1918 Major League Baseball season

The 1918 Major League Baseball season featured a reduced schedule due to American participation in World War I.^[1] The American League and National League champions, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, respectively, met in the World Series, which was won by Boston in six games.

Shortened season

With World War I ongoing, a "work or fight" mandate was issued by the government, requiring men with non-essential jobs to enlist or take war-related jobs by July 1, or else risk being drafted.^[2] Secretary of War Newton D. Baker granted an extension to MLB players through Labor Day, September 2.^[3] In early August, MLB clubs decided that the regular season would end at that time.^[4] As a result, the number of regular-season games that each team played varied—123 to 130 for AL teams and 124 to 131 for NL teams, including ties^[5]—reduced from their original 154-game schedules. Later in August, Baker granted a further extension to allow for the World Series to be contested;^[3] it began on September 5 and ended on September 11.^[6] World War I would end two months later, with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Standings

American League v t e American League W L Pct. GB Home Road Boston Red Sox 75 51 0.595 — 49–21 26–30 Cleveland Indians 73 54 0.575 2½ 38–22 35–32 Washington Senators 72 56 0.562 4 41–32 31–24 New York Yankees 60 63 0.488 13½ 37–29 23–34 St. Louis Browns 58 64 0.475 15 23–30 35–34 Chicago White Sox 57 67 0.460 17 30–26 27–41 Detroit Tigers 55 71 0.437 20 28–29 27–42 Philadelphia Athletics 52 76 0.406 24 35–32 17–44 National League v t e National League W L Pct. GB Home Road Chicago Cubs 84 45 0.651 — 49–25 35–20 New York Giants 71 53 0.573 10½ 35–21 36–32 Cincinnati Reds 68 60 0.531 15½ 46–24 22–36 Pittsburgh Pirates 65 60 0.520 17 42–28 23–32 Brooklyn Robins 57 69 0.452 25½ 33–21 24–48 Philadelphia Phillies 55 68 0.447 26 27–29 28–39 Boston Braves 53 71 0.427 28½ 23–29 30–42 St. Louis Cardinals 51 78 0.395 33 32–40 19–38

Red Sox White Sox Indians Tigers Athletics Browns Yankees Senators Locations of AL teams for the 1916–1919 Major League Baseball seasons American League Braves Robins Cubs Reds Giants Phillies Pirates Cardinals Locations of NL teams for the 1916–1919 Major League Baseball seasons National League

Postseason

Bracket

Managers

League leaders

American League

National League

Home field attendance

Notable events

• September 2 – In the last game of the season, against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers centerfielder Ty Cobb fields at third base and also pitches, yielding three hits and one run in two innings.^[23]

References

External links

• 1918 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference Retrieved January 14, 2018

This page was last edited on 2 April 2024, at 16:41