The 1942 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1942. The regular season ended on September 27, with the St. Louis Cardinals 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 39th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 5 on October 5. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to one.
1942 MLB season | |
---|---|
League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
Sport | Baseball |
Duration | Regular season:
|
Number of games | 154 |
Number of teams | 16 (8 per league) |
Regular season | |
Season MVP | AL: Joe Gordon (NYY) NL: Mort Cooper (SLC) |
AL champions | New York Yankees |
AL runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
NL runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
World Series | |
Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
Runners-up | New York Yankees |
The tenth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 6, hosted by the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York City, New York, with the American League winning, 3–1.
In the National League, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a record of 104–50, but finished two games behind the Cardinals; the Dodgers tied the 1909 Chicago Cubs, who had a record of 104–49, for the most wins in an MLB regular season without reaching the postseason.[1]
The Philadelphia Athletics set a record for the fewest runs batted in during a season, with only 354.[2]
Schedule
editThe 1942 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, April 16, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1940 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27 and featured ten teams. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 5.
Teams
editAn asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
Standings
editAmerican League
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 103 | 51 | .669 | — | 58–19 | 45–32 |
Boston Red Sox | 93 | 59 | .612 | 9 | 53–24 | 40–35 |
St. Louis Browns | 82 | 69 | .543 | 19½ | 40–37 | 42–32 |
Cleveland Indians | 75 | 79 | .487 | 28 | 39–39 | 36–40 |
Detroit Tigers | 73 | 81 | .474 | 30 | 43–34 | 30–47 |
Chicago White Sox | 66 | 82 | .446 | 34 | 35–35 | 31–47 |
Washington Senators | 62 | 89 | .411 | 39½ | 35–42 | 27–47 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 99 | .357 | 48 | 25–51 | 30–48 |
National League
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Cardinals | 106 | 48 | .688 | — | 60–17 | 46–31 |
Brooklyn Dodgers | 104 | 50 | .675 | 2 | 57–22 | 47–28 |
New York Giants | 85 | 67 | .559 | 20 | 47–31 | 38–36 |
Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 76 | .500 | 29 | 38–39 | 38–37 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 81 | .449 | 36½ | 41–34 | 25–47 |
Chicago Cubs | 68 | 86 | .442 | 38 | 36–41 | 32–45 |
Boston Braves | 59 | 89 | .399 | 44 | 33–36 | 26–53 |
Philadelphia Phils | 42 | 109 | .278 | 62½ | 23–51 | 19–58 |
Postseason
editBracket
editWorld Series | ||||
AL | New York Yankees | 1 | ||
NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 |
Managerial changes
editOff-season
editTeam | Former Manager | New Manager |
---|---|---|
Cleveland Indians | Roger Peckinpaugh | Lou Boudreau |
New York Giants | Bill Terry | Mel Ott |
Philadelphia Phils | Doc Prothro | Hans Lobert |
League leaders
editAmerican League
editStat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Ted Williams1 (BRS) | .356 |
HR | Ted Williams1 (BRS) | 36 |
RBI | Ted Williams1 (BRS) | 137 |
R | Ted Williams (BRS) | 141 |
H | Johnny Pesky (BRS) | 205 |
SB | George Case (WSH) | 44 |
1 American League Triple Crown batting winner
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | Tex Hughson (BRS) | 22 |
L | Eddie Smith (CWS) | 20 |
ERA | Ted Lyons (CWS) | 2.10 |
K | Tex Hughson (BRS) Bobo Newsom (WSH) |
113 |
IP | Tex Hughson (BRS) | 281.0 |
SV | Johnny Murphy (NYY) | 11 |
National League
editStat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Ernie Lombardi (BSB) | .330 |
HR | Mel Ott (NYG) | 30 |
RBI | Johnny Mize (NYG) | 110 |
R | Mel Ott (NYG) | 118 |
H | Enos Slaughter (SLC) | 188 |
SB | Pete Reiser (BKN) | 20 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | Mort Cooper (SLC) | 22 |
L | Jim Tobin (BSB) | 21 |
ERA | Mort Cooper (SLC) | 1.78 |
K | Johnny Vander Meer (CIN) | 186 |
IP | Jim Tobin (BSB) | 287.2 |
SV | Hugh Casey (BKN) | 13 |
Awards and honors
edit- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Joe Gordon (AL) – New York Yankees (2B)
- Mort Cooper (NL) – St. Louis Cardinals (P)
- The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- Ted Williams – Boston Red Sox (LF)
- The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award
- Joe Gordon (AL) – New York Yankees (2B)
- Mort Cooper (NL) – St. Louis Cardinals (P)
- The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
- Billy Southworth – St. Louis Cardinals
Home field attendance
editTeam name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn Dodgers[3] | 104 | 4.0% | 1,037,765 | −14.6% | 13,136 |
New York Yankees[4] | 103 | 2.0% | 922,011 | −4.4% | 11,974 |
New York Giants[5] | 85 | 14.9% | 779,621 | 2.2% | 9,869 |
Boston Red Sox[6] | 93 | 10.7% | 730,340 | 1.6% | 9,485 |
Chicago Cubs[7] | 68 | −2.9% | 590,972 | 8.4% | 7,577 |
Detroit Tigers[8] | 73 | −2.7% | 580,087 | −15.3% | 7,534 |
St. Louis Cardinals[9] | 106 | 9.3% | 553,552 | −12.6% | 7,097 |
Cleveland Indians[10] | 75 | 0.0% | 459,447 | −38.4% | 5,743 |
Pittsburgh Pirates[11] | 66 | −18.5% | 448,897 | −6.9% | 5,830 |
Cincinnati Reds[12] | 76 | −13.6% | 427,031 | −33.6% | 5,546 |
Chicago White Sox[13] | 66 | −14.3% | 425,734 | −37.1% | 6,082 |
Philadelphia Athletics[14] | 55 | −14.1% | 423,487 | −19.9% | 5,572 |
Washington Senators[15] | 62 | −11.4% | 403,493 | −2.9% | 5,240 |
Boston Braves[16] | 59 | −4.8% | 285,332 | 8.2% | 4,019 |
St. Louis Browns[17] | 82 | 17.1% | 255,617 | 45.0% | 3,320 |
Philadelphia Phils[18] | 42 | −2.3% | 230,183 | −0.5% | 3,111 |
References
edit- ^ Adler, David (September 30, 2019). "Best MLB teams to miss the postseason". MLB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ "Runs Batted In – Single Season RBI Records". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
External links
edit