The 1927 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1927. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Pittsburgh Pirates 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 24th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Yankees swept the Pirates in four games, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in . Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the St. Louis Cardinals from the season.

The New York Yankees, whose lineup featured Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the famed "Murderers' Row," dominated the American League with 110 wins. No no-hitters were thrown during the season.

This was the sixth of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.

Schedule

The 1927 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 season (except for ) and would be used until in the American League and in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 12 with all but the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 2. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 8.

Rule changes The 1927 season saw the following rule changes: A statute of limitations in line with federal and state laws to prevent decades-old accusations of game fixing from surfacing. One-year bans for players and managers found to have fixed games or to have bet on games in which the player or manager was not directly involved were implemented. A lifetime ban for anyone who bet on a game in which he was directly involved was implemented.

Teams An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park27,000Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park52,000Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioDunn Field21,414Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganNavin Field30,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkYankee Stadium82,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park27,500St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium27,000Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsBraves Field40,000Brooklyn RobinsNew York, New YorkEbbets Field28,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWrigley Field38,396Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioRedland Field26,060New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds55,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaBaker Bowl18,000Shibe Park*27,500*Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field41,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023

Standings

American League

National League

Tie games 8 tie games 5 in AL, 3 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League Detroit Tigers, 3 New York Yankees, 1 Philadelphia Athletics, 1 St. Louis Browns, 2 Washington Senators, 3

National League Boston Braves, 1 Brooklyn Robins, 1 New York Giants, 1 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2

Postseason The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 8 with the New York Yankees sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series in four games.

Bracket

Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston Red Sox Lee FohlBill CarriganChicago White Sox Eddie CollinsRay SchalkCleveland Indians Tris SpeakerJack McCallister Detroit Tigers Ty CobbGeorge MoriartyPhiladelphia PhilliesArt FletcherStuffy McInnisPittsburgh PiratesBill McKechnieDonie BushSt. Louis BrownsGeorge SislerDan HowleySt. Louis CardinalsRogers HornsbyBob O'Farrell

League leaders American League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Harry Heilmann (DET) .398 OPS Babe Ruth (NYY) 1.258 HR Babe Ruth (NYY) 60 RBI Lou Gehrig (NYY) 173 R Babe Ruth (NYY) 158 H Earle Combs (NYY) 231 SB George Sisler (SLB) 27

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Waite Hoyt (NYY)Ted Lyons (CWS) 22 L Slim Harriss (BOS) 21 ERA Wilcy Moore (NYY) 2.28 K Lefty Grove (PHA) 174 IP Ted Lyons (CWS)Tommy Thomas (CWS) 307.2 SV Wilcy Moore (NYY) 13 WHIP Garland Braxton (WSH) 1.139

National League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Paul Waner (PIT) .380 OPS Rogers Hornsby (NYG) 1.035 HR Cy Williams (PHI)Hack Wilson (CHC) 30 RBI Paul Waner (PIT) 131 R Rogers Hornsby (NYG)Paul Waner (PIT) 133 H Paul Waner (PIT) 237 SB Frankie Frisch (STL) 48

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Charlie Root (CHC) 26 L Jack Scott (PHI) 21 ERA Ray Kremer (PIT) 2.47 K Dazzy Vance (BRO) 184 IP Charlie Root (CHC) 309.0 SV Bill Sherdel (STL) 6 WHIP Grover Alexander (STL) 1.116

Milestones Batters Cycles

Jim Bottomley (STL): Bottomley hit for his first cycle and fifth in franchise history, on July 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cy Williams (PHI): Williams hit for his first cycle and third in franchise history, on August 5 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Other batting accomplishments Ty Cobb (PHA): Became the first pitcher to hit home runs prior to turning 20 and after turning 40 years old on May 16, in a 10–8 against the St. Louis Browns. Recorded his 4,000th career hit with a double in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers on July 18. He became the first player to reach this mark. Max Carey (BRO): Recorded his 700th career stolen base in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs on July 10. He became the sixth player to reach this mark. Walter Johnson (BOS): Set an American League record for most career wins at 417 on July 28 in a 12–2 win over the Chicago White Sox in his last career win. Babe Ruth (NYY): Became the first player in Major League history to hit 400 home runs with a solo home run in the first inning against the Philadelphia Athletics on September 2. Set a new major-league and American League record for home runs in a season by hitting his 60th home run on September 30 against the Washington Senators. Ruth broke the previous record of 59 home runs set by himself in .

Pitching Jesse Barnes (BRO) / Virgil Barnes (NYG): Became the first brothers in Major League history to pitch against each other on May 3. Virgil and the Giants defeated Jesse and the Robins, 7–6.

Miscellaneous New York Yankees: Played 155 games due to a tie game against the Philadelphia Athletics on April 14, which ended in a 9–9 tie due to darkness falling. Chicago Cubs: Set a major league record for most runs scored in the 18th inning, by scoring five runs against the Boston Braves on May 14. Philadelphia Phillies: Four pitchers were used as pinch hitters and pinch runners against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 18. Jack Scott, Clarence Mitchell and Les Sweetland hit, while Tony Kaufmann ran for Scott.

Awards and honors League Award: Paul Waner (PIT, National); Lou Gehrig (NYY, American)

Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Yankees11020.9%1,164,01513.3%15,117Chicago Cubs853.7%1,159,16831.0%14,861Pittsburgh Pirates9411.9%869,7208.9%11,009New York Giants9224.3%858,19022.5%11,597Detroit Tigers823.8%773,7168.7%9,919St. Louis Cardinals923.4%749,34012.1%9,367Brooklyn Robins65 −8.5%637,230 −2.1%8,611Chicago White Sox70 −13.6%614,423 −13.5%8,192Philadelphia Athletics919.6%605,529 −15.3%7,864Washington Senators854.9%528,976 −4.1%6,696Cincinnati Reds75 −13.8%442,164 −34.3%5,527Cleveland Indians66 −25.0%373,138 −40.5%4,846Philadelphia Phillies51 −12.1%305,42026.9%3,916Boston Red Sox5110.9%305,2757.1%3,914Boston Braves60 −9.1%288,685 −4.9%3,901St. Louis Browns59 −4.8%247,879 −12.7%3,178

Venues In November 1926, following the conclusion of the previous season, Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. renamed Cubs Park to Wrigley Field.

During a Philadelphia Phillies home game against the St. Louis Cardinals at the Baker Bowl on May 14, parts of two sections of the lower deck extension along the right-field line collapsed due to rotted shoring timbers, triggered by an oversize gathering of people, who were seeking shelter from rain. While no one died during the collapse, one individual died of heart failure in the subsequent stampede that injured 50. The game was cut short in the 7th inning following the collapse. In a similar situation to a partial collapse in , the Phillies rented from the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park while repairs were being made to the old structure. The Phillies played 12 home games at Shibe Park, from May 16 to May 28, before eventually returning to the Baker Bowl on June 24 after spending nearly a month on the road.

See also 1927 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)

References

External links 1927 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference