# 1928 Major League Baseball season

The 1928 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1928. The regular season ended on September 30, 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 25th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees swept the Cardinals in four games, capturing their third championship in franchise history, and the fifth team to win back-to-back World Series.
This was the seventh of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued.

## Schedule

The 1928 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.
American League Opening Day took place on April 10 with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators playing, while National League Opening Day took place the following day. The final day of the regular season was on September 30. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 9.

## Rule changes

The 1928 season saw the following rule changes:
* The National League reimplemented the early-1920 home run rule, which states that balls are to be called based on where the ball crosses the outfield fence regarding home runs. This rule was only for balls which landed in the stands. Balls which completely left the ballpark were to be judged based on where the ball flew out of sight. The American League would implement the outfield fence portion of the home run rule in 1931, and would extend this interpretation to balls which leave the ballpark completely.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Bill Carrigan |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Ray Schalk |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Lena Blackburne |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Dunn Field | 21,414 | Roger Peckinpaugh |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 30,000 | George Moriarty |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 82,000 | Miller Huggins |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 28,250 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Dan Howley |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 27,000 | Bucky Harris |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 46,500 | Jack Slattery |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 46,500 | Rogers Hornsby |
| National League | Brooklyn Robins | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 28,000 | Wilbert Robinson |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 40,000 | Joe McCarthy |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Redland Field | 26,060 | Jack Hendricks |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 55,000 | John McGraw |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Baker Bowl | 18,000 | Burt Shotton |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 41,000 | Donie Bush |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Bill McKechnie |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 52‍–‍25 | 49‍–‍28