| 1927 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular Season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Lou Gehrig (NYY) NL:Paul Waner (PIT) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Philadelphia Athletics |
| NL champions | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| NL runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| MLB seasons | |
The1927 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1927. The regular season ended on October 2, with thePittsburgh Pirates andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the24th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Yankees swept the Pirates in four games, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in1923. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theSt. Louis Cardinals from the1926 season.
The New York Yankees, whose lineup featuredBabe Ruth andLou Gehrig of the famed "Murderers' Row," dominated the American League with 110 wins. Nono-hitters were thrown during the season.[1][2]
This was the sixth of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to theMajor League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.
The 1927 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 the1904 season (except for1919) and would be used until1961 in the American League and1962 in the National League.
Opening Day took place on April 12 with all but all but theDetroit Tigers andSt. Louis Browns playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 2. TheWorld Series took place between October 5 and October 8.
The 1927 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 110 | 44 | .714 | — | 57–19 | 53–25 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 91 | 63 | .591 | 19 | 50–27 | 41–36 |
| Washington Senators | 85 | 69 | .552 | 25 | 51–28 | 34–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 71 | .536 | 27½ | 44–32 | 38–39 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 83 | .458 | 39½ | 38–37 | 32–46 |
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 87 | .431 | 43½ | 35–42 | 31–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 94 | .386 | 50½ | 38–38 | 21–56 |
| Boston Red Sox | 51 | 103 | .331 | 59 | 29–49 | 22–54 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 48–31 | 46–29 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 61 | .601 | 1½ | 55–25 | 37–36 |
| New York Giants | 92 | 62 | .597 | 2 | 49–25 | 43–37 |
| Chicago Cubs | 85 | 68 | .556 | 8½ | 50–28 | 35–40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 75 | 78 | .490 | 18½ | 45–35 | 30–43 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 65 | 88 | .425 | 28½ | 34–39 | 31–49 |
| Boston Braves | 60 | 94 | .390 | 34 | 32–41 | 28–53 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 51 | 103 | .331 | 43 | 34–43 | 17–60 |
The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 8 with theNew York Yankees sweeping thePittsburgh Pirates in the1927 World Series in four games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Pittsburgh Pirates | 0 | ||
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Harry Heilmann (DET) | .398 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.258 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 60 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 173 |
| R | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 158 |
| H | Earle Combs (NYY) | 231 |
| SB | George Sisler (SLB) | 27 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Waite Hoyt (NYY) Ted Lyons (CWS) | 22 |
| L | Slim Harriss (BOS) | 21 |
| ERA | Wilcy Moore (NYY) | 2.28 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 174 |
| IP | Ted Lyons (CWS) Tommy Thomas (CWS) | 307.2 |
| SV | Wilcy Moore (NYY) | 13 |
| WHIP | Garland Braxton (WSH) | 1.139 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Paul Waner (PIT) | .380 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (NYG) | 1.035 |
| HR | Cy Williams (PHI) Hack Wilson (CHC) | 30 |
| RBI | Paul Waner (PIT) | 131 |
| R | Rogers Hornsby (NYG) Paul Waner (PIT) | 133 |
| H | Paul Waner (PIT) | 237 |
| SB | Frankie Frisch (STL) | 48 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Charlie Root (CHC) | 26 |
| L | Jack Scott (PHI) | 21 |
| ERA | Ray Kremer (PIT) | 2.47 |
| K | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 184 |
| IP | Charlie Root (CHC) | 309.0 |
| SV | Bill Sherdel (STL) | 6 |
| WHIP | Grover Alexander (STL) | 1.116 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees[9] | 110 | 20.9% | 1,164,015 | 13.3% | 15,117 |
| Chicago Cubs[10] | 85 | 3.7% | 1,159,168 | 31.0% | 14,861 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[11] | 94 | 11.9% | 869,720 | 8.9% | 11,009 |
| New York Giants[12] | 92 | 24.3% | 858,190 | 22.5% | 11,597 |
| Detroit Tigers[13] | 82 | 3.8% | 773,716 | 8.7% | 9,919 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[14] | 92 | 3.4% | 749,340 | 12.1% | 9,367 |
| Brooklyn Robins[15] | 65 | −8.5% | 637,230 | −2.1% | 8,611 |
| Chicago White Sox[16] | 70 | −13.6% | 614,423 | −13.5% | 8,192 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[17] | 91 | 9.6% | 605,529 | −15.3% | 7,864 |
| Washington Senators[18] | 85 | 4.9% | 528,976 | −4.1% | 6,696 |
| Cincinnati Reds[19] | 75 | −13.8% | 442,164 | −34.3% | 5,527 |
| Cleveland Indians[20] | 66 | −25.0% | 373,138 | −40.5% | 4,846 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[21] | 51 | −12.1% | 305,420 | 26.9% | 3,916 |
| Boston Red Sox[22] | 51 | 10.9% | 305,275 | 7.1% | 3,914 |
| Boston Braves[23] | 60 | −9.1% | 288,685 | −4.9% | 3,901 |
| St. Louis Browns[24] | 59 | −4.8% | 247,879 | −12.7% | 3,178 |
On July 18, thePhiladelphia Phillies used four pitchers aspinch hitters andpinch runners against thePittsburgh Pirates.Jack Scott,Clarence Mitchell andLes Sweetland hit, whileTony Kaufmann ran for Scott.[25]
On September 30, in a game against theWashington Senators,New York Yankee outfielderBabe Ruth smashed his 60th home run of the year.
