| 1926 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:George Burns (CLE) NL:Bob O'Farrell (STL) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
| World Series | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Runners-up | New York Yankees |
| MLB seasons | |
The1926 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1926. The regular season ended on September 29, 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 the23rd World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were thePittsburgh Pirates from the1925 season.
This was the fifth of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to theMajor League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.
The 1926 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, April 13, featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend which started with the1924 season. The American League would see its final day of the regular season was on September 27, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 29 with adoubleheader between thePhiladelphia Phillies andBoston Braves. TheWorld Series took place between October 2 and October 10.
The 1926 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 91 | 63 | .591 | — | 50–25 | 41–38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | .571 | 3 | 49–31 | 39–35 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 67 | .553 | 6 | 44–27 | 39–40 |
| Washington Senators | 81 | 69 | .540 | 8 | 42–30 | 39–39 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 72 | .529 | 9½ | 47–31 | 34–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 75 | .513 | 12 | 39–41 | 40–34 |
| St. Louis Browns | 62 | 92 | .403 | 29 | 40–39 | 22–53 |
| Boston Red Sox | 46 | 107 | .301 | 44½ | 25–51 | 21–56 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | .578 | — | 47–30 | 42–35 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 67 | .565 | 2 | 53–23 | 34–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 69 | .549 | 4½ | 49–28 | 35–41 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | 72 | .532 | 7 | 49–28 | 33–44 |
| New York Giants | 74 | 77 | .490 | 13½ | 43–33 | 31–44 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 71 | 82 | .464 | 17½ | 38–38 | 33–44 |
| Boston Braves | 66 | 86 | .434 | 22 | 43–34 | 23–52 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 58 | 93 | .384 | 29½ | 33–42 | 25–51 |
12 tie games (5 in AL, 7 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on October 2 and ended on October 10 with theSt. Louis Cardinals defeating theNew York Yankees in the1926 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 3 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | George Gibson | Joe McCarthy |
| New York Giants | Hughie Jennings | John McGraw |
Any team shown insmall text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Heinie Manush (DET) | .378 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.253 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 47 |
| RBI | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 153 |
| R | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 139 |
| H | George Burns (CLE) Sam Rice (WSH) | 216 |
| SB | Johnny Mostil (CWS) | 35 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | George Uhle (CLE) | 27 |
| L | Milt Gaston (SLB) Paul Zahniser (BOS) | 18 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 2.51 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 194 |
| IP | George Uhle (CLE) | 318.1 |
| SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) | 22 |
| WHIP | Herb Pennock (NYY) | 1.265 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Bubbles Hargrave (CIN) | .353 |
| OPS | Cy Williams (PHI) | .986 |
| HR | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 21 |
| RBI | Jim Bottomley (STL) | 120 |
| R | Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 113 |
| H | Eddie Brown (BSN) | 201 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (PIT) | 35 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Pete Donohue (CIN) Ray Kremer (PIT) Lee Meadows (PIT) Flint Rhem (STL) | 20 |
| L | Jesse Petty (BRO) Charlie Root (CHC) | 17 |
| ERA | Ray Kremer (PIT) | 2.61 |
| K | Dazzy Vance (BRO) | 140 |
| IP | Pete Donohue (CIN) | 285.2 |
| SV | Chick Davies (NYG) | 6 |
| WHIP | Grover Alexander (STL/CHC) | 1.108 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees[10] | 91 | 31.9% | 1,027,675 | 47.4% | 13,702 |
| Chicago Cubs[11] | 82 | 20.6% | 885,063 | 42.2% | 11,347 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[12] | 84 | −11.6% | 798,542 | −0.7% | 10,108 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[13] | 83 | −5.7% | 714,508 | −17.8% | 10,063 |
| Detroit Tigers[14] | 79 | −2.5% | 711,914 | −13.3% | 8,789 |
| Chicago White Sox[15] | 81 | 2.5% | 710,339 | −14.6% | 8,992 |
| New York Giants[16] | 74 | −14.0% | 700,362 | −10.1% | 9,215 |
| Cincinnati Reds[17] | 87 | 8.8% | 672,987 | 44.8% | 8,740 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[18] | 89 | 15.6% | 668,428 | 65.1% | 8,461 |
| Brooklyn Robins[19] | 71 | 4.4% | 650,819 | −1.3% | 8,563 |
| Cleveland Indians[20] | 88 | 25.7% | 627,426 | 49.7% | 7,843 |
| Washington Senators[21] | 81 | −15.6% | 551,580 | −32.5% | 7,454 |
| Boston Braves[22] | 66 | −5.7% | 303,598 | −3.2% | 3,943 |
| Boston Red Sox[23] | 46 | −2.1% | 285,155 | 6.5% | 3,703 |
| St. Louis Browns[24] | 62 | −24.4% | 283,986 | −38.7% | 3,595 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[25] | 58 | −14.7% | 240,600 | −21.1% | 3,166 |
