1942 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1942 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1942 in baseball.

1942 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 14 – September 27, 1942 World Series: September 30 – October 5, 1942
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Joe Gordon (NYY) NL: Mort Cooper (SLC)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Boston Red Sox
NL champions	St. Louis Cardinals
NL runners-up	Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions	St. Louis Cardinals
Runners-up	New York Yankees
MLB seasons
← 1941 1943 →

Red Sox

White Sox   

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phils

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1942 National League season
National League

The 1942 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1942. The regular season ended on September 27, with the St. Louis Cardinals 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 39th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 5 on October 5. In the third iteration of this World Series matchup, the Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to one, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1934. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1941 season.

The tenth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 6 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York, home of the New York Giants. The American League won, 3–1.

In the National League, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a record of 104–50, but finished two games behind the Cardinals; the Dodgers tied the 1909 Chicago Cubs, who had a record of 104–49, for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason. ^[1]

The Philadelphia Athletics set a record for the fewest runs batted in during a season, with only 354. ^[2]

The St. Louis Browns nearly moved to Los Angeles, California for the start of the 1942 season. During the 1941 Winter Meetings in Chicago, Illinois, a vote was scheduled for the morning of December 8, and was expected to be approved. However, due to the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan the previous day (and subsequent entry of the United States into World War II), when it came time to vote, all teams (including the Browns) unanimously voted against the move. ^{[3] [4]} The team would eventually leave for Baltimore, Maryland in 1954 where they remain today as the Baltimore Orioles, while Los Angeles would eventually get a major league team in 1958 when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn, New York.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1942 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 1940 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27 and featured ten teams. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 5.

Rule changes

The 1942 season saw the following rule changes:

• Any player drafted for World War II would be regarded as voluntarily retired, though placed on a separate list. ^[5]
• Regarding doubleheaders:
  • It was made official that both St. Louis teams could schedule doubleheaders after the third Sunday home game (as opposed to the other fourteen teams, who must wait until after the fourth home Sunday game). ^[5]
  • Regularly scheduled games could not be pushed back to the final series of the season for the purpose of causing a doubleheader. ^[5]
• If the postponement of a contest requires transfer between cities, a game cannot be called off less than one hour before the game’s scheduled start time. ^[5]
• In the American League, a rule that was previously implemented for the 1940 season, which limited a defending champion team from trading with other American League teams, except through waivers, was repealed. ^{[6] [7]}
• The number of night games allowed per team was increased from 7 to 14 (with the Washington Senators allowed 21). ^[8]

Teams

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

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager [9]
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	78,811	Lou Boudreau
			League Park*	22,500*
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Briggs Stadium	58,000	Del Baker
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	70,000	Joe McCarthy
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,000	Connie Mack
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	34,023	Luke Sewell
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	32,000	Bucky Harris
National League	Boston Braves	Boston, Massachusetts	Braves Field	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	Mel Ott
	Philadelphia Phils	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,000	Hans Lobert
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	33,467	Frankie Frisch
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	34,023	Billy Southworth

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	103	51	.669	—	58‍–‍19	45‍–‍32
Boston Red Sox	93	59	.612	9	53‍–‍24	40‍–‍35
St. Louis Browns	82	69	.543	19½	40‍–‍37	42‍–‍32
Cleveland Indians	75	79	.487	28	39‍–‍39	36‍–‍40
Detroit Tigers	73	81	.474	30	43‍–‍34	30‍–‍47
Chicago White Sox	66	82	.446	34	35‍–‍35	31‍–‍47
Washington Senators	62	89	.411	39½	35‍–‍42	27‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics	55	99	.357	48	25‍–‍51	30‍–‍48

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	106	48	.688	—	60‍–‍17	46‍–‍31
Brooklyn Dodgers	104	50	.675	2	57‍–‍22	47‍–‍28
New York Giants	85	67	.559	20	47‍–‍31	38‍–‍36
Cincinnati Reds	76	76	.500	29	38‍–‍39	38‍–‍37
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	81	.449	36½	41‍–‍34	25‍–‍47
Chicago Cubs	68	86	.442	38	36‍–‍41	32‍–‍45
Boston Braves	59	89	.399	44	33‍–‍36	26‍–‍53
Philadelphia Phils	42	109	.278	62½	23‍–‍51	19‍–‍58

Postseason

The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 5 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the New York Yankees in the 1942 World Series in five games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	1
	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	4

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Cleveland Indians	Roger Peckinpaugh	Lou Boudreau
New York Giants	Bill Terry	Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phils	Doc Prothro	Hans Lobert

