1919 Major League Baseball season

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

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

| RD1-seed1=AL | RD1-team1=Chicago White Sox | RD1-score1=3 | RD1-seed2=NL | RD1-team2=Cincinnati Reds | RD1-score2=5

Managerial changes

Off-season changes

Only one team announced a new manager in the offseason:

In-season changes

One team replaced their manager during the season:

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

National League

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):
  • Threw the first no-hitter of the season, first and only of his career, and the fifth in team history in a 6–0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 11. He walked three and struck out eight batters.
• Ray Caldwell (CLE/BOS):
  • Threw the second and final no-hitter of the season, first and only of his career, and the fourth in team history in a 3–0 victory for the Cleveland Indians against the New York Yankees on September 10, on game one of a doubleheader. He walked one batter and struck out five batters. 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

• Ray Caldwell (CLE/BOS):
  • Struck by lightning during the ninth inning during his 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

References

References

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3. "September 29, 1919 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Athletics Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
4. Pomrenke, Jacob. "1918 Winter Meetings: Baseball Returns from the Great War – Society for American Baseball Research".
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8. "1919 National League Batting Leaders".
9. "1919 National League Pitching Leaders".
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11. "Grand Slams Single Season Leaders on Baseball Almanac".
12. "Babe Ruth Home Runs {{!}} Baseball Almanac".
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15. "September 10, 1919 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
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17. "September 24, 1919 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
18. "Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame – Special Features – 35 Years Ago Today Ray Caldwell Survived Lightning To Beat A's". Chautauquasportshalloffame.org.
19. "September 21, 1919 Boston Braves at Chicago Cubs Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
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