| 1934 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 (DET) NL:Dizzy Dean (STL) |
| AL champions | Detroit Tigers |
| AL runners-up | New York Yankees |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | New York Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
| MLB seasons | |
The1934 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1934. The regular season ended on September 30, with theSt. Louis Cardinals andDetroit Tigers as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the31st World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. The Cardinals then defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their third championship in franchise history, since their previous in1931. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theNew York Giants from the1933 season.
Thesecond Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 10 at thePolo Grounds inNew York,New York, home of theNew York Giants. TheAmerican League won, 9–7.
The 1934 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 17, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the1931 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continued the trend which began with the1930 season. This was the second time that both Opening Day and the final day of the season saw all sixteen teams play, the previous being in1931. TheWorld Series took place between October 3 and October 9.
The 1934 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 54–26 | 47–27 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 60 | .610 | 7 | 53–24 | 41–36 |
| Cleveland Indians | 85 | 69 | .552 | 16 | 47–31 | 38–38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 76 | .500 | 24 | 42–35 | 34–41 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 68 | 82 | .453 | 31 | 34–40 | 34–42 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 85 | .441 | 33 | 36–39 | 31–46 |
| Washington Senators | 66 | 86 | .434 | 34 | 34–40 | 32–46 |
| Chicago White Sox | 53 | 99 | .349 | 47 | 29–46 | 24–53 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 58 | .621 | — | 48–29 | 47–29 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 60 | .608 | 2 | 49–26 | 44–34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 86 | 65 | .570 | 8 | 47–30 | 39–35 |
| Boston Braves | 78 | 73 | .517 | 16 | 40–35 | 38–38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 74 | 76 | .493 | 19½ | 45–32 | 29–44 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 71 | 81 | .467 | 23½ | 43–33 | 28–48 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | 93 | .376 | 37 | 35–36 | 21–57 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | 99 | .344 | 42 | 30–47 | 22–52 |
8 tie games (5 in AL, 3 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on October 3 and ended on October 9 with theSt. Louis Cardinals defeating theDetroit Tigers in the1934 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Detroit Tigers | 3 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | Lew Fonseca | Jimmy Dykes |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bob O'Farrell | Burt Shotton |
| Burt Shotton | Chuck Dressen | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | George Gibson | Pie Traynor |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) | .363 |
| OPS | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 1.172 |
| HR | Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) | 49 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) | 166 |
| R | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 135 |
| H | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 214 |
| SB | Billy Werber (BOS) | 40 |
1 American LeagueTriple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) | 26 |
| L | Bobo Newsom (SLB) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) | 2.33 |
| K | Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) | 158 |
| IP | Lefty Gomez (NYY) | 281.2 |
| SV | Jack Russell (WSH) | 8 |
| WHIP | Lefty Gomez (NYY) | 1.133 |
2 American LeagueTriple Crown pitching winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Paul Waner (PIT) | .362 |
| OPS | Ripper Collins (STL) | 1.008 |
| HR | Ripper Collins (STL) Mel Ott (NYG) | 35 |
| RBI | Mel Ott (NYG) | 135 |
| R | Paul Waner (PIT) | 122 |
| H | Paul Waner (PIT) | 217 |
| SB | Pepper Martin (STL) | 23 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Dizzy Dean (STL) | 30 |
| L | Si Johnson (CIN) | 22 |
| ERA | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 2.30 |
| K | Dizzy Dean (STL) | 195 |
| IP | Van Mungo (BRO) | 315.1 |
| SV | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 8 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.032 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Dizzy Dean (STL) | Mickey Cochrane (DET) |
| The Sporting NewsAwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player[7] | Dizzy Dean (STL) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers[8] | 101 | 34.7% | 919,161 | 186.4% | 11,490 |
| New York Yankees[9] | 94 | 3.3% | 854,682 | 17.4% | 11,100 |
| New York Giants[10] | 93 | 2.2% | 730,851 | 20.9% | 9,745 |
| Chicago Cubs[11] | 86 | 0.0% | 707,525 | 19.1% | 9,189 |
| Boston Red Sox[12] | 76 | 20.6% | 610,640 | 127.2% | 7,930 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[13] | 71 | 9.2% | 434,188 | −17.6% | 5,639 |
| Cleveland Indians[14] | 85 | 13.3% | 391,338 | 0.9% | 5,017 |
| Washington Senators[15] | 66 | −33.3% | 330,074 | −24.6% | 4,343 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[16] | 95 | 15.9% | 325,056 | 26.9% | 4,222 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[17] | 74 | −14.9% | 322,622 | 11.7% | 4,136 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[18] | 68 | −13.9% | 305,847 | 2.9% | 4,024 |
| Boston Braves[19] | 78 | −6.0% | 303,205 | −41.4% | 4,043 |
| Chicago White Sox[20] | 53 | −20.9% | 236,559 | −40.5% | 3,154 |
| Cincinnati Reds[21] | 52 | −10.3% | 206,773 | −5.3% | 2,651 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[22] | 56 | −6.7% | 169,885 | 8.6% | 2,393 |
| St. Louis Browns[23] | 67 | 21.8% | 115,305 | 30.9% | 1,517 |
After moving intoCleveland Stadium mid-way through the1932 season, theCleveland Indians move back intoLeague Park due to plummeting attendance caused by theGreat Depression.[24]
The Cincinnati Reds' Redland Field is renamed toCrosley Field following the February 1934 purchase of the Reds by local businessmanPowel Crosley Jr.
