1921 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1921 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1921 in baseball.

1921 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 13 – October 13, 1921
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16
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
← 1920 1922 →

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Robins

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1920–1931 National League seasons
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. The Giants defeated the Yankees, five games to three.

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]

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	Dunn Field	21,414
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Navin Field	23,000
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	38,000
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	23,000
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	24,040
	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	Cubs Park	15,000
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Redland Field	20,696
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	38,000
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	National League Park	18,000
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	25,000
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	24,040

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball 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.

Standings

American League v t e American League W L Pct. GB Home Road New York Yankees 98 55 0.641 — 53–25 45–30 Cleveland Indians 94 60 0.610 4½ 51–26 43–34 St. Louis Browns 81 73 0.526 17½ 43–34 38–39 Washington Senators 80 73 0.523 18 46–30 34–43 Boston Red Sox 75 79 0.487 23½ 41–36 34–43 Detroit Tigers 71 82 0.464 27 37–40 34–42 Chicago White Sox 62 92 0.403 36½ 37–40 25–52 Philadelphia Athletics 53 100 0.346 45 28–47 25–53

National League v t e National League W L Pct. GB Home Road New York Giants 94 59 0.614 — 53–26 41–33 Pittsburgh Pirates 90 63 0.588 4 45–31 45–32 St. Louis Cardinals 87 66 0.569 7 48–29 39–37 Boston Braves 79 74 0.516 15 42–32 37–42 Brooklyn Robins 77 75 0.507 16½ 41–37 36–38 Cincinnati Reds 70 83 0.458 24 40–36 30–47 Chicago Cubs 64 89 0.418 30 32–44 32–45 Philadelphia Phillies 51 103 0.331 43½ 29–47 22–56

Postseason

Bracket

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

Managers

American League Team Manager Comments Boston Red Sox Hugh Duffy Chicago White Sox Kid Gleason Cleveland Indians Tris Speaker Finished 2nd Detroit Tigers Ty Cobb New York Yankees Miller Huggins Won 1st AL pennant Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack St. Louis Browns Lee Fohl Finished 3rd Washington Senators George McBride

National League Team Manager Comments Boston Braves Fred Mitchell Brooklyn Robins Wilbert Robinson Chicago Cubs Johnny Evers and Bill Killefer Cincinnati Reds Pat Moran New York Giants John McGraw Won World Series Philadelphia Phillies Bill Donovan and Kaiser Wilhelm Pittsburgh Pirates George Gibson Finished 2nd St. Louis Cardinals Branch Rickey Finished 3rd

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Harry Heilmann (DET) .394 HR Babe Ruth (NYY) 59 RBI Babe Ruth (NYY) 168 R Babe Ruth (NYY) 177 H Harry Heilmann (DET) 237 SB George Sisler (SLB) 35

Pitching leaders Stat Player Total 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

National League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Rogers Hornsby (SLC) .397 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 Stat Player Total 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

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Yankees [5]	95	18.8%	1,289,422	108.3%	16,746
New York Giants [6]	86	-1.1%	929,609	31.1%	11,620
Cleveland Indians [7]	98	16.7%	912,832	69.6%	11,703
Pittsburgh Pirates [8]	79	11.3%	429,037	55.0%	5,500
Detroit Tigers [9]	61	-23.8%	579,650	-10.0%	7,431
Brooklyn Robins [10]	93	34.8%	808,722	124.2%	10,368
Chicago White Sox [11]	96	9.1%	833,492	32.9%	10,825
Washington Senators [12]	68	21.4%	359,260	53.5%	4,727
Chicago Cubs [13]	75	0.0%	480,783	13.3%	6,244
St. Louis Cardinals [14]	75	38.9%	326,836	95.6%	4,300
St. Louis Browns [15]	76	13.4%	419,311	20.0%	5,376
Philadelphia Athletics [16]	48	33.3%	287,888	27.8%	3,739
Boston Braves [17]	62	8.8%	162,483	-2.9%	2,196
Cincinnati Reds [18]	82	-14.6%	568,107	6.7%	7,378
Boston Red Sox [19]	72	9.1%	402,445	-3.6%	5,295
Philadelphia Phillies [20]	62	31.9%	330,998	37.7%	4,299

Events

• August 5 – The Pittsburgh Pirates 8–5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field is the first Major League game to be broadcast on radio. Harold Arlin calls the game for Pittsburgh station KDKA. ^[21]

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. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
6. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
7. "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
8. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
9. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
10. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
11. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
12. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
13. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
14. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
15. "Baltimore Orioles 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. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
18. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
19. "Boston Red Sox 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. Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN   9781553650386.

External links

• 1921 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference