The 1941 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1941. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers 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 38th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 5 on October 6. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one, capturing their ninth championship in franchise history, since their previous in . This was the first Subway Series World Series to feature the Dodgers (the previous five featured the New York Giants). Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Cincinnati Reds from the season.
The ninth All-Star Game was held on July 8 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, home of the Detroit Tigers. The American League won, 7–5.
The Boston Bees reverted their nickname to the "Braves" on April 29, the name they had prior to the season.
In addition to a five-game World Series between New York City teams, highlights of the season included Ted Williams batting .406, and Joe DiMaggio having a 56-game hitting streak; it has been called the "best baseball season ever".
Schedule
The 1941 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.
American League Opening Day took place on April 14 with a game between the New York Yankees and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place on the following day, featuring all eight teams. This was the first season since that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 28 and featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 6.
Rule changes The 1941 season saw the following rule changes: In what was termed the "Baltimore Amendment", major league teams can now sign players for the purpose of assigning them to a minor-league club, with two caveats: The assignment must be between affiliated clubs, and all assignment transactions were to be reported to the commissioner. Despite both the National and American Leagues previously ruling that a maximum of seven night games could be played ( and , respectively,) the St. Louis Browns had played 14 night games the previous season. Despite disagreements between the two leagues during the 1940 Winter Meetings, (the NL wanted to maintain seven days, while the AL wanted to have fewer than seven), Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis reaffirmed the National League's seven night game position for both leagues. A national defensive service list was implemented. If players were called to active military duty, they would be placed on the list, their contracts would remain with their teams, but they would not be counted against a club's player limit. A two-person-maximum 60-day disabled list (called "injured list" since ) was created for each team. The disabled list was 60 calendar days, except after August 1. Rules regarding doubleheaders were clarified: doubleheaders could be scheduled beginning with the fourth Sunday of the season (both St. Louis teams were unofficially allowed to start them a week earlier).
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 Park50,000Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioLeague Park22,500Cleveland Stadium*78,811*Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBriggs Stadium58,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkYankee Stadium71,699Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,000St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium32,000Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsNational League Park37,746Brooklyn DodgersNew York, New YorkEbbets Field35,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWrigley Field38,396Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioCrosley Field29,401New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds56,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,000Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field33,537St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023
Standings
American League
National League
Tie games 13 tie games (6 in AL, 7 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, 1 Detroit Tigers, 1 New York Yankees, 2 St. Louis Browns, 3 Washington Senators, 2
National League Boston Braves, 2 Brooklyn Dodgers, 3 Chicago Cubs, 1 New York Giants, 3 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 St. Louis Cardinals, 2
Postseason The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 6 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1941 World Series in five games.
Bracket
Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerChicago Cubs Gabby Hartnett Jimmie WilsonCleveland Indians Ossie Vitt Roger Peckinpaugh
In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerSt. Louis Browns Fred Haney Luke Sewell
League leaders American League
+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Ted Williams (BOS) .406 OPS Ted Williams (BOS) 1.287 HR Ted Williams (BOS) 37 RBI Joe DiMaggio (NYY) 125 R Ted Williams (BOS) 135 H Cecil Travis (WSH) 218 SB George Case (WSH) 33
+ Pitching leadersStat PlayerTotal W Bob Feller (CLE) 25 L Bobo Newsom (DET) 20 ERA Thornton Lee (CWS) 2.37 K Bob Feller (CLE) 260 IP Bob Feller (CLE) 343.0 SV Johnny Murphy (NYY) 15 WHIP Thornton Lee (CWS) 1.165
National League
+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Pete Reiser (BRO) .343 OPS Pete Reiser (BRO) .964 HR Dolph Camilli (BRO) 34 RBI Dolph Camilli (BRO) 120 R Pete Reiser (BRO) 117 H Stan Hack (CHC) 186 SB Danny Murtaugh (PHI) 18
+ Pitching leadersStat PlayerTotal W Kirby Higbe (BRO)Whit Wyatt (BRO) 22 L Rip Sewell (PIT) 17 ERA Elmer Riddle (CIN) 2.24 K Johnny Vander Meer (CIN) 202 IP Bucky Walters (CIN) 305.0 SV Jumbo Brown (NYG) 8 WHIP Whit Wyatt (BRO) 1.058
Milestones Batters Cycles
George McQuinn (SLB): McQuinn hit for his first cycle and fifth in franchise history, in game one of a doubleheader on July 19 against the Boston Red Sox.
Other batting accomplishments Wes Ferrell (BSN): Set a Major League record for most career home runs by a pitcher by hitting his 37th home run as a pitcher (he hit one additional home run as a pinch hitter) on April 17 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Mel Ott (NYG): Became the fourth player in Major League history to hit 400 home runs in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds in game one of a doubleheader on June 1, reaching his 1,500th career RBI. Joe DiMaggio (NYY): Set a Major League record with a 56-game hitting streak, hitting in every game from May 15 to July 16. The record has been described as unbreakable. Ted Williams (BOS): Became the last qualified player in Major League history to finish a season with a batting average of at least .400, ending the season with a .406 average.
Pitchers No-hitters
Lon Warneke (STL): Warneke threw his first career no-hitter and fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Cincinnati Reds 2–0 on August 30. Warneke walked one and struck out two.
Other pitching accomplishments Lefty Grove (BOS): Became the 12th member of the 300-win club, defeating the Cleveland Indians on July 25, winning 10–6.
Awards and honors Regular season Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player Dolph Camilli (BRO) Joe DiMaggio (NYY)
Other awards The Sporting News Awards Award National League American League Most Valuable Player Dolph Camilli (BRO) Joe DiMaggio (NYY) Player of the Year — Ted Williams (BOS) Manager of the Year Billy Southworth (STL) — Executive of the Year — Ed Barrow (NYY)
Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceBrooklyn Dodgers10013.6%1,214,91024.5%15,379New York Yankees10114.8%964,722 −2.5%12,368New York Giants742.8%763,0982.0%9,783Cleveland Indians75 −15.7%745,948 −17.4%9,688Boston Red Sox842.4%718,4970.3%9,331Detroit Tigers75 −16.7%684,915 −38.4%8,895Chicago White Sox77 −6.1%677,0772.5%8,571Cincinnati Reds88 −12.0%643,513 −24.3%8,146St. Louis Cardinals9715.5%633,64595.5%8,021Chicago Cubs70 −6.7%545,1591.9%7,080Philadelphia Athletics6418.5%528,89422.4%6,869Pittsburgh Pirates813.8%482,241 −5.1%6,183Washington Senators709.4%415,6639.0%5,329Boston Braves62 −4.6%263,6809.1%3,469Philadelphia Phillies43 −14.0%231,40111.7%3,045St. Louis Browns704.5%176,240 −26.4%2,231
Venues Over 77 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 45 games at League Park and 32 games at Cleveland Stadium. All Wednesday home games took place at League Park. This would be the 7th of 12 seasons since that saw the Indians play at both venues, and was the last season which saw the majority of home games at League Park.
See also 1941 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
References
Further reading
External links 1941 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference