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1921 in baseball

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The following are the baseball events of the year 1921 throughout the world.

Headline Events of the Year

  • First radio broadcast of the World Series.
  • Babe Ruth breaks Roger Connor's All-Time Home Run record of 138.

Champions

Awards and honors

MLB statistical leaders

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Harry Heilmann DET .394 Rogers Hornsby STL .397
HR Babe Ruth NYY 59 George Kelly NYG 23
RBI Babe Ruth NYY 171 Rogers Hornsby STL 126
Wins Carl Mays NYY & Urban Shocker SLB 27 Wilbur Cooper PIT 22
ERA Red Faber CHW 2.48 Bill Doak STL 2.59
Ks Walter Johnson WAS 283 Burleigh Grimes BRK 136

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

American League
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
New York Yankees 98 55 .641 --
Cleveland Indians 94 60 .610 4.5
St. Louis Browns 81 73 .526 17.5
Washington Senators 80 73 .523 18
Boston Red Sox 75 79 .487 23.5
Detroit Tigers 71 82 .464 27
Chicago White Sox 62 92 .403 36.5
Philadelphia Athletics 53 100 .346 45

National League final standings

National League
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
New York Giants 94 59 .614 --
Pittsburgh Pirates 90 63 .588 4
St. Louis Cardinals 87 66 .569 7
Boston Braves 79 74 .516 15
Brooklyn Robins 77 75 .507 16.5
Cincinnati Reds 70 83 .458 24
Chicago Cubs 64 89 .418 30
Philadelphia Phillies 51 103 .331 43.5

Negro League Baseball final standings

Negro National League final standings

Negro National League (West)
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
Chicago American Giants 50 27 .650
St. Louis Giants 54 30 .645
Kansas City Monarchs 73 43 .630
Detroit Stars 46 46 .500
Columbus Buckeyes 30 39 .435
Cincinnati Cubans 30 39 .435
Indianapolis ABCs 43 60 .417
Chicago Giants 7 37 .159

East (independent teams) final standings

A loose confederation of teams were gathered in the East to compete with the West, however East teams did not organize a formal league as the West did.

East
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 34 28 .630
Philadelphia Hilldales 26 16 .619
New York Lincoln Giants 12 7 .590
Brooklyn Royal Giants 1 2 .333
Cuban Stars 12 26 .316
Baltimore Black Sox 2 6 .250

Events

  • August 12 - Philadelphia's George Smith gave up 12 hits and still pitched a shutout as the Phillies beat the Boston Braves 4-0.
  • October 1 - Babe Ruth compiles the greatest single season of batting in Major League baseball history by hitting 59 home runs, driving in 171 runs, scoring 177 runs with 204 hits for a .378 batting average in only 540 At-Bats. His On-base percentage for the year was .510 and his slugging percentage was an astounding .846 mark. Ruth's 59 home runs were more than the other 7 American League team home run totals combined.
  • October 13 - The New York Giants defeat the New York Yankees, 1-0, in Game 8 of the World Series, to capture their second World Championship, five games to three. This series marked the first time the Yankees participated in the World Series, to date the Yankees have participated in 40 World Series. For the first time in World Series play, all games were held at one site: the Polo Grounds in New York, with the home team alternating. The Yankees sub-leased the Polo Grounds from the New York Giants from 1913 through 1922. The Series was the first to be broadcast on radio. Announcer Thomas Cowan recreated the game over Westinghouse-owned WJZ in Newark, listening to phoned-in reports from the stadium.

Births

January-March

April-June

July-September

October-December

Deaths

  • March 30 - Frank Bancroft, 74, manager who won 1884 championship with Providence Grays, also managed six other teams; introduced baseball to Cuba in 1879, and was Reds executive for 30 years
  • March 31 - John Fitzgerald, 50, pitcher for the 1891 Boston Reds
  • April 21 - Tom O'Brien, 60, 19th-century infielder/outfielder for the Worcester Ruby Legs, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Reds, New York Metropolitans and Rochester Broncos
  • June 27 - Hugh Nicol, 63, Scottish right fielder who set 19th-century record for steals with 138 for 1887 Cincinnati team
  • July 16 - Arthur Irwin, 63, Canadian shortstop for six teams who managed Boston to 1891 American Association pennant; later a scout and minor league manager
  • August 24 - Emil Gross, 63, catcher for five seasons from 1879 to 1884.
  • September 3 - Jim Clinton, 71, outfielder for 10 seasons; 1872-1876, 1882-1886.
  • October 27 - Bill Kuehne, 63, German third baseman for the Columbus Buckeyes, Pittsburgh Alleghenys & Burghers, Columbus Solons, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Cincinnati Reds during the 19th century
  • November 4 - Levi Meyerle, 76, infielder who won National Association batting titles in 1871 and 1874, later playing in the first major league game
  • December 9, Charlie Morton, 67, player, manager, and later a minor league president.