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders ^[10]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	.356
OPS	Ted Williams (BRS)	1.147
HR	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	36
RBI	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	137
R	Ted Williams (BRS)	141
H	Johnny Pesky (BRS)	205
SB	George Case (WSH)	44

¹ American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders ^[11]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Tex Hughson (BRS)	22
L	Eddie Smith (CWS)	20
ERA	Ted Lyons (CWS)	2.10
K	Tex Hughson (BRS) Bobo Newsom (WSH)	113
IP	Tex Hughson (BRS)	281.0
SV	Johnny Murphy (NYY)	11
WHIP	Tiny Bonham (NYY)	0.987

National League

Hitting leaders ^[12]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Ernie Lombardi (BSB)	.330
OPS	Mel Ott (NYG)	.912
HR	Mel Ott (NYG)	30
RBI	Johnny Mize (NYG)	110
R	Mel Ott (NYG)	118
H	Enos Slaughter (SLC)	188
SB	Pete Reiser (BKN)	20

Pitching leaders ^[13]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Mort Cooper (SLC)	22
L	Jim Tobin (BSB)	21
ERA	Mort Cooper (SLC)	1.78
K	Johnny Vander Meer (CIN)	186
IP	Jim Tobin (BSB)	287.2
SV	Hugh Casey (BKN)	13
WHIP	Mort Cooper (SLC)	0.987

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Most Valuable Player	Mort Cooper (SLC)	Joe Gordon (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Most Valuable Player [14]	Mort Cooper (SLC)	Joe Gordon (NYY)
Player of the Year [15]	—	Ted Williams (BRS)
Manager of the Year [16]	Billy Southworth (SLC)	—
Executive of the Year [17]	Branch Rickey (STL)	—

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Rogers Hornsby

Further information: 1942 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Brooklyn Dodgers [18]	104	4.0%	1,037,765	−14.6%	13,136
New York Yankees [19]	103	2.0%	922,011	−4.4%	11,974
New York Giants [20]	85	14.9%	779,621	2.2%	9,869
Boston Red Sox [21]	93	10.7%	730,340	1.6%	9,485
Chicago Cubs [22]	68	−2.9%	590,972	8.4%	7,577
Detroit Tigers [23]	73	−2.7%	580,087	−15.3%	7,534
St. Louis Cardinals [24]	106	9.3%	553,552	−12.6%	7,097
Cleveland Indians [25]	75	0.0%	459,447	−38.4%	5,743
Pittsburgh Pirates [26]	66	−18.5%	448,897	−6.9%	5,830
Cincinnati Reds [27]	76	−13.6%	427,031	−33.6%	5,546
Chicago White Sox [28]	66	−14.3%	425,734	−37.1%	6,082
Philadelphia Athletics [29]	55	−14.1%	423,487	−19.9%	5,572
Washington Senators [30]	62	−11.4%	403,493	−2.9%	5,240
Boston Braves [31]	59	−4.8%	285,332	8.2%	4,019
St. Louis Browns [32]	82	17.1%	255,617	45.0%	3,320
Philadelphia Phils [33]	42	−2.3%	230,183	−0.5%	3,111

Retired numbers

• The Cincinnati Reds re-entered Willard Hershberger's No. 5 into circulation, only two years after his number was retired. This was the first number to be de-retired by any team in MLB. His number would later be re-retired to honor Johnny Bench in 1984.

References

1. Adler, David (September 30, 2019). "Best MLB teams to miss the postseason". MLB.com . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
2. "Runs Batted In – Single Season RBI Records". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
3. Post-Dispatch, Derrick Goold | (January 12, 2016). "Goold: The time a St. Louis baseball team tried to move to LA". STLtoday.com. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
4. "St. Louis Browns almost move to L.A. in 1941". MLB.com. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
5. Green, Jeremy. "1941 Winter Meetings: War and Uncertainty – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
6. "American League Bars Champion's Trades With Rival Clubs Except on Waiver" . The New York Times . July 8, 1941. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/07/08/105157708.pdf. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
7. "Regulating the Yankees: Baseball and Antitrust in 1939 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog". October 10, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
8. Moraski, Richard. "The Washington Senators in Wartime – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved May 30, 2025.
9. "1942 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
10. "1942 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
11. "1942 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
12. "1942 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
13. "1942 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
14. "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
15. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
16. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
17. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
18. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
27. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
28. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
30. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
31. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
32. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
33. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links

• 1942 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference