The 1919 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1919. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 16th World Series, known for the infamous Black Sox Scandal, on October 1 and ended with Game 8 on October 9. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago White Sox, five games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Boston Red Sox from the season.
The Black Sox Scandal, for which the 1919 season is best remembered for, saw the Chicago White Sox throw (purposely lose) the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, 5–3, in order to illegally gain money from gambling. This scandal resulted in the dissolution of the National Baseball Commission and the creation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball. The new commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned eight players from baseball for life.
Schedule
The 1919 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This 140-game schedule format had been previously used in 1903. The 154-game schedule was re-instituted for the season.
National League Opening Day took place on April 19, when the Brooklyn Robins defeated the Boston Braves 5–2 at Braves Field in the first game of a doubleheader. American League Opening Day (and most other National League teams' Opening Day) wouldn't take place until April 23, where each league saw six of their teams play. This continued the trend from the previous season which saw both leagues' Opening Day start on different days. The National League regular season ended on September 28, while the American League regular season ended on September 29 with the New York Yankees defeating the Philadelphia Athletics 4–2 at Shibe Park. This was the first season since which saw both leagues end on different days, as well as the first season since that saw the leagues begin and conclude on different days. The World Series would begin in Cincinnati on October 1, before concluding on October 9.
Rule change The minor leagues withdrew from the National Agreement, resulting in the abolition of the Rule 5 draft, as well as all existing optional agreements between major- and minor-league teams. The only way in which major-league clubs could acquire players from the minors was by directly purchasing their contracts. This change resulted in the previous $2,500 () draft fee cap being removed.
Teams LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park27,000Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park28,000Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioDunn Field21,414Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganNavin Field23,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkBrush Stadium36,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park23,000St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park18,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.National Park27,000Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsBraves Field40,000Brooklyn RobinsNew York, New YorkEbbets Field30,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWeeghman Park15,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioRedland Field20,696New York GiantsNew York, New YorkBrush Stadium36,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field25,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriRobison Field21,000
Standings
American League
National League
Tie games 5 tie games (3 in AL, 2 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 New York Yankees, 2 St. Louis Browns, 1 Washington Senators, 2
National League Boston Braves, 1 Brooklyn Robins, 1 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 St. Louis Cardinals, 1
Postseason The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 9 with the Cincinnati Reds defeating the Chicago White Sox in the 1919 World Series in eight games.
Bracket
Managerial changes Off-season changes Four teams announced new managers in the offseason: DateTeamNew managerReplacedFormer jobDecember 31Chicago White SoxKid GleasonPants RowlandCoach for the Chicago White Sox (1912–1914, 1916–1917)January 30Cincinnati RedsPat MoranChristy Mathewson & Heinie GrohWon the 1915 World Series as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.—Philadelphia PhilliesJack CoombsPat MoranPitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Robins—St. Louis CardinalsBranch RickeyJack HendricksGeneral manager for the St. Louis Cardinals (1917–1918)
In-season changes Two teams replaced their managers during the season: DateTeamNew ManagerReplacedPrevious Job July 8Philadelphia Phillies Gavvy Cravath Jack CoombsRight fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (became player-manager) July 18Cleveland Indians Tris Speaker Lee FohlCenter fielder for the Cleveland Indians (became player-manager)
League leaders Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
American League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Ty Cobb (DET) .384 OPS Babe Ruth (BOS) 1.114 HR Babe Ruth (BOS) 29 RBI Babe Ruth (BOS) 114 R Babe Ruth (BOS) 103 H Ty Cobb (DET)Bobby Veach (DET) 191 SB Eddie Collins (CWS) 33
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Eddie Cicotte (CWS) 29 L Harry Harper (WSH) 21 ERA Walter Johnson (WSH) 1.49 K Walter Johnson (WSH) 147 IP Eddie Cicotte (CWS)Jim Shaw (WSH) 306.2 SV Allen Russell (BOS/)Jim Shaw (WSH)Bob Shawkey (NYY) 5 WHIP Walter Johnson (WSH) 0.985
National League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Edd Roush (CIN) .321 OPS Heinie Groh (CIN) .823 HR Gavvy Cravath (PHI) 12 RBI Hy Myers (BRO) 73 R George Burns (NYG) 86 H Ivy Olson (BRO) 164 SB George Burns (NYG) 40
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Jesse Barnes (NYG) 25 L Lee Meadows (PHI/) 20 ERA Grover Alexander (CHC) 1.72 K Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 141 IP Hippo Vaughn (CHC) 306.2 SV Oscar Tuero (STL) 4 WHIP Babe Adams (CIN) 0.896
Milestones Batters Babe Ruth (BOS): Hit his first career grand slam home run against Dave Davenport of the St. Louis Browns in St. Louis as a pitcher on May 20. Boston wins 6–4. Set a new American League record for home runs in a season by hitting his 17th home run on August 14 against the Chicago White Sox. Ruth broke the record set by Socks Seybold in 1902. Set a new American League record for grand slams in a season by hitting his fourth on August 23 against the Detroit Tigers. Ruth broke the record of two set by Nap Lajoie in 1901. Became the first player to hit at least one home run in every American League park in the same season after hitting his 29th and last home run of the season, against the Washington Senators in Washington, D.C.. Ed Konetchy (BRO): Gets his 10th straight hit, tying Jake Gettman's record set with the 1890s Washington Senators in 1897, going 5-for-5 in a 9–4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Both will be topped by Walt Dropo in . Tris Speaker (CLE): Ties the American League record for run scoring, crossing the plate five times in a 15–9 win against the New York Yankees.
