1921 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1921 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 13 – October 2, 1921
World Series:
  • October 5–13, 1921
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Cleveland Indians
NL champions New York Giants
  NL runners-up Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series
Champions New York Giants
  Runners-up New York Yankees
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1920–1931 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1921 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1921. The regular season ended on October 2, with the New York Giants 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 18th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 8 on October 13. In the first Subway Series World Series, the Giants defeated the Yankees, five games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1905. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Cleveland Indians from the 1920 season.

Contents

1921 was the first of three straight seasons in which the Yankees would lead the majors in wins. Babe Ruth broke the single season home run record for the third consecutive season by hitting 59 home runs in 152 games. Ruth also broke Roger Connor's record for the most home runs all time when he hit his 139th home run on July 18 against Bert Cole. [1] The record for career strikeouts, previously held by Cy Young was also broken in 1921 by Walter Johnson; Johnson led the league in strikeouts with 143 and ended the season with 2,835 strikeouts. Young struck out 2,803 during his career. [2] The Cincinnati Reds set a Major League record for the fewest strikeouts in a season, with only 308. [3] Future Hall of Famers Kiki Cuyler and Goose Goslin both debuted in September 1921. [4]

Schedule

The 1921 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 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 13 with all but the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 2. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 13.

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [5]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,000 Hugh Duffy
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 28,000 Kid Gleason
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Dunn Field 21,414 Tris Speaker
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Navin Field 23,000 Ty Cobb
New York Yankees New York, New York Polo Grounds 38,000 Miller Huggins
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 23,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 24,040 Lee Fohl
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 27,000 George McBride
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 40,000 Fred Mitchell
Brooklyn Robins New York, New York Ebbets Field 30,000 Wilbert Robinson
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Cubs Park 15,000 Johnny Evers
Bill Killefer
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Redland Field 20,696 Pat Moran
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 38,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Bill Donovan
Kaiser Wilhelm
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 25,000 George Gibson
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 24,040 Branch Rickey

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9855.641—53‍–‍2545‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians 9460.6104½51‍–‍2643‍–‍34
St. Louis Browns 8173.52617½43‍–‍3438‍–‍39
Washington Senators 8073.5231846‍–‍3034‍–‍43
Boston Red Sox 7579.48723½41‍–‍3634‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers 7182.4642737‍–‍4034‍–‍42
Chicago White Sox 6292.40336½37‍–‍4025‍–‍52
Philadelphia Athletics 53100.3464528‍–‍4725‍–‍53

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Giants 9459.614—53‍–‍2641‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates 9063.588445‍–‍3145‍–‍32
St. Louis Cardinals 8766.569748‍–‍2939‍–‍37
Boston Braves 7974.5161542‍–‍3237‍–‍42
Brooklyn Robins 7775.50716½41‍–‍3736‍–‍38
Cincinnati Reds 7083.4582440‍–‍3630‍–‍47
Chicago Cubs 6489.4183032‍–‍4432‍–‍45
Philadelphia Phillies 51103.33143½29‍–‍4722‍–‍56

Postseason

The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 13 with the New York Giants defeating the New York Yankees in the 1921 World Series in eight games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 3
NL New York Giants 5

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Braves George Stallings Fred Mitchell
Boston Red Sox Ed Barrow Hugh Duffy
Chicago Cubs Fred Mitchell Johnny Evers
Detroit Tigers Hughie Jennings Ty Cobb
Philadelphia Phillies Gavvy Cravath Bill Donovan
St. Louis Browns Jimmy Burke Lee Fohl
Washington Senators Clark Griffith George McBride

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Chicago Cubs Johnny Evers Bill Killefer
Philadelphia Phillies Bill Donovan Kaiser Wilhelm

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders [6]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Harry Heilmann (DET).394
OPS Babe Ruth (NYY)1.359
HR Babe Ruth (NYY)59
RBI Babe Ruth (NYY)168
R Babe Ruth 1 (NYY)177
H Harry Heilmann (DET)237
SB George Sisler (SLB)35

1 Modern (1901–present) single-season runs record

Pitching leaders [7]
StatPlayerTotal
W Carl Mays (NYY)
Urban Shocker (SLB)		27
L Eddie Rommel (PHA)23
ERA Red Faber (CWS)2.48
K Walter Johnson (WSH)143
IP Carl Mays (NYY)336.2
SV Carl Mays (NYY)7
WHIP Red Faber (CWS)1.149

National League

Hitting leaders [8]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Rogers Hornsby (SLC).397
OPS Rogers Hornsby (SLC)1.097
HR George Kelly (NYG)23
RBI Rogers Hornsby (SLC)126
R Rogers Hornsby (SLC)131
H Rogers Hornsby (SLC)235
SB Frankie Frisch (NYG)49
Pitching leaders [9]
StatPlayerTotal
W Wilbur Cooper (PIT)
Burleigh Grimes (BKN)		22
L George Smith (PHP)20
ERA Bill Doak (SLC)2.59
K Burleigh Grimes (BKN)136
IP Wilbur Cooper (PIT)327.0
SV Lou North (SLC)7
WHIP Babe Adams (PIT)1.081

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Yankees [10] 9518.8%1,289,422108.3%16,746
New York Giants [11] 86−1.1%929,60931.1%11,620
Cleveland Indians [12] 9816.7%912,83269.6%11,703
Pittsburgh Pirates [13] 7911.3%429,03755.0%5,500
Detroit Tigers [14] 61−23.8%579,650−10.0%7,431
Brooklyn Robins [15] 9334.8%808,722124.2%10,368
Chicago White Sox [16] 969.1%833,49232.9%10,825
Washington Senators [17] 6821.4%359,26053.5%4,727
Chicago Cubs [18] 750.0%480,78313.3%6,244
St. Louis Cardinals [19] 7538.9%326,83695.6%4,300
St. Louis Browns [20] 7613.4%419,31120.0%5,376
Philadelphia Athletics [21] 4833.3%287,88827.8%3,739
Boston Braves [22] 628.8%162,483−2.9%2,196
Cincinnati Reds [23] 82−14.6%568,1076.7%7,378
Boston Red Sox [24] 729.1%402,445−3.6%5,295
Philadelphia Phillies [25] 6231.9%330,99837.7%4,299

Events

References

  1. ↑ "Babe Ruth Career Home Runs".
  2. ↑ "Progressive Leaders & Records for Strikeouts".
  3. ↑ "Single Season Team Strikeout Records". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ "1921 Major League Baseball New Debuts".
  5. ↑ "1921 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1921 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "1921 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "1921 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1921 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates 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. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ↑ Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN   9781553650386.
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