| 1939 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:Joe DiMaggio (NYY) NL:Bucky Walters (CIN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| NL champions | Cincinnati Reds |
| NL runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
| MLB seasons | |
The1939 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1939. The regular season ended on October 1, with theCincinnati Reds andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the36th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Yankees swept the Reds in four games, capturing their eighth championship in franchise history, and their last in a four-World Series run, becoming the first team to win four consecutive World Series.
Theseventh Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 11 atYankee Stadium inNew York,New York, home of theNew York Yankees. TheAmerican League won, 3–1.
The 1939 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.
National League Opening Day took place on April 17 with a game between thePittsburgh Pirates andCincinnati Reds, while American League Opening Day took place on the following day, with a game between theChicago White Sox andDetroit Tigers. This continued the trend from theprevious season which saw both leagues opened on different days. It was the first season since1901 that saw both leagues open with just one game each. The final day of the regular season was on October 1 and featured twelve teams. TheWorld Series took place between October 4 and October 8.
The 1939 season saw the following rule change:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 106 | 45 | .702 | — | 52–25 | 54–20 |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 62 | .589 | 17 | 42–32 | 47–30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 87 | 67 | .565 | 20½ | 44–33 | 43–34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 22½ | 50–27 | 35–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 81 | 73 | .526 | 26½ | 42–35 | 39–38 |
| Washington Senators | 65 | 87 | .428 | 41½ | 37–39 | 28–48 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 97 | .362 | 51½ | 28–48 | 27–49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64½ | 18–59 | 25–52 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 55–25 | 42–32 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 61 | .601 | 4½ | 51–27 | 41–34 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | 69 | .549 | 12½ | 51–27 | 33–42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 44–34 | 40–36 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 74 | .510 | 18½ | 41–33 | 36–41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 68 | 85 | .444 | 28½ | 35–42 | 33–43 |
| Boston Bees | 63 | 88 | .417 | 32½ | 37–35 | 26–53 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 45 | 106 | .298 | 50½ | 29–44 | 16–62 |
10 tie games (4 in AL, 6 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 8 with the New York Yankees sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in the1939 World Series in four games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Cincinnati Reds | 0 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Browns | Oscar Melillo | Fred Haney |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Burleigh Grimes | Leo Durocher |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Hans Lobert | Doc Prothro |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Mike González | Ray Blades |
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | Connie Mack | Earle Mack |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) | .381 |
| OPS | Jimmie Foxx (BOS) | 1.158 |
| HR | Jimmie Foxx (BOS) | 35 |
| RBI | Ted Williams (BOS) | 145 |
| R | Red Rolfe (NYY) | 139 |
| H | Red Rolfe (NYY) | 213 |
| SB | George Case (WSH) | 51 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bob Feller (CLE) | 24 |
| L | Vern Kennedy (SLB/DET) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (BOS) | 2.54 |
| K | Bob Feller (CLE) | 246 |
| IP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 296.2 |
| SV | Johnny Murphy (NYY) | 19 |
| WHIP | Ted Lyons (CWS) | 1.089 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Johnny Mize (STL) | .349 |
| OPS | Johnny Mize (STL) | 1.070 |
| HR | Johnny Mize (STL) | 28 |
| RBI | Frank McCormick (CIN) | 128 |
| R | Billy Werber (CIN) | 115 |
| H | Frank McCormick (CIN) | 209 |
| SB | Stan Hack (CHC) Lee Handley (PIT) | 17 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bucky Walters1 (CIN) | 27 |
| L | Max Butcher (PIT/PHI) Bob Klinger (PIT) | 17 |
| ERA | Bucky Walters1 (CIN) | 2.29 |
| K | Claude Passeau (CHC/PHI) Bucky Walters1 (CIN) | 137 |
| IP | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 319.0 |
| SV | Clyde Shoun (STL) | 9 |
| WHIP | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 1.125 |
1 National LeagueTriple Crown pitching winner
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Bucky Walters (CIN) | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) |
| The Sporting NewsAwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[8] | Bucky Walters (CIN) | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) |
| Player of the Year[9] | — | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) |
| Manager of the Year[10] | Leo Durocher (BRO) | — |
| Executive of the Year[11] | Larry MacPhail (BRO) | — |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds[12] | 97 | 18.3% | 981,443 | 38.9% | 12,117 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[13] | 84 | 21.7% | 955,668 | 44.1% | 12,252 |
| New York Yankees[14] | 106 | 7.1% | 859,785 | −11.4% | 11,166 |
| Detroit Tigers[15] | 81 | −3.6% | 836,279 | 4.6% | 10,722 |
| Chicago Cubs[16] | 84 | −5.6% | 726,663 | −23.6% | 9,083 |
| New York Giants[17] | 77 | −7.2% | 702,457 | −12.2% | 9,493 |
| Chicago White Sox[18] | 85 | 30.8% | 594,104 | 75.6% | 7,716 |
| Boston Red Sox[19] | 89 | 1.1% | 573,070 | −11.4% | 7,641 |
| Cleveland Indians[20] | 87 | 1.2% | 563,926 | −13.5% | 7,324 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[21] | 92 | 29.6% | 400,245 | 37.3% | 5,066 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[22] | 55 | 3.8% | 395,022 | 2.5% | 5,198 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[23] | 68 | −20.9% | 376,734 | −41.2% | 4,893 |
| Washington Senators[24] | 65 | −13.3% | 339,257 | −35.1% | 4,406 |
| Boston Bees[25] | 63 | −18.2% | 285,994 | −16.2% | 3,918 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[26] | 45 | 0.0% | 277,973 | 67.3% | 3,756 |
| St. Louis Browns[27] | 43 | −21.8% | 109,159 | −16.3% | 1,399 |
Over 77 home games, theCleveland Indians played 47 games at League Park and 30 games at Cleveland Stadium.[28] This would be the 5th of 12 seasons since1932 that saw the Indians play at both venues.
