| 1916 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Pennant winners | |
| AL champions | Boston Red Sox |
| AL runners-up | Chicago White Sox |
| NL champions | Brooklyn Robins |
| NL runners-up | Philadelphia Phillies |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Boston Red Sox |
| Runners-up | Brooklyn Robins |
| MLB seasons | |
The1916 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1916. The regular season ended on October 5, with theBrooklyn Robins andBoston Red Sox as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the13th World Series on October 7 and ended with Game 5 on October 12. The Red Sox defeated the Robins, four games to one, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, and the third team to win back-to-back World Series.
Interference by the National and American Leagues in their operations caused the two-seasonFederal League to fold prior to the 1916 season.
The 1916 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 for the1904 season. This format would last until1919.
Opening Day, April 14, featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend which started with the1912 season. The American League would see its final day of the regular season on October 4, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season was on October 5. TheWorld Series took place between October 7 and October 12.
TheNational League ruled that a player'sbat was considered part of him until a ball in play is fielded.[1]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 91 | 63 | .591 | — | 49–28 | 42–35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 65 | .578 | 2 | 49–28 | 40–37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 67 | .565 | 4 | 49–28 | 38–39 |
| New York Yankees | 80 | 74 | .519 | 11 | 46–31 | 34–43 |
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | 75 | .513 | 12 | 45–32 | 34–43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 77 | .500 | 14 | 44–33 | 33–44 |
| Washington Senators | 76 | 77 | .497 | 14½ | 49–28 | 27–49 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 36 | 117 | .235 | 54½ | 23–53 | 13–64 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Robins | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 50–27 | 44–33 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 62 | .595 | 2½ | 50–29 | 41–33 |
| Boston Braves | 89 | 63 | .586 | 4 | 41–31 | 48–32 |
| New York Giants | 86 | 66 | .566 | 7 | 47–30 | 39–36 |
| Chicago Cubs | 67 | 86 | .438 | 26½ | 37–41 | 30–45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65 | 89 | .422 | 29 | 37–40 | 28–49 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 60 | 93 | .392 | 33½ | 36–40 | 24–53 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 60 | 93 | .392 | 33½ | 32–44 | 28–49 |
20 tie games (10 in AL, 10 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on October 7 and ended on October 12 with theBoston Red Sox defeating theBrooklyn Robins in the1916 World Series in five games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 4 | ||
| NL | Brooklyn Robins | 1 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Terrapins | Otto Knabe | Team folded |
| Brooklyn Tip-Tops | John Ganzel | Team folded |
| Buffalo Blues | Harry Lord | Team folded |
| Chicago Cubs | Roger Bresnahan | Joe Tinker |
| Chicago Whales | Joe Tinker | Team folded |
| Kansas City Packers | George Stovall | Team folded |
| Newark Peppers | Bill McKechnie | Team folded |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred Clarke | Jimmy Callahan |
| Pittsburgh Rebels | Rebel Oakes | Team folded |
| St. Louis Browns | Branch Rickey | Fielder Jones |
| St. Louis Terriers | Fielder Jones | Team folded |
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | Buck Herzog | Ivey Wingo |
| Ivey Wingo | Christy Mathewson |
Any team shown insmall text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Tris Speaker (CLE) | .386 |
| OPS | Tris Speaker (CLE) | .972 |
| HR | Wally Pipp (NYY) | 12 |
| RBI | Del Pratt (SLB) | 103 |
| R | Ty Cobb (DET) | 113 |
| H | Tris Speaker (CLE) | 211 |
| SB | Ty Cobb (DET) | 68 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Walter Johnson (WSH) | 25 |
| L | Bullet Joe Bush (PHA) | 24 |
| ERA | Babe Ruth (BOS) | 1.75 |
| K | Walter Johnson (WSH) | 228 |
| IP | Walter Johnson (WSH) | 369.2 |
| SV | Bob Shawkey (NYY) | 8 |
| WHIP | Reb Russell (CWS) | 0.942 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Hal Chase (CIN) | .339 |
| OPS | Cy Williams (CHC) | .831 |
| HR | Dave Robertson (NYG) Cy Williams (CHC) | 12 |
| RBI | Heinie Zimmerman (NYG/CHC) | 128 |
| R | George Burns (NYG) | 105 |
| H | Hal Chase (CIN) | 184 |
| SB | Max Carey (PIT) | 63 |
1 National LeagueTriple Crown pitching winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Grover Alexander1 (PHI) | 33 |
| L | Lee Meadows (STL) | 23 |
| ERA | Grover Alexander1 (PHI) | 1.55 |
| K | Grover Alexander1 (PHI) | 167 |
| IP | Grover Alexander (PHI) | 389.0 |
| SV | Red Ames (STL) | 8 |
| WHIP | Grover Alexander (PHI) | 0.959 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox[7] | 89 | −4.3% | 679,923 | 26.0% | 8,830 |
| Detroit Tigers[8] | 87 | −13.0% | 616,772 | 29.5% | 8,010 |
| New York Giants[9] | 86 | 24.6% | 552,056 | 40.9% | 7,078 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[10] | 91 | 1.1% | 515,365 | 14.6% | 6,524 |
| Boston Red Sox[11] | 91 | −9.9% | 496,397 | −8.1% | 6,364 |
| Cleveland Indians[12] | 77 | 35.1% | 492,106 | 208.9% | 6,309 |
| New York Yankees[13] | 80 | 15.9% | 469,211 | 83.3% | 5,939 |
| Chicago Cubs[14] | 67 | −8.2% | 453,685 | 109.0% | 5,743 |
| Brooklyn Robins[15] | 94 | 17.5% | 447,747 | 50.4% | 5,740 |
| St. Louis Browns[16] | 79 | 25.4% | 335,740 | 123.3% | 4,250 |
| Boston Braves[17] | 89 | 7.2% | 313,495 | −16.7% | 4,019 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[18] | 65 | −11.0% | 289,132 | 28.1% | 3,707 |
| Cincinnati Reds[19] | 60 | −15.5% | 255,846 | 16.9% | 3,366 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[20] | 60 | −16.7% | 224,308 | −11.2% | 2,951 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[21] | 36 | −16.3% | 184,471 | 26.2% | 2,427 |
| Washington Senators[22] | 76 | −10.6% | 177,265 | 5.9% | 2,188 |
TheChicago Cubs leaveWest Side Park from which they played 30 seasons since1885 (sans1892) and moved into the home of the formerFederal League team,Chicago Whales, atWeeghman Park, where they remain to this day asWrigley Field.
FollowingJim Dunn's purchase of theCleveland Indians, League Park, home of the team, renamed toDunn Field.[23][24][25]
TheBoston Red Sox played their final two games of the season, an October 3doubleheader, at the home of theBoston Braves atBraves Field.[26][27] They would also play their World Series home games (game 1 & 2) at Braves Field due to its larger capacity over their home atFenway Park (40,000 to 27,000). This was the second year in a row where a World Series winning Red Sox used Braves Field.