Pitchers No-hitters
Hod Eller (CIN): Eller threw his first career no-hitter and fifth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 6–0 on May 11. He walked three and struck out eight. Ray Caldwell (CLE/): Caldwell threw his first career no-hitter and fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Yankees 3–0 in game one of a doubleheader on September 10. He walked one and struck out five. Just two weeks prior on August 24, he was struck by lightning.
Other pitching accomplishments Walter Johnson (WSH): Retires 28 consecutive batters during a 12-inning scoreless tie against Jack Quinn and the New York Yankees. Waite Hoyt (BOS): Threw nine perfect innings against the New York Yankees, but gives up five hits in the 13th inning to end the perfect game, eventually losing the game 2–1.
Miscellaneous Cincinnati Reds: Set a major league record for most runs scored in the 13th inning, by scoring 10 runs against the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 15. Ray Caldwell (CLE/): Struck by lightning during the ninth inning during his August 24 Cleveland Indian debut, following a trade from the Red Sox. He quickly recovered, reportedly saying "Give me that danged ball and turn me toward the plate", before pitching the final out of the game. Boston Braves vs. Chicago Cubs / Brooklyn Robins vs. Cincinnati Reds: On September 21 – In a period of rapidly played games, the Cubs beat the Braves 3–0 in 58 minutes of playing time. It takes the Robins 55 minutes to beat the Reds 3–1, with Slim Sallee throwing 65 pitches, managing to top Christy Mathewson's 69-pitch complete game. Fred Luderus (PHI): Is presented with a diamond stickpin and gold watch between doubleheader games on September 24 to commemorate his endurance effort for playing over 500 games in a row. The Brooklyn Robins defeat the Phillies twice on Fred Luderus Day in Philadelphia. The second game is the 525th in a row played by the Phillies first baseman, and he will end the season with a consecutive-game streak of 553. Philadelphia Phillies / New York Giants: Set a record for the quickest nine-inning game in Major League history on September 28, lasting only 51 minutes for a Giants 6–1 victory at Brush Stadium.
Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Giants87 22.5%708,857 176.2%10,273Detroit Tigers80 45.5%643,805 216.0%9,197Chicago White Sox88 54.4%627,186 221.5%8,960New York Yankees80 33.3%619,164 119.5%8,482Cleveland Indians84 15.1%538,135 82.1%7,799Cincinnati Reds96 41.2%532,501 226.7%7,607Chicago Cubs75 −10.7%424,430 25.8%5,978Boston Red Sox66 −12.0%417,291 67.2%6,323Brooklyn Robins69 21.1%360,721 330.3%5,153St. Louis Browns67 15.5%349,350 186.2%4,991Pittsburgh Pirates71 9.2%276,810 29.6%3,954Philadelphia Phillies47 −14.5%240,424 96.6%3,386Washington Senators56 −22.2%234,096 28.5%3,251Philadelphia Athletics36 −30.8%225,209 26.6%3,217Boston Braves57 7.5%167,401 97.1%2,462St. Louis Cardinals54 5.9%167,059 51.0%2,421
See also 1919 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
References
External links 1919 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference