1916 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1916 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1916 in baseball.
1916 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 14 – October 4, 1916 (AL)
  • April 14 – October 5, 1916 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 7–12, 1916
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL championsBoston Red Sox
  AL runners-upChicago White Sox
NL championsBrooklyn Robins
  NL runners-upPhiladelphia Phillies
World Series
ChampionsBoston Red Sox
  Runners-upBrooklyn Robins
Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
American League
Locations of teams for the 1916–1919 National League seasons
National League

The 1916 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1916. The regular season ended on October 5, with the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 13th 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-season Federal League to fold prior to the 1916 season.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

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 the 1904 season. This format would last until 1919.

Opening Day, April 14, featured all sixteen teams, continuing the trend which started with the 1912 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. The World Series took place between October 7 and October 12.

Rule change

The National League ruled that a player's bat was considered part of him until a ball in play is fielded.[1]

Teams

League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[2]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 27,000 Bill Carrigan
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 28,000 Pants Rowland
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Dunn Field 21,414 Lee Fohl
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Navin Field 23,000 Hughie Jennings
New York Yankees New York, New York Brush Stadium 34,000 Bill Donovan
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 23,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 18,000 Fielder Jones
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. National Park 27,000 Clark Griffith
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 40,000 George Stallings
Brooklyn Robins New York, New York Ebbets Field 30,000 Wilbert Robinson
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Weeghman Park 15,000 Joe Tinker
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Redland Field 20,696 Buck Herzog
Ivey Wingo
Christy Mathewson
New York Giants New York, New York Brush Stadium 34,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Pat Moran
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 25,000 Jimmy Callahan
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Robison Field 21,000 Miller Huggins

Standings

American League

American League
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

National League

National League
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

Tie games

20 tie games (10 in AL, 10 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

  • Boston Red Sox, 2
  • Chicago White Sox, 1
  • Cleveland Indians, 3
  • Detroit Tigers, 1
  • New York Yankees, 2
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 1
  • St. Louis Browns, 4
  • Washington Senators, 6

National League

  • Boston Braves, 6
  • Brooklyn Robins, 2
  • Chicago Cubs, 3
  • Cincinnati Reds, 2
  • New York Giants, 3
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 3

Postseason

The postseason began on October 7 and ended on October 12 with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Brooklyn Robins in the 1916 World Series in five games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Boston Red Sox 4
NL Brooklyn Robins 1

Managerial changes

Off-season

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

In-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Cincinnati Reds Buck Herzog Ivey Wingo
Ivey Wingo Christy Mathewson

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

Hitting leaders[3]
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
Pitching leaders[4]
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

National League

Hitting leaders[5]
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 League Triple Crown pitching winner

Pitching leaders[6]
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

Milestones

Pitchers

No-hitters

See also: List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
  • Tom Hughes (BSN):
    • Hughes threw his first career no-hitter and fifth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2–0 on June 16. Hughes walked two and struck out seven.[7]
  • Rube Foster (BOS):
    • Foster threw his first career no-hitter and sixth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Yankees 2–0 on June 21. Foster walked three and struck out three.[8][9]
  • Bullet Joe Bush (PHA):
    • Bush threw his first career no-hitter and third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Cleveland Indians 5–0 on August 26. Bush walked one and struck out seven.[10]
  • Dutch Leonard (BOS):
    • Leonard threw his first career no-hitter and seventh no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Browns 4–0 on August 30. Leonard walked two and struck out three.[11][12]

Other pitching accomplishments

Miscellaneous

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Chicago White Sox[16] 89 −4.3% 679,923 26.0% 8,830
Detroit Tigers[17] 87 −13.0% 616,772 29.5% 8,010
New York Giants[18] 86 24.6% 552,056 40.9% 7,078
Philadelphia Phillies[19] 91 1.1% 515,365 14.6% 6,524
Boston Red Sox[20] 91 −9.9% 496,397 −8.1% 6,364
Cleveland Indians[21] 77 35.1% 492,106 208.9% 6,309
New York Yankees[22] 80 15.9% 469,211 83.3% 5,939
Chicago Cubs[23] 67 −8.2% 453,685 109.0% 5,743
Brooklyn Robins[24] 94 17.5% 447,747 50.4% 5,740
St. Louis Browns[25] 79 25.4% 335,740 123.3% 4,250
Boston Braves[26] 89 7.2% 313,495 −16.7% 4,019
Pittsburgh Pirates[27] 65 −11.0% 289,132 28.1% 3,707
Cincinnati Reds[28] 60 −15.5% 255,846 16.9% 3,366
St. Louis Cardinals[29] 60 −16.7% 224,308 −11.2% 2,951
Philadelphia Athletics[30] 36 −16.3% 184,471 26.2% 2,427
Washington Senators[31] 76 −10.6% 177,265 5.9% 2,188

Venues

The Chicago Cubs leave West Side Park from which they played 30 seasons since 1885 (sans 1892) and moved into the home of the former Federal League team, Chicago Whales, at Weeghman Park, where they remain to this day as Wrigley Field.

Following Jim Dunn's purchase of the Cleveland Indians, League Park, home of the team, renamed to Dunn Field.[32][33][34]

The Boston Red Sox played their final two games of the season, an October 3 doubleheader, at the home of the Boston Braves at Braves Field.[35][36] They would also play their World Series home games (game 1 & 2) at Braves Field due to its larger capacity over their home at Fenway Park (40,000 to 27,000). This was the second year in a row where a World Series winning Red Sox used Braves Field.

See also

References

  1. ^ Bogovich, Rich. "1915 Winter Meetings: Peace Time for the National Pastime – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "1916 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "1916 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "1916 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "1916 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1916 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates vs Boston Braves Box Score: June 16, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  8. ^ "George Foster throws first no-hitter at Fenway Park". Globe (Boston). June 22, 1916.
  9. ^ "New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: June 21, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  10. ^ "Cleveland Indians vs Philadelphia Athletics Box Score: August 26, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  11. ^ "Dutch Leonard throws Fenway's 2d no-hitter of the year". Globe (Boston). August 31, 1916.
  12. ^ "St. Louis Browns vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: August 30, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  13. ^ "Progressive Leaders & Records for Shutouts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  14. ^ "Base on Balls and Intentional Bases on Balls Team Records by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  15. ^ "Detroit Tigers vs Philadelphia Athletics Box Score: May 9, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  16. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  27. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  28. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  29. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  30. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  31. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  32. ^ Johnson, Bill. "League Park (Cleveland) – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  33. ^ "League Park - A "Neighborhood" Home for Cleveland Sports". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  34. ^ "Clem's Baseball ~ League Park (IV)". Andrewclem.com. November 21, 1909. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  35. ^ "Philadelphia Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: October 3, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  36. ^ "Philadelphia Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: October 3, 1916". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
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