| 1928 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:Mickey Cochrane (PHA) NL:Jim Bottomley (STL) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Philadelphia Athletics |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | New York Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| MLB seasons | |
The1928 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1928. The regular season ended on September 30, with theSt. Louis Cardinals andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the25th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees swept the Cardinals in four games, capturing their third championship in franchise history, and the fifth team to win back-to-back World Series.
This was the seventh of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to theMajor League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.
The 1928 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.
American League Opening Day took place on April 10 with theBoston Red Sox andWashington Senators playing, while National League Opening Day took place the following day. The final day of the regular season was on September 30. TheWorld Series took place between October 4 and October 9.
The 1928 season saw the following rule change:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 52–25 | 49–28 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 98 | 55 | .641 | 2½ | 52–25 | 46–30 |
| St. Louis Browns | 82 | 72 | .532 | 19 | 43–34 | 39–38 |
| Washington Senators | 75 | 79 | .487 | 26 | 37–43 | 38–36 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 82 | .468 | 29 | 37–40 | 35–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 86 | .442 | 33 | 36–41 | 32–45 |
| Cleveland Indians | 62 | 92 | .403 | 39 | 28–49 | 34–43 |
| Boston Red Sox | 57 | 96 | .373 | 43½ | 26–47 | 31–49 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 59 | .617 | — | 42–35 | 53–24 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 61 | .604 | 2 | 51–26 | 42–35 |
| Chicago Cubs | 91 | 63 | .591 | 4 | 52–25 | 39–38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 85 | 67 | .559 | 9 | 47–30 | 38–37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 78 | 74 | .513 | 16 | 44–33 | 34–41 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 77 | 76 | .503 | 17½ | 41–35 | 36–41 |
| Boston Braves | 50 | 103 | .327 | 44½ | 25–51 | 25–52 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | 109 | .283 | 51 | 26–49 | 17–60 |
The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 9 with theNew York Yankees sweeping theSt. Louis Cardinals in the1928 World Series in four games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Braves | Jack Slattery | Rogers Hornsby |
| Chicago White Sox | Ray Schalk | Lena Blackburne |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Goose Goslin (WSH) | .379 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.172 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 54 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) Babe Ruth (NYY) | 142 |
| R | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 163 |
| H | Heinie Manush (SLB) | 241 |
| SB | Buddy Myer (BOS) | 30 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Lefty Grove (PHA) George Pipgras (NYY) | 24 |
| L | Red Ruffing (BOS) | 25 |
| ERA | Garland Braxton (WSH) | 2.51 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 183 |
| IP | George Pipgras (NYY) | 300.2 |
| SV | Waite Hoyt (NYY) | 8 |
| WHIP | Garland Braxton (WSH) | 1.012 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Rogers Hornsby (BSN) | .387 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (BSN) | 1.130 |
| HR | Jim Bottomley (STL) Hack Wilson (CHC) | 31 |
| RBI | Jim Bottomley (STL) | 136 |
| R | Paul Waner (PIT) | 142 |
| H | Freddie Lindstrom (NYG) | 231 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 37 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Larry Benton (NYG) Burleigh Grimes (PIT) | 25 |
| L | Ed Brandt (BSN) | 21 |
| ERA | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 2.09 |
| K | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 200 |
| IP | Burleigh Grimes (PIT) | 330.2 |
| SV | Hal Haid (STL) Bill Sherdel (STL) | 5 |
| WHIP | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 1.063 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs[7] | 91 | 7.1% | 1,143,740 | −1.3% | 14,854 |
| New York Yankees[8] | 101 | −8.2% | 1,072,132 | −7.9% | 13,924 |
| New York Giants[9] | 93 | 1.1% | 916,191 | 6.8% | 11,899 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[10] | 95 | 3.3% | 761,574 | 1.6% | 9,891 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[11] | 98 | 7.7% | 689,756 | 13.9% | 8,958 |
| Brooklyn Robins[12] | 77 | 18.5% | 664,863 | 4.3% | 8,635 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[13] | 85 | −9.6% | 495,070 | −43.1% | 6,429 |
| Chicago White Sox[14] | 72 | 2.9% | 494,152 | −19.6% | 6,335 |
| Cincinnati Reds[15] | 78 | 4.0% | 490,490 | 10.9% | 6,288 |
| Detroit Tigers[16] | 68 | −17.1% | 474,323 | −38.7% | 6,160 |
| Boston Red Sox[17] | 57 | 11.8% | 396,920 | 30.0% | 5,364 |
| Washington Senators[18] | 75 | −11.8% | 378,501 | −28.4% | 4,731 |
| Cleveland Indians[19] | 62 | −6.1% | 375,907 | 0.7% | 4,882 |
| St. Louis Browns[20] | 82 | 39.0% | 339,497 | 37.0% | 4,409 |
| Boston Braves[21] | 50 | −16.7% | 227,001 | −21.4% | 2,987 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[22] | 43 | −15.7% | 182,168 | −40.4% | 2,429 |
