1940 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1940 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 16 – September 29, 1940
World Series:
  • October 2–8, 1940
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Hank Greenberg (DET)
NL: Frank McCormick (CIN)
AL champions Detroit Tigers
  AL runners-up Cleveland Indians
NL champions Cincinnati Reds
  NL runners-up Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions Cincinnati Reds
  Runners-up Detroit Tigers
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1940 American League season
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1938–1940 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1940 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1940. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 37th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 8. The Reds defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1919.

Contents

The eighth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 9, hosted by the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri, with the National League winning, 4–0.

Schedule

The 1940 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, April 16, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1936 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 29, which also saw all sixteen teams play, the first since the 1938 season. This was the first time since 1934 that all sixteen teams that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 8.

Rule change

The 1940 season saw the following rule change:

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,000 Joe Cronin
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 50,000 Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium
League Park*		78,811
22,500*		 Ossie Vitt
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Del Baker
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 71,699 Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Fred Haney
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Bucky Harris
National League Boston Bees Boston, Massachusetts National League Park 45,000 Casey Stengel
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 35,000 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,000 Gabby Hartnett
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,401 Bill McKechnie
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 56,000 Bill Terry
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Doc Prothro
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,537 Frankie Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Ray Blades,
Mike González,
Billy Southworth

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 9064.584—50‍–‍2940‍–‍35
Cleveland Indians 8965.578151‍–‍3038‍–‍35
New York Yankees 8866.571252‍–‍2436‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox 8272.532845‍–‍3437‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox 8272.532841‍–‍3641‍–‍36
St. Louis Browns 6787.4352337‍–‍3930‍–‍48
Washington Senators 6490.4162636‍–‍4128‍–‍49
Philadelphia Athletics 54100.3513629‍–‍4225‍–‍58

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 10053.654—55‍–‍2145‍–‍32
Brooklyn Dodgers 8865.5751241‍–‍3747‍–‍28
St. Louis Cardinals 8469.5491641‍–‍3643‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates 7876.50622½40‍–‍3438‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs 7579.48725½40‍–‍3735‍–‍42
New York Giants 7280.47427½33‍–‍4339‍–‍37
Boston Bees 6587.42834½35‍–‍4030‍–‍47
Philadelphia Phillies 50103.3275024‍–‍5526‍–‍48

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
         
AL Detroit Tigers 73 72 80 1
NL Cincinnati Reds 2 54 50 42

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Philadelphia Athletics Earle Mack Connie Mack
Pittsburgh Pirates Pie Traynor Frankie Frisch

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
St. Louis Cardinals Ray Blades Mike González
St. Louis Cardinals Mike González Billy Southworth

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Joe DiMaggio (NYY).352
OPS Hank Greenberg (DET)1.103
HR Hank Greenberg (DET)41
RBI Hank Greenberg (DET)150
R Ted Williams (BRS)134
H Doc Cramer (BRS)
Barney McCosky (DET)
Rip Radcliff (SLB)		200
SB George Case (WSH)35
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bob Feller 1 (CLE)27
L George Caster (PHA)
Dutch Leonard (WSH)		19
ERA Bob Feller 1 (CLE)2.61
K Bob Feller 1 (CLE)261
IP Bob Feller (CLE)320.1
SV Al Benton (DET)17
WHIP Bob Feller (CLE)1.133

1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Debs Garms (PIT).355
OPS Johnny Mize (SLC)1.039
HR Johnny Mize (SLC)43
RBI Johnny Mize (SLC)137
R Arky Vaughan (PIT)113
H Stan Hack (CHC)
Frank McCormick (CIN)		191
SB Lonny Frey (CIN)22
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bucky Walters (CIN)22
L Hugh Mulcahy (PHP)22
ERA Bucky Walters (CIN)2.48
K Kirby Higbe (PHP)137
IP Bucky Walters (CIN)305.0
SV Joe Beggs (CIN)
Jumbo Brown (NYG)
Mace Brown (PIT)		7
WHIP Bucky Walters (CIN)1.092

Awards and honors

Hank Greenberg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP Hank Greenberg 1937 cropped.jpg
Hank Greenberg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP
Frank McCormick 1940 NL MVP and 9x All-Star Frank McCormick 1949.jpg
Frank McCormick 1940 NL MVP and 9x All-Star

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player Frank McCormick (CIN) Hank Greenberg (DET)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player [2] Frank McCormick (CIN) Hank Greenberg (DET)
Player of the Year [3] — Bob Feller (CLE)
Manager of the Year [4] Bill McKechnie (CIN)—
Executive of the Year [5] — Walter Briggs Sr. (DET)

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Detroit Tigers [6] 9011.1%1,112,69333.1%14,085
New York Yankees [7] 88−17.0%988,97515.0%13,013
Brooklyn Dodgers [8] 884.8%975,9782.1%12,049
Cleveland Indians [9] 892.3%902,57660.1%11,007
Cincinnati Reds [10] 1003.1%850,180−13.4%11,041
New York Giants [11] 72−6.5%747,8526.5%9,840
Boston Red Sox [12] 82−7.9%716,23425.0%9,066
Chicago White Sox [13] 82−3.5%660,33611.1%8,466
Chicago Cubs [14] 75−10.7%534,878−26.4%6,946
Pittsburgh Pirates [15] 7814.7%507,93434.8%6,772
Philadelphia Athletics [16] 54−1.8%432,1459.4%6,087
Washington Senators [17] 64−1.5%381,24112.4%4,951
St. Louis Cardinals [18] 84−8.7%324,078−19.0%4,209
Boston Bees [19] 653.2%241,616−15.5%3,222
St. Louis Browns [20] 6755.8%239,591119.5%3,112
Philadelphia Phillies [21] 5011.1%207,177−25.5%2,622

Retired numbers

Events

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References

  1. ↑ admin. "The Sacrifice Fly – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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