1921 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1921 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1921 in baseball.

Sports season

1921 MLB season

League| American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport| Baseball
Duration| Regular season:

* April 13 – October 2, 1921

World Series:

* October 5–13, 1921

Number of games| 154
Number of teams| 16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL champions| New York Yankees
AL runners-up| Cleveland Indians
NL champions| New York Giants
NL runners-up| Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series
Champions| New York Giants
Runners-up| New York Yankees
MLB seasons

← 1920

1922 →

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Robins

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1920–1931 National League seasons
National League

The 1921 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1921. The regular season ended on October 2, with the New York Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 18th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 8 on October 13. In the first Subway Series World Series, the Giants defeated the Yankees, five games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1905. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Cleveland Indians from the 1920 season.

1921 was the first of three straight seasons in which the Yankees would lead the majors in wins. Babe Ruth broke the single season home run record for the third consecutive season by hitting 59 home runs in 152 games. Ruth also broke Roger Connor's record for the most home runs all time when he hit his 139th home run on July 18 against Bert Cole.[1] The record for career strikeouts, previously held by Cy Young was also broken in 1921 by Walter Johnson; Johnson led the league in strikeouts with 143 and ended the season with 2,835 strikeouts. Young struck out 2,803 during his career.[2] The Cincinnati Reds set a Major League record for the fewest strikeouts in a season, with only 308.[3] Future Hall of Famers Kiki Cuyler and Goose Goslin both debuted in September 1921.[4]

## Schedule

[edit]

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1921 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 the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 13 with all but the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 2. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 13.

## Teams

[edit]

League  | Team  | City  | Stadium  | Capacity  | Manager[5]

|
|
|
|
|

American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000  | Hugh Duffy
Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 28,000  | Kid Gleason
Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Dunn Field | 21,414  | Tris Speaker
Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 23,000  | Ty Cobb
New York Yankees | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 38,000  | Miller Huggins
Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 23,000  | Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 24,040  | Lee Fohl
Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 27,000  | George McBride
National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 40,000  | Fred Mitchell
Brooklyn Robins | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 30,000  | Wilbert Robinson
Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Cubs Park | 15,000  | Johnny Evers
Bill Killefer
Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Redland Field | 20,696  | Pat Moran
New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 38,000  | John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000  | Bill Donovan
Kaiser Wilhelm
Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 25,000  | George Gibson
St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 24,040  | Branch Rickey

## Standings

[edit]

### American League

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

American League Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

New York Yankees | 98 | 55  | .641  | —  | 53‍–‍25  | 45‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians | 94 | 60  | .610  | 4½  | 51‍–‍26  | 43‍–‍34
St. Louis Browns | 81 | 73  | .526  | 17½  | 43‍–‍34  | 38‍–‍39
Washington Senators | 80 | 73  | .523  | 18  | 46‍–‍30  | 34‍–‍43
Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79  | .487  | 23½  | 41‍–‍36  | 34‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers | 71 | 82  | .464  | 27  | 37‍–‍40  | 34‍–‍42
Chicago White Sox | 62 | 92  | .403  | 36½  | 37‍–‍40  | 25‍–‍52
Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | 100  | .346  | 45  | 28‍–‍47  | 25‍–‍53

### National League

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

National League Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

New York Giants | 94 | 59  | .614  | —  | 53‍–‍26  | 41‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates | 90 | 63  | .588  | 4  | 45‍–‍31  | 45‍–‍32
St. Louis Cardinals | 87 | 66  | .569  | 7  | 48‍–‍29  | 39‍–‍37
Boston Braves | 79 | 74  | .516  | 15  | 42‍–‍32  | 37‍–‍42
Brooklyn Robins | 77 | 75  | .507  | 16½  | 41‍–‍37  | 36‍–‍38
Cincinnati Reds | 70 | 83  | .458  | 24  | 40‍–‍36  | 30‍–‍47
Chicago Cubs | 64 | 89  | .418  | 30  | 32‍–‍44  | 32‍–‍45
Philadelphia Phillies | 51 | 103  | .331  | 43½  | 29‍–‍47  | 22‍–‍56

## Postseason

[edit]

The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 13 with the New York Giants defeating the New York Yankees in the 1921 World Series in eight games.

### Bracket

[edit]

| World Series |

|
|

|  |  |  |
| AL | New York Yankees | 3 |
| NL | New York Giants | 5 |

## Managerial changes

[edit]

### Off-season

[edit]

Team  | Former Manager  | New Manager

|
|

Boston Braves | George Stallings | Fred Mitchell
Boston Red Sox | Ed Barrow | Hugh Duffy
Chicago Cubs | Fred Mitchell | Johnny Evers
Detroit Tigers | Hughie Jennings | Ty Cobb
Philadelphia Phillies | Gavvy Cravath | Bill Donovan
St. Louis Browns | Jimmy Burke | Lee Fohl
Washington Senators | Clark Griffith | George McBride

### In-season

[edit]

Team  | Former Manager  | New Manager

|
|

Chicago Cubs | Johnny Evers | Bill Killefer
Philadelphia Phillies | Bill Donovan | Kaiser Wilhelm

## League leaders

[edit]

### American League

[edit]

