1941 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1941 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 14 – September 28, 1941 (AL)
  • April 15 – September 28, 1941 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 1–6, 1941
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Joe DiMaggio (NYY)
NL: Dolph Camilli (BKN)
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Boston Red Sox
NL champions Brooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-up St. Louis Cardinals
World Series
Champions New York Yankees
  Runners-up Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1941 American League season
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1941 National League season
ButtonBlue.svg National League
Walt Judnich, circa 1941 Walt Judnich 1941.jpeg
Walt Judnich, circa 1941

The 1941 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1941. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers 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 38th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 5 on October 6. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one.

Contents

The ninth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 8, hosted by the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, with the American League winning, 7–5.

In addition to a five-game World Series between New York City teams, highlights of the season included Ted Williams batting .406, and Joe DiMaggio having a 56-game hitting streak; it has been called the "best baseball season ever". [1]

Schedule

The 1941 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.

American League Opening Day took place on April 14 with a game between the New York Yankees and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place on the following day, featuring all eight teams. This was the first season since 1939 that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 28 and featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 6.

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 League Park
Cleveland Stadium*		22,500
78,811*		 Roger Peckinpaugh
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, Luke Sewell
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Bucky Harris
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts National League Park 37,746 Casey Stengel
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 35,000 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Jimmie Wilson
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 Billy Southworth

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10153.656—51‍–‍2650‍–‍27
Boston Red Sox 8470.5451747‍–‍3037‍–‍40
Chicago White Sox 7777.5002438‍–‍3939‍–‍38
Cleveland Indians 7579.4872642‍–‍3533‍–‍44
Detroit Tigers 7579.4872643‍–‍3432‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 7084.4553140‍–‍3730‍–‍47
Washington Senators 7084.4553140‍–‍3730‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics 6490.4163736‍–‍4128‍–‍49

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 10054.649—52‍–‍2548‍–‍29
St. Louis Cardinals 9756.6342½53‍–‍2444‍–‍32
Cincinnati Reds 8866.5711245‍–‍3443‍–‍32
Pittsburgh Pirates 8173.5261945‍–‍3236‍–‍41
New York Giants 7479.48425½38‍–‍3936‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs 7084.4553038‍–‍3932‍–‍45
Boston Braves 6292.4033832‍–‍4430‍–‍48
Philadelphia Phillies 43111.2795723‍–‍5220‍–‍59

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
       
AL New York Yankees 32 273
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 2 31 4 1

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Chicago Cubs Gabby Hartnett Jimmie Wilson
Cleveland Indians Ossie Vitt Roger Peckinpaugh

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
St. Louis Browns Fred Haney Luke Sewell

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Ted Williams (BRS).406
OPS Ted Williams (BRS)1.287
HR Ted Williams (BRS)37
RBI Joe DiMaggio (NYY)125
R Ted Williams (BRS)135
H Cecil Travis (WSH)218
SB George Case (WSH)33
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bob Feller (CLE)25
L Bobo Newsom (DET)20
ERA Thornton Lee (CWS)2.37
K Bob Feller (CLE)260
IP Bob Feller (CLE)343.0
SV Johnny Murphy (NYY)15
WHIP Thornton Lee (CWS)1.165

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Pete Reiser (BKN).343
OPS Pete Reiser (BKN).964
HR Dolph Camilli (BKN)34
RBI Dolph Camilli (BKN)120
R Pete Reiser (BKN)117
H Stan Hack (CHC)186
SB Danny Murtaugh (PHP)18
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Kirby Higbe (BKN)
Whit Wyatt (BKN)		22
L Rip Sewell (PIT)17
ERA Elmer Riddle (CIN)2.24
K Johnny Vander Meer (CIN)202
IP Bucky Walters (CIN)305.0
SV Jumbo Brown (NYG)8
WHIP Whit Wyatt (BKN)1.058

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player Dolph Camilli (BKN) Joe DiMaggio (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player [2] Dolph Camilli (BKN) Joe DiMaggio (NYY)
Player of the Year [3] — Ted Williams (BRS)
Manager of the Year [4] Billy Southworth (SLC)—
Executive of the Year [5] — Ed Barrow (NYY)

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Brooklyn Dodgers [6] 10013.6%1,214,91024.5%15,379
New York Yankees [7] 10114.8%964,722−2.5%12,368
New York Giants [8] 742.8%763,0982.0%9,783
Cleveland Indians [9] 75−15.7%745,948−17.4%9,688
Boston Red Sox [10] 842.4%718,4970.3%9,331
Detroit Tigers [11] 75−16.7%684,915−38.4%8,895
Chicago White Sox [12] 77−6.1%677,0772.5%8,571
Cincinnati Reds [13] 88−12.0%643,513−24.3%8,146
St. Louis Cardinals [14] 9715.5%633,64595.5%8,021
Chicago Cubs [15] 70−6.7%545,1591.9%7,080
Philadelphia Athletics [16] 6418.5%528,89422.4%6,869
Pittsburgh Pirates [17] 813.8%482,241−5.1%6,183
Washington Senators [18] 709.4%415,6639.0%5,329
Boston Braves [19] 62−4.6%263,6809.1%3,469
Philadelphia Phillies [20] 43−14.0%231,40111.7%3,045
St. Louis Browns [21] 704.5%176,240−26.4%2,231

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References

  1. ↑ Creamer, Robert (1991). Baseball in '41: A Celebration of the "Best Baseball Season Ever". Viking Press. ISBN   0670833746.
  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. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers 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. ↑ "San Francisco Giants 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. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Chicago Cubs 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. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Minnesota Twins 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. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

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