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1937 Major League Baseball season

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{MLBseason|year=1937}}

{{Infobox sports season

| title = 1937 MLB season

| league = American League (AL)
National League (NL)

| sport = Baseball

| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|April 9 – October 3, 1937}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|October 6–10, 1937}}}}

| no_of_games = 154

| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)

| season = Regular season

| season_champs =

| MVP = AL: Charlie Gehringer (DET)
NL: Joe Medwick (SLC)

| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award

| conf1 = AL

| conf1_link =

| conf1_champ = New York Yankees

| conf1_runner-up = Detroit Tigers

| conf2 = NL

| conf2_link =

| conf2_champ = New York Giants

| conf2_runner-up = Chicago Cubs

| finals = World Series

| finals_link = 1937 World Series

| finals_champ = New York Yankees

| finals_runner-up = New York Giants

| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons

| seasonslistnames = MLB

| prevseason_link = 1936 Major League Baseball season

| prevseason_year = 1936

| nextseason_link = 1938 Major League Baseball season

| nextseason_year = 1938

}}

{{MLB Team Maps (1936–1937)}}

The 1937 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1937. The regular season ended on October 3, 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 34th World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 5 on October 10. In the fifth iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to one, capturing their sixth championship in franchise history, and their second in a four-World Series run. With this victory, the Yankees became the team with the most World Series victories, a feat that continues today.

The fifth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 7 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Senators. The American League won, 8–3.

Schedule

{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}

The 1937 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 {{mlby|1904}} season (except for {{mlby|1919}}) and would be used until {{mlby|1961}} in the American League and {{mlby|1962}} in the National League.

Opening Day, April 19, featured four teams across both leagues play. The final day of the regular season was on October 3 and featured all sixteen teams, the first since {{mlby|1935}}. The World Series took place between October 6 and October 10.

Rule changes

The 1937 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Regarding night games, the National and American Leagues allowed teams to play up to seven night games per season at home as long as the visiting team agreed.{{Cite web |last=Keeney |first=Stephen R. |title=1936 Winter Meetings: Home Plate and Hurlers – Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/1936-winter-meetings-home-plate-and-hurlers/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |language=en-US}}
  • It was decided to make the baseball slightly "deader" (that is, less effective off the bat), following poor pitching performances and stats of the previous season.
  • New baseballs created would now have "Official Major League Baseball" stamped, as opposed to either National or American Leagues (although both leagues would frequently use their own branded balls through the end of the 20th century).

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" |League

! scope="col" |Team

! scope="col" |City

! scope="col" |Stadium

! scope="col" |Capacity

! scope="col" |Manager{{Cite web |title=1937 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1937-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

rowspan="13" style="{{Baseball primary style|American League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|American League|American League}}

! scope="row" |Boston Red Sox

|Boston, Massachusetts

|Fenway Park

|35,000

|{{sortname|Joe|Cronin}}

scope="row" |Chicago White Sox

|Chicago, Illinois

|Comiskey Park

|52,000

|{{sortname|Jimmy|Dykes}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Cleveland Indians

| rowspan="2" |Cleveland, Ohio

|League Park

|22,500

| rowspan="2" |{{sortname|Steve|O'Neill}}

Cleveland Stadium*

|78,811*

rowspan="3" scope="row" |Detroit Tigers

| rowspan="3" |Detroit, Michigan

| rowspan="3" |Navin Field

| rowspan="3" |36,000

|{{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}

{{sortname|Del|Baker}}
{{sortname|Cy|Perkins}}
scope="row" |New York Yankees

|New York, New York

|Yankee Stadium

|71,699

|{{sortname|Joe|McCarthy|dab=manager}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Philadelphia Athletics

| rowspan="2" |Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

| rowspan="2" |Shibe Park

| rowspan="2" |33,000

|{{sortname|Connie|Mack}}

{{sortname|Earle|Mack}}
rowspan="2" scope="row" |St. Louis Browns

| rowspan="2" |St. Louis, Missouri

| rowspan="2" |Sportsman's Park

| rowspan="2" |34,023

|{{sortname|Rogers|Hornsby}}

{{sortname|Jim|Bottomley}}
scope="row" |Washington Senators

|Washington, D.C.