Hitting leaders[6] Stat  | Player  | Total

|
|

AVG | Harry Heilmann (DET)  | .394
OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY)  | 1.359
HR | Babe Ruth (NYY)  | 59
RBI | Babe Ruth (NYY)  | 168
R | Babe Ruth1 (NYY)  | 177
H | Harry Heilmann (DET)  | 237
SB | George Sisler (SLB)  | 35

1 Modern (1901–present) single-season runs record

Pitching leaders[7] Stat  | Player  | Total

|
|

W | Carl Mays (NYY)
Urban Shocker (SLB)  | 27
L | Eddie Rommel (PHA)  | 23
ERA | Red Faber (CWS)  | 2.48
K | Walter Johnson (WSH)  | 143
IP | Carl Mays (NYY)  | 336.2
SV | Carl Mays (NYY)  | 7
WHIP | Red Faber (CWS)  | 1.149

### National League

[edit]

Hitting leaders[8] Stat  | Player  | Total

|
|

AVG | Rogers Hornsby (SLC)  | .397
OPS | Rogers Hornsby (SLC)  | 1.097
HR | George Kelly (NYG)  | 23
RBI | Rogers Hornsby (SLC)  | 126
R | Rogers Hornsby (SLC)  | 131
H | Rogers Hornsby (SLC)  | 235
SB | Frankie Frisch (NYG)  | 49

Pitching leaders[9] Stat  | Player  | Total

|
|

W | Wilbur Cooper (PIT)
Burleigh Grimes (BKN) | 22
L | George Smith (PHP)  | 20
ERA | Bill Doak (SLC)  | 2.59
K | Burleigh Grimes (BKN)  | 136
IP | Wilbur Cooper (PIT)  | 327.0
SV | Lou North (SLC)  | 7
WHIP | Babe Adams (PIT)  | 1.081

## Home field attendance

[edit]

Team name  | Wins  | %± | Home attendance  | %± | Per game

|
|
|
|
|

New York Yankees[10] | 95  | 18.8%  | 1,289,422  | 108.3%  | 16,746
New York Giants[11] | 86  | −1.1%  | 929,609  | 31.1%  | 11,620
Cleveland Indians[12] | 98  | 16.7%  | 912,832  | 69.6%  | 11,703
Pittsburgh Pirates[13] | 79  | 11.3%  | 429,037  | 55.0%  | 5,500
Detroit Tigers[14] | 61  | −23.8%  | 579,650  | −10.0%  | 7,431
Brooklyn Robins[15] | 93  | 34.8%  | 808,722  | 124.2%  | 10,368
Chicago White Sox[16] | 96  | 9.1%  | 833,492  | 32.9%  | 10,825
Washington Senators[17] | 68  | 21.4%  | 359,260  | 53.5%  | 4,727
Chicago Cubs[18] | 75  | 0.0%  | 480,783  | 13.3%  | 6,244
St. Louis Cardinals[19] | 75  | 38.9%  | 326,836  | 95.6%  | 4,300
St. Louis Browns[20] | 76  | 13.4%  | 419,311  | 20.0%  | 5,376
Philadelphia Athletics[21] | 48  | 33.3%  | 287,888  | 27.8%  | 3,739
Boston Braves[22] | 62  | 8.8%  | 162,483  | −2.9%  | 2,196
Cincinnati Reds[23] | 82  | −14.6%  | 568,107  | 6.7%  | 7,378
Boston Red Sox[24] | 72  | 9.1%  | 402,445  | −3.6%  | 5,295
Philadelphia Phillies[25] | 62  | 31.9%  | 330,998  | 37.7%  | 4,299

## Events

[edit]

* August 5 – The Pittsburgh Pirates 8–5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field is the first Major League game to be broadcast on radio. Harold Arlin calls the game for Pittsburgh station KDKA.[26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Babe Ruth Career Home Runs".
2. ^ "Progressive Leaders & Records for Strikeouts".
3. ^ "Single Season Team Strikeout Records". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
4. ^ "1921 Major League Baseball New Debuts".
5. ^ "1921 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
6. ^ "1921 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
7. ^ "1921 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
8. ^ "1921 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
9. ^ "1921 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
10. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
11. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
12. ^ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
13. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
14. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
15. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
16. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
17. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
18. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
19. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
20. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
21. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
22. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
23. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
24. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
25. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
26. ^ Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240\. ISBN 9781553650386.

## External links

[edit]

* 1921 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference

* v
* t
* e

1921 MLB season by team

Major League Baseball|

| American League|

* Boston
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* New York
* Philadelphia
* St. Louis
* Washington

|

National League|

* Boston
* Brooklyn
* Chicago
* Cincinnati
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

Negro National League|

* Chicago American Giants
* Chicago Giants
* Cincinnati
* Columbus
* Detroit
* Indianapolis
* Kansas City
* St. Louis

1921 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Major League Baseball seasons

Pre-modern era|

| Beginnings|

* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881

|

Competition|

* 1882
* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891

NL monopoly|

* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900

Modern era|

| Dead-ball era|

* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920

|

Live-ball era|

* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941

World War II|

* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945

Post-war and integration|

* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960

First expansion|

* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968

Birth of division play|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

Wild Card begins and the Steroid era|

* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Wild Card expansion|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022

Pitch clock era|

* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

See also|

* Major League Baseball schedule
* Major League Baseball

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[%±]: Percent change
*[Per game]: Average home attendance per game