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1938 Major League Baseball season

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

{{MLBseason|year=1938}}

{{Infobox sports season

| title = 1938 MLB season

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

| sport = Baseball

| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|April 18 – October 2, 1938 (AL)}}

| {{nowrap|April 19 – October 2, 1938 (NL)}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|October 5–9, 1938}}}}

| no_of_games = 154

| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)

| season = Regular season

| season_champs =

| MVP = AL: Jimmie Foxx (BRS)
NL: Ernie Lombardi (CIN)

| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award

| conf1 = AL

| conf1_link =

| conf1_champ = New York Yankees

| conf1_runner-up = Boston Red Sox

| conf2 = NL

| conf2_link =

| conf2_champ = Chicago Cubs

| conf2_runner-up = Pittsburgh Pirates

| finals = World Series

| finals_link = 1938 World Series

| finals_champ = New York Yankees

| finals_runner-up = Chicago Cubs

| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons

| seasonslistnames = MLB

| prevseason_link = 1937 Major League Baseball season

| prevseason_year = 1937

| nextseason_link = 1939 Major League Baseball season

| nextseason_year = 1939

}}

{{MLB Team Maps (1938–1939)}}

The 1938 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1938. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Chicago Cubs 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 35th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees swept the Cubs in four games, capturing their seventh championship in franchise history, and their third in a four-World Series run, becoming the first team to win three consecutive World Series.

The sixth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The National League won, 4–1.

Schedule

{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}

The 1938 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.

American League Opening Day took place on April 18 with four teams playing, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight teams. This was the first season since {{mlby|1932}} that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on October 2 and featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 9.

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=1938 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1938-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

rowspan="11" 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

|50,000

|{{sortname|Jimmy|Dykes}}

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

| rowspan="2" |Cleveland, Ohio

|League Park

|22,500

| rowspan="2" |{{sortname|Ossie|Vitt}}

Cleveland Stadium*

|78,811*

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Detroit Tigers

| rowspan="2" |Detroit, Michigan

| rowspan="2" |Briggs Stadium

| rowspan="2" |58,000

|{{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}

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

|New York, New York

|Yankee Stadium

|71,699

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

scope="row" |Philadelphia Athletics

|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Shibe Park

|33,000

|{{sortname|Connie|Mack}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |St. Louis Browns

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

| rowspan="2" |Sportsman's Park

| rowspan="2" |34,023

|Gabby Street

{{sortname|Oscar|Melillo|link=Ski Melillo}}
scope="row" |Washington Senators

|Washington, D.C.

|Griffith Stadium

|32,000

|{{sortname|Bucky|Harris}}

rowspan="12" 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|Casey|Stengel}}

scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers

|New York, New York

|Ebbets Field

|35,000

|{{sortname|Burleigh|Grimes}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Chicago Cubs

| rowspan="2" |Chicago, Illinois

| rowspan="2" |Wrigley Field

| rowspan="2" |38,396

|{{sortname|Charlie|Grimm}}

{{sortname|Gabby|Hartnett}}
scope="row" |Cincinnati Reds

|Cincinnati, Ohio

|Crosley Field

|29,401

|{{sortname|Bill|McKechnie}}

scope="row" |New York Giants

|New York, New York

|Polo Grounds

|51,856

|{{sortname|Bill|Terry}}

rowspan="3" scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies

| rowspan="3" |Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Baker Bowl*

|18,800*

| rowspan="2" |{{sortname|Jimmie|Wilson|dab=baseball}}

rowspan="2" |Shibe Park

| rowspan="2" |33,000

{{sortname|Hans|Lobert}}
scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates

|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

|Forbes Field

|40,000

|{{sortname|Pie|Traynor}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals

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

| rowspan="2" |Sportsman's Park

| rowspan="2" |34,023

|{{sortname|Frankie|Frisch}}

{{sortname|Mike|González|dab=catcher}}

Standings

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

=American League=

{{1938 American League standings|highlight=New York Yankees}}

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

=National League=

{{1938 National League standings|highlight=Chicago Cubs}}

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

Postseason

=Bracket=

{{2TeamBracket

| RD1=World Series

| RD1-seed1=AL

| RD1-team1=New York Yankees

| RD1-score1=4

| RD1-seed2=NL

| RD1-team2=Chicago Cubs

| RD1-score2=0

}}

Managerial changes

=Off-season=

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

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Boston Bees

| Bill McKechnie

| Casey Stengel

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

| Bobby Wallace

| Bill McKechnie

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Cleveland Indians

| Steve O'Neill

| Ossie Vitt

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

| Cy Perkins

| Mickey Cochrane

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

| Earle Mack

| Connie Mack

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

| Jim Bottomley

| Gabby Street

=In-season=

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

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Chicago Cubs

| Charlie Grimm

| Gabby Hartnett

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

| Mickey Cochrane

| Del Baker

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

| Jimmie Wilson

| Hans Lobert

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

| Gabby Street

| Oscar Melillo

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

| Frankie Frisch

| Mike González

League leaders

=American League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

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

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1938 American League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1938-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

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

! Player

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

AVG

| Jimmie Foxx (BRS)

| .349

OPS

| Jimmie Foxx (BRS)

| 1.166

HR

| Hank Greenberg (DET)

| 58

RBI

| Jimmie Foxx (BRS)

| 175

R

| Hank Greenberg (DET)

| 143

H

| Joe Vosmik (BRS)

| 201

SB

| Frankie Crosetti (NYY)

| 27

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

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

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1938 American League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1938-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

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

! Player

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

W

| Red Ruffing (NYY)

| 21

L

| George Caster (PHA)

| 20

ERA

| Lefty Grove (BRS)

| 3.08

K

| Bob Feller (CLE)

| 240

IP

| Bobo Newsom (SLB)

| 329.2

SV

| Johnny Murphy (NYY)

| 11

WHIP

| Dutch Leonard (WSH)

| 1.227

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

File:Hank Greenberg 1937 cropped.jpg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP]]

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

=National League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

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

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1938 National League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1938-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

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

! Player

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

AVG

| Ernie Lombardi (CIN)

| .342

OPS

| Johnny Mize (SLC)

| 1.036

HR

| Mel Ott (NYG)

| 36

RBI

| Joe Medwick (SLC)

| 122

R

| Mel Ott (NYG)

| 116

H

| Frank McCormick (CIN)

| 237

SB

| Stan Hack (CHC)

| 16

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

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

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1938 National League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1938-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

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

! Player

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

W

| Bill Lee (CHC)

| 22

L

| Hugh Mulcahy (PHP)

| 20

ERA

| Bill Lee (CHC)

| 2.66

K

| Clay Bryant (CHC)

| 135

IP

| Paul Derringer (CIN)

| 307.0

SV

| Dick Coffman (NYG)

| 12

WHIP

| Carl Hubbell (NYG)

| 1.140

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

{{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

| Ernie Lombardi (CIN)

| Jimmie Foxx (BRS)

=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}}

| Ernie Lombardi (CIN)

| Jimmie Foxx (BRS)

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 Vander Meer (CIN)

| —

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}}

| —

| Joe McCarthy (NYY)

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}}

| Warren Giles (CIN)

| —

=Baseball Hall of Fame=

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

{{further|1938 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}}

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}}

|99

| −2.9%

|970,916

| −2.7%

|12,290

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}}

|89

| −4.3%

|951,640

|6.3%

|12,359

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}}

|83

| −12.6%

|799,633

| −13.7%

|10,954

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}}

|84

| −5.6%

|799,557

| −25.4%

|10,121

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}}

|82

|46.4%

|706,756

|71.9%

|9,179

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}}

|69

|11.3%

|663,087

|37.4%

|8,961

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}}

|86

|3.6%

|652,006

|15.4%

|8,579

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}}

|88

|10.0%

|646,459

|15.5%

|8,619

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

|0.0%

|641,033

|39.5%

|8,218

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}}

|75

|2.7%

|522,694

|31.4%

|6,701

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}}

|53

| −1.9%

|385,357

| −10.5%

|5,070

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}}

|77

| −2.5%

|341,149

| −11.5%

|4,549

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}}

|65

| −24.4%

|338,278

| −42.6%

|4,634

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}}

|71

| −12.3%

|291,418

| −32.4%

|3,598

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}}

|45

| −26.2%

|166,111

| −21.9%

|2,215

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}}

|55

|19.6%

|130,417

|5.9%

|1,694

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1938-schedule.shtml 1938 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference]

{{1938 MLB season by team}}

{{MLB seasons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1938 Major League Baseball Season}}

Category:Major League Baseball seasons