|Griffith Stadium

|32,000

|{{sortname|Bucky|Harris}}

rowspan="9" style="{{Baseball primary style|National League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|National League|National League (baseball)|National League}}

! scope="row" |Boston Bees

|Boston, Massachusetts

|National League Park

|41,700

|{{sortname|Bill|McKechnie}}

scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers

|New York, New York

|Ebbets Field

|35,000

|{{sortname|Burleigh|Grimes}}

scope="row" |Chicago Cubs

|Chicago, Illinois

|Wrigley Field

|40,000

|{{sortname|Charlie|Grimm}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Cincinnati Reds

| rowspan="2" |Cincinnati, Ohio

| rowspan="2" |Crosley Field

| rowspan="2" |26,060

|{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}}

{{sortname|Bobby|Wallace|dab=baseball}}
scope="row" |New York Giants

|New York, New York

|Polo Grounds

|51,856

|{{sortname|Bill|Terry}}

scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies

|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Baker Bowl

|18,800

|{{sortname|Jimmie|Wilson|dab=baseball}}

scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates

|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

|Forbes Field

|41,000

|{{sortname|Pie|Traynor}}

scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals

|St. Louis, Missouri

|Sportsman's Park

|34,023

|{{sortname|Frankie|Frisch}}

Standings

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

=American League=

{{1937 American League standings|highlight=New York Yankees}}

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

=National League=

{{1937 National League standings|highlight=New York Giants}}

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

Postseason

The postseason began on October 6 and ended on October 10 with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Giants in the 1937 World Series in five games.

=Bracket=

{{2TeamBracket

| RD1=World Series

| RD1-seed1=AL

| RD1-team1=New York Yankees

| RD1-score1=4

| RD1-seed2=NL

| RD1-team2=New York Giants

| RD1-score2=1

}}

Managerial changes

=Off-season=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
Team

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Brooklyn Dodgers

| Casey Stengel

| Burleigh Grimes

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Detroit Tigers

| Del Baker

| Mickey Cochrane

=In-season=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
Team

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Cincinnati Reds

| Chuck Dressen

| Bobby Wallace

rowspan="2" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Detroit Tigers

| Mickey Cochrane

| Del Baker

Del Baker

| Cy Perkins

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Philadelphia Athletics

| Connie Mack

| Earle Mack

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |St. Louis Browns

| Rogers Hornsby

| Jim Bottomley

League leaders

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

=American League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1937 American League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1937-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

! style="width:15%;" |Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;" |Total

AVG

| Charlie Gehringer (DET)

| .371

OPS

| Lou Gehrig (NYY)

| 1.116

HR

| Joe DiMaggio (NYY)

| 46

RBI

| Hank Greenberg (DET)

| 184

R

| Joe DiMaggio (NYY)

| 151

H

| Beau Bell (SLB)

| 218

SB

| Ben Chapman (BRS/{{small|WSH}})
Billy Werber (PHA)

| 35

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1937 American League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1937-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

! style="width:15%;" |Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;" |Total

W

| Lefty Gomez1 (NYY)

| 21

L

| Harry Kelley (PHA)

| 21

ERA

| Lefty Gomez1 (NYY)

| 2.33

K

| Lefty Gomez1 (NYY)

| 194

IP

| Wes Ferrell (WSH/{{small|BRS}})

| 281.0

SV

| Clint Brown (CWS)

| 18

WHIP

| Monty Stratton (CWS)

| 1.087

1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

=National League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1937 National League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1937-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

! style="width:15%;" |Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;" |Total

AVG

| Joe Medwick2 (SLC)

| .374

OPS

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| 1.056

HR

| Joe Medwick2 (SLC)
Mel Ott (NYG)

| 31

RBI

| Joe Medwick2 (SLC)

| 154

R

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| 111

H

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| 237

SB

| Augie Galan (CHC)

| 23

2 National League Triple Crown batting winner

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1937 National League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1937-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

! style="width:15%;" |Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;" |Total

W

| Carl Hubbell (NYG)

| 22

L

| Wayne LaMaster (PHP)

| 19

ERA

| Jim Turner (BSB)

| 2.38

K

| Carl Hubbell (NYG)

| 159

IP

| Claude Passeau (PHP)

| 292.1

SV

| Mace Brown (PIT)
Cliff Melton (NYG)

| 7

WHIP

| Jim Turner (BSB)

| 1.091

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

Awards and honors

=Regular season=

class="wikitable"
colspan="3"|Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award

!National League

!American League

Most Valuable Player

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| Charlie Gehringer (DET)

=Other awards=

class="wikitable"
colspan="3" |The Sporting News Awards
Award

! National League

! American League

Most Valuable Player{{Cite web |title=Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snmv.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| Charlie Gehringer (DET)

Player of the Year{{Cite web |title=Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snml.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| —

| Johnny Allen (CLE)

Manager of the Year{{Cite web |title=Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snmy.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| Bill McKechnie (BSB)

| —

Executive of the Year{{Cite web |title=MLB Executive of the Year Award {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_sney.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| —

| Ed Barrow (NYY)

=Baseball Hall of Fame=

{{main|National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum}}

{{further|1937 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting}}

Home field attendance

class="wikitable sortable"
style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"
Team name

!Wins

!{{abbr|%±|Percent change}}

!Home attendance

!{{abbr|%±|Percent change}}

!{{abbr|Per game|Average home attendance per game}}

Detroit Tigers{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/attend.shtml|title=Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|89

|7.2%

|1,072,276

|22.4%

|13,926

New York Yankees{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/attend.shtml|title=New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|102

|0.0%

|998,148

|2.2%

|12,635

New York Giants{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/attend.shtml|title=San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|95

|3.3%

|926,887

|10.6%

|12,358

Chicago Cubs{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/attend.shtml|title=Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|93

|6.9%

|895,020

|28.0%

|11,475

Chicago White Sox{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/attend.shtml|title=Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|86

|6.2%

|589,245

|33.7%

|7,653

Cleveland Indians{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/attend.shtml|title=Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|83

|3.8%

|564,849

|12.9%

|7,242

Boston Red Sox{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/attend.shtml|title=Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|80

|8.1%

|559,659

| −10.7%

|7,563

Brooklyn Dodgers{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/attend.shtml|title=Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|62

| −7.5%

|482,481

| −1.5%

|6,348

Pittsburgh Pirates{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/attend.shtml|title=Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|86

|2.4%

|459,679

|23.4%

|5,893

St. Louis Cardinals{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/attend.shtml|title=St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|81

| −6.9%

|430,811

| −3.9%

|5,385

Philadelphia Athletics{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/attend.shtml|title=Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|54

|1.9%

|430,738

|51.0%

|5,452

Cincinnati Reds{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/attend.shtml|title=Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|56

| −24.3%

|411,221

| −11.8%

|5,140

Washington Senators{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/attend.shtml|title=Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|73

| −11.0%

|397,799

|4.8%

|4,972

Boston Bees{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/attend.shtml|title=Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|79

|11.3%

|385,339

|13.1%

|5,070

Philadelphia Phillies{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PHI/attend.shtml|title=Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|61

|13.0%

|212,790

| −14.6%

|2,876

St. Louis Browns{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/attend.shtml|title=Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|46

| −19.3%

|123,121

|32.0%

|1,578

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1937-schedule.shtml 1937 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference]

{{1937 MLB season by team}}

{{MLB seasons}}

Category:Major League Baseball seasons