| 1929 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular Season | |
| SeasonMVP | NL:Rogers Hornsby (CHC) |
| AL champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| AL runners-up | New York Yankees |
| NL champions | Chicago Cubs |
| NL runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| Runners-up | Chicago Cubs |
| MLB seasons | |
The1929 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1929. The regular season ended on October 6, with theChicago Cubs andPhiladelphia Athletics as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the26th World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 5 on October 14. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Athletics defeated the Cubs, four games to one, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, since their previous in1913. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theNew York Yankees from the1928 season.
This was the last of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to theMajor League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued. Only a National League award was given in 1929.
The 1929 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 16 and saw eight teams across both leagues play. The final day of the regular season was on October 6. TheWorld Series took place between October 8 and October 14.
The 1929 season saw the following rule changes:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | 104 | 46 | .693 | — | 57–16 | 47–30 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | 66 | .571 | 18 | 49–28 | 39–38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 71 | .533 | 24 | 44–32 | 37–39 |
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | 73 | .520 | 26 | 41–36 | 38–37 |
| Washington Senators | 71 | 81 | .467 | 34 | 37–40 | 34–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 70 | 84 | .455 | 36 | 38–39 | 32–45 |
| Chicago White Sox | 59 | 93 | .388 | 46 | 35–41 | 24–52 |
| Boston Red Sox | 58 | 96 | .377 | 48 | 32–45 | 26–51 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | 98 | 54 | .645 | — | 52–25 | 46–29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 65 | .575 | 10½ | 45–31 | 43–34 |
| New York Giants | 84 | 67 | .556 | 13½ | 39–37 | 45–30 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 78 | 74 | .513 | 20 | 43–32 | 35–42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 82 | .464 | 27½ | 39–37 | 32–45 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 70 | 83 | .458 | 28½ | 42–35 | 28–48 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 88 | .429 | 33 | 38–39 | 28–49 |
| Boston Braves | 56 | 98 | .364 | 43 | 34–43 | 22–55 |
8 tie games (3 in AL, 5 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on October 8 and ended on October 14 with thePhiladelphia Athletics defeating theChicago Cubs in the1929 World Series in five games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 4 | ||
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 1 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | Miller Huggins | Art Fletcher |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Donie Bush | Jewel Ens |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Billy Southworth | Gabby Street |
| Gabby Street | Bill McKechnie |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Lew Fonseca (CLE) | .369 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.128 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 46 |
| RBI | Al Simmons (PHA) | 157 |
| R | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 131 |
| H | Dale Alexander (DET) Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 215 |
| SB | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 27 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | George Earnshaw (PHA) | 24 |
| L | Red Ruffing (BOS) | 22 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 2.81 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 170 |
| IP | Sam Gray (SLB) | 305.0 |
| SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) Wilcy Moore (NYY) | 9 |
| WHIP | Firpo Marberry (WSH) | 1.206 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Lefty O'Doul (PHI) | .398 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | 1.139 |
| HR | Chuck Klein (PHI) | 43 |
| RBI | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 159 |
| R | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | 156 |
| H | Lefty O'Doul (PHI) | 254 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 43 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Pat Malone (CHC) | 22 |
| L | Watson Clark (BRO) | 19 |
| ERA | Bill Walker (NYG) | 3.09 |
| K | Pat Malone (CHC) | 166 |
| IP | Watson Clark (BRO) | 279.0 |
| SV | Guy Bush (CHC) Johnny Morrison (BRO) | 8 |
| WHIP | Red Lucas (CIN) | 1.204 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs[14] | 98 | 7.7% | 1,485,166 | 29.9% | 19,041 |
| New York Yankees[15] | 88 | −12.9% | 960,148 | −10.4% | 12,469 |
| Detroit Tigers[16] | 70 | 2.9% | 869,318 | 83.3% | 11,290 |
| New York Giants[17] | 84 | −9.7% | 868,806 | −5.2% | 11,283 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[18] | 104 | 6.1% | 839,176 | 21.7% | 11,340 |
| Brooklyn Robins[19] | 70 | −9.1% | 731,886 | 10.1% | 9,505 |
| Cleveland Indians[20] | 81 | 30.6% | 536,210 | 42.6% | 7,055 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[21] | 88 | 3.5% | 491,377 | −0.7% | 6,465 |
| Chicago White Sox[22] | 59 | −18.1% | 426,795 | −13.6% | 5,616 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[23] | 78 | −17.9% | 399,887 | −47.5% | 5,193 |
| Boston Red Sox[24] | 58 | 1.8% | 394,620 | −0.6% | 5,059 |
| Boston Braves[25] | 56 | 12.0% | 372,351 | 64.0% | 4,836 |
| Washington Senators[26] | 71 | −5.3% | 355,506 | −6.1% | 4,558 |
| Cincinnati Reds[27] | 66 | −15.4% | 295,040 | −39.8% | 3,783 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[28] | 71 | 65.1% | 281,200 | 54.4% | 3,700 |
| St. Louis Browns[29] | 79 | −3.7% | 280,697 | −17.3% | 3,645 |
Across 78 homes games, theBoston Red Sox played their Monday, September 2doubleheader against theWashington Senators, as well as all 15 of their Sunday games at theBoston Braves home field ofBraves Field (the remaining 61 home games were played atFenway Park).[30][31] This was the 1st of three consecutive seasons playing all Sunday games at Braves Field and 1st of four consecutive season playing some games at Braves Field.
