The 1936 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1936. The regular season ended on September 27, with the New York Giants 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 33rd World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 6 on October 6. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in , and their first in a four-World Series run. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Detroit Tigers from the season.
The fourth All-Star Game was held on July 7 at National League Park in Boston, Massachusetts, home of the Boston Bees. The National League had their first All-Star victory, winning 4–3.
The Boston Braves changed their nickname to "Bees" this season; they would revert to the Braves in .
Schedule
The 1936 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, April 14, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27 and featured fourteen teams (the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns finished their season the day before). This was the first season which didn't feature all sixteen teams since the season. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 6.
Rule changes The 1936 season saw the following rule changes: The American League banned night games, as well as the installation of lights. Players were not allowed to barnstorm until 10 days after the close of the season.
Teams An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park33,817Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park52,000Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioLeague Park22,500Cleveland Stadium*78,811*Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganNavin Field30,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkYankee Stadium62,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,000St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium32,000Boston BeesBoston, MassachusettsNational League Park46,500Brooklyn DodgersNew York, New YorkEbbets Field32,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWrigley Field40,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioCrosley Field26,060New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds56,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaBaker Bowl18,800Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field41,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023
Standings
American League
National League
Tie games 10 tie games (6 in AL, 4 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, 2 Cleveland Indians, 3 New York Yankees, 2 Philadelphia Athletics, 1 St. Louis Browns, 3
National League Boston Bees, 3 Brooklyn Dodgers, 2 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 St. Louis Cardinals, 1
Postseason The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 6 with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Giants in the 1936 World Series in six games.
Bracket
Managers In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerDetroit TigersMickey CochraneDel Baker
League leaders American League
+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Luke Appling (CWS) .388 OPS Lou Gehrig (NYY) 1.174 HR Lou Gehrig (NYY) 49 RBI Hal Trosky (CLE) 162 R Lou Gehrig (NYY) 167 H Earl Averill (CLE) 232 SB Lyn Lary (SLB) 37
+ Pitching leadersStat PlayerTotal W Tommy Bridges (DET) 23 L Gordon Rhodes (PHA) 20 ERA Lefty Grove (BOS) 2.81 K Tommy Bridges (DET) 175 IP Wes Ferrell (BOS) 301.0 SV Pat Malone (NYY) 9 WHIP Lefty Grove (BOS) 1.192
National League
+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Paul Waner (PIT) .373 OPS Mel Ott (NYG) 1.036 HR Mel Ott (NYG) 33 RBI Joe Medwick (STL) 138 R Arky Vaughan (PIT) 122 H Joe Medwick (STL) 223 SB Pepper Martin (STL) 23
+ Pitching leadersStat PlayerTotal W Carl Hubbell (NYG) 26 L Bucky Walters (PHI) 21 ERA Carl Hubbell (NYG) 2.31 K Van Lingle Mungo (BRO) 238 IP Dizzy Dean (STL) 315.0 SV Dizzy Dean (STL) 11 WHIP Carl Hubbell (NYG) 1.059
Milestones Batters Four home runs in one game
Chuck Klein (PHI/): Became the fourth player and second in franchise history to hit four home runs in one game as a part of the Philadelphia Phillies in a 9–6 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 10.
Cycles
Sam Leslie (NYG): Leslie hit for his first cycle and 11th in franchise history, on May 24 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Other batting accomplishments Tony Lazzeri (NYY): Set a Major League record for most grand slams in a single game, hitting two grand slams in a 25–2 win against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 24. Became the third player to hit at least 10 runs batted in (RBI) in a single game, hitting 11 against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 24. Lou Gehrig (NYY): Became the second player in Major League history to hit 400 home runs in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians on July 10.
Miscellaneous New York Yankees: Set a Major League record for the most runs batted in during a season, with 995.
Awards and honors Regular season Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player Carl Hubbell (NYG) Lou Gehrig (NYY)
Other awards The Sporting News Awards Award National League American League Most Valuable Player Carl Hubbell (NYG) Lou Gehrig (NYY) Player of the Year Carl Hubbell (NYG) — Manager of the Year — Joe McCarthy (NYY) Executive of the Year Branch Rickey (STL) —
Baseball Hall of Fame
Ty Cobb Babe Ruth Honus Wagner Christy Mathewson Walter Johnson
Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Yankees10214.6%976,91348.6%12,687Detroit Tigers83 −10.8%875,948 −15.4%11,376New York Giants921.1%837,95211.9%10,743Chicago Cubs87 −13.0%699,3701.0%9,083Boston Red Sox74 −5.1%626,89512.2%8,141Cleveland Indians80 −2.4%500,39125.8%6,178Brooklyn Dodgers67 −4.3%489,6184.1%6,198Cincinnati Reds748.8%466,3454.0%6,136St. Louis Cardinals87 −9.4%448,078 −11.5%5,819Chicago White Sox819.5%440,810 −6.3%5,877Washington Senators8222.4%379,52548.8%4,929Pittsburgh Pirates84 −2.3%372,5245.6%4,902Boston Bees7186.8%340,58546.3%4,311Philadelphia Athletics53 −8.6%285,17322.3%3,704Philadelphia Phillies54 −15.6%249,21921.3%3,195St. Louis Browns57 −12.3%93,26715.3%1,211
Venues Over 81 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 80 games at League Park and 1 game at Cleveland Stadium, on Sunday, August 2, against the New York Yankees. This would be the 2nd of 12 seasons since that saw the Indians play at both venues.
With the renaming of the Boston Braves to the Boston Bees, Braves Field is renamed National League Park, nicknamed by fans as The Bee Hive.
See also 1936 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
References
External links 1936 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference