The 1909 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1909. The regular season ended on October 7, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the sixth modern World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. The Pirates defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Chicago Cubs from the season.
In the National League, the Chicago Cubs had a record of 104–49 but finished games behind the Pirates, setting a record for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason, which has only been equaled once, by the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers, who had a record of 104–50.
Schedule
The 1909 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 for the season. This format would last until .
Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The American League would see its final day of the regular season on October 3, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season was on October 7. The World Series took place between October 8 and October 16.
Rule changes The 1909 season saw the following rule changes: A pitcher must face a minimum of one batter, due to a time-wasting trick to enable a team's intended pitcher to warmup for longer. This had previously occurred when one pitcher initially threw warmup pitches on the mound, before being taken out of the game (before facing a batter) to make way for a relief pitcher who now had extra warmup time. The American League implemented the following rules: 40 minutes before each game for practice was allotted, with the first 30 minutes dedicated to the visiting team, while the last 10 minutes were for the home team. Base runners were no longer allowed to advance more than two bases when a ball was thrown into the stands. Previously, there was no limit to how far a runner could go. No passes to games were to be issued to members of the visiting team. All teams must now maintain a large bulletin board giving the batting order accurately and indicating all changes as they are made.
Teams An asterisk (*) denotes the departure from a ballpark mid-season. LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsHuntington Avenue Grounds11,500Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisSouth Side Park15,000Cleveland NapsCleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBennett Park8,500New York HighlandersNew York, New YorkHilltop Park16,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park23,000St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park18,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.National Park9,000Boston DovesBoston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds9,800Brooklyn SuperbasNew York, New YorkWashington Park14,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWest Side Park16,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioPalace of the Fans12,000New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaExposition Park*16,000*Forbes Field23,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriLeague Park (St. Louis)21,000
Standings
American League
National League
Tie games 23 tie games (13 in AL, 10 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
American League Boston Red Sox, 1 Chicago White Sox, 7 Cleveland Naps, 2 Detroit Tigers, 6 New York Highlanders, 2 St. Louis Browns, 4 Washington Senators, 4
National League Boston Doves, 2 Brooklyn Superbas, 2 Chicago Cubs, 2 Cincinnati Reds, 4 New York Giants, 5 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 St. Louis Cardinals, 2
Postseason The postseason began on October 8 and ended on October 16 with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Detroit Tigers in the 1909 World Series in seven games.
Bracket
Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston DovesJoe KelleyHarry SmithBrooklyn SuperbasPatsy DonovanHarry LumleyChicago White SoxFielder JonesBilly SullivanCincinnati RedsJohn GanzelClark GriffithNew York Highlanders Kid ElberfeldGeorge StallingsSt. Louis CardinalsJohn McCloskeyRoger Bresnahan
In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston DovesHarry SmithFrank BowermanCleveland Naps Nap LajoieDeacon McGuire
League leaders American League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Ty Cobb1 (DET) .377 OPS Ty Cobb (DET) .947 HR Ty Cobb1 (DET) 9 RBI Ty Cobb1 (DET) 107 R Donie Bush (DET)Ty Cobb (DET) 115 H Ty Cobb (DET) 216 SB Ty Cobb (DET) 76 1 American League Triple Crown batting winner
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W George Mullin (DET) 29 L Bob Groom (WSH) 26 ERA Harry Krause (PHA) 1.39 K Frank Smith (CWS) 177 IP Frank Smith (CWS) 365.0 SV Frank Arellanes (BOS) 6 WHIP Ed Walsh (CWS) 0.938
National League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Honus Wagner (PIT) .339 OPS Honus Wagner (PIT) .909 HR Red Murray (NYG) 7 RBI Honus Wagner (PIT) 100 R Tommy Leach (PIT) 126 H Larry Doyle (NYG) 172 SB Bob Bescher (CIN) 54
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Mordecai Brown (CHC) 27 L Cecil Ferguson (BSN) 23 ERA Christy Mathewson (NYG) 1.14 K Orval Overall (CHC) 205 IP Mordecai Brown (CHC) 342.2 SV Mordecai Brown (CHC) 7 WHIP Christy Mathewson (NYG) 0.828
Milestones Miscellaneous Boston Doves: Set the modern National League record for most losses in a season on October 6 with 108. Set the modern National League record for worst winning percentage with .294.
Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Giants92 -6.1%783,700 -13.9%10,178Philadelphia Athletics95 39.7%674,915 48.3%8,880Boston Red Sox88 17.3%668,965 41.4%8,920Chicago Cubs104 5.1%633,480 -4.8%8,227Pittsburgh Pirates110 12.2%534,950 39.9%6,772New York Highlanders74 45.1%501,000 64.0%6,506Detroit Tigers98 8.9%490,490 12.4%6,288Chicago White Sox78 -11.4%478,400 -24.8%5,906Cincinnati Reds77 5.5%424,643 6.4%5,308St. Louis Browns61 -26.5%366,274 -40.8%4,636Cleveland Naps71 -21.1%354,627 -16.0%4,606Brooklyn Superbas55 3.8%321,300 16.6%4,067Philadelphia Phillies74 -10.8%303,177 -27.9%3,937St. Louis Cardinals54 10.2%299,982 46.2%3,947Washington Senators42 -37.3%205,199 -22.3%2,665Boston Doves45 -28.6%195,188 -23.1%2,568
Venues The 1909 season saw two teams move to three new venues. The Philadelphia Athletics leave Columbia Park (where they played eight seasons), and opened Shibe Park, where they would go on to play for 46 seasons through before relocating to Kansas City, Kansas as the Kansas City Athletics. The Pittsburgh Pirates would play their last game at the Exposition Park site on June 29, having played 21 seasons there going back to (with a gap between and ), and opened Forbes Field on June 30, where they would go on to play for 62 seasons through the middle of .
See also 1909 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
References
External links 1909 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference 1909 in baseball history from ThisGreatGame.com