd

National League Team Manager Comments Boston Braves George Stallings Brooklyn Robins Wilbert Robinson Chicago Cubs Fred Mitchell Won 5th NL pennant Cincinnati Reds Christy Mathewson Finished 3rd New York Giants John McGraw Finished 2nd Philadelphia Phillies Pat Moran Pittsburgh Pirates Hugo Bezdek St. Louis Cardinals Jack Hendricks

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Ty Cobb (DET) .382 HR Babe Ruth (BRS) Tillie Walker (PHA) 11 RBI Bobby Veach (DET) 84 R Ray Chapman (CLE) 84 H George Burns (PHA) 178 SB George Sisler (SLB) 45 1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Walter Johnson 1 (WSH) 23 L Eddie Cicotte (CWS) Scott Perry (PHA) 19 ERA Walter Johnson 1 (WSH) 1.27 K Walter Johnson 1 (WSH) 162 IP Scott Perry (PHA) 332.1 SV George Mogridge (NYY) 7

National League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Zack Wheat (BKN) .335 HR Gavvy Cravath (PHP) 8 RBI Sherry Magee (CIN) 76 R Heinie Groh (CIN) 86 H Charlie Hollocher (CHC) 161 SB Max Carey (PIT) 58 1 National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Hippo Vaughn 1 (CHC) 22 L Rube Marquard (BKN) Joe Oeschger (PHP) 18 ERA Hippo Vaughn 1 (CHC) 1.74 K Hippo Vaughn 1 (CHC) 148 IP Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 290.1 SV Fred Anderson (NYG) Wilbur Cooper (PIT) Joe Oeschger (PHP) Fred Toney (CIN/NYG) 3

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Chicago Cubs [7]	84	13.5%	337,256	-6.4%	4,558
Cleveland Indians [8]	73	-17.0%	295,515	-38.1%	4,766
New York Yankees [9]	60	-15.5%	282,047	-14.6%	4,210
New York Giants [10]	71	-27.6%	256,618	-48.7%	4,582
Boston Red Sox [11]	75	-16.7%	249,513	-35.7%	3,564
Pittsburgh Pirates [12]	65	27.5%	213,610	10.8%	3,009
Detroit Tigers [13]	55	-29.5%	203,719	-55.5%	3,512
Chicago White Sox [14]	57	-43.0%	195,081	-71.5%	3,484
Washington Senators [15]	72	-2.7%	182,122	103.1%	2,461
Philadelphia Athletics [16]	52	-5.5%	177,926	-19.6%	2,617
Cincinnati Reds [17]	68	-12.8%	163,009	-39.4%	2,296
Philadelphia Phillies [18]	55	-36.8%	122,266	-65.5%	2,145
St. Louis Browns [19]	58	1.8%	122,076	-42.0%	2,303
St. Louis Cardinals [20]	51	-37.8%	110,599	-61.7%	1,515
Boston Braves [21]	53	-26.4%	84,938	-51.3%	1,633
Brooklyn Robins [22]	57	-18.6%	83,831	-62.2%	1,552

Notable events

• September 2 – In the last game of the season, against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers centerfielder Ty Cobb fields at third base and also pitches, yielding three hits and one run in two innings. ^[23]

References

1. "1918 All Work or Fight and No Play," This Great Game: The Online Book of Baseball. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
2. Baker, Kendall; Tracy, Jeff (April 6, 2020). "Special report: War, fever and baseball in 1918". axios.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
3. Verducci, Tom (June 22, 2020). "Love, Loss and Baseball: Letters From the Hub, Chapters VI - IX". SI.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
4. "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.
5. "The 1918 Season". Retrosheet . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
6. "The 1918 Post-Season Games". Retrosheet . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
7. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
8. "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
9. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
10. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
11. "Boston Red Sox 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. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
14. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
15. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
16. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
17. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
18. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
19. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
20. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
21. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
22. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
23. Paschal, John (January 29, 2019). "Once Upon A Time: When Hall of Famers Go One-And-Done". tht.fangraphs.com. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

External links

• 1918 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference Retrieved January 14, 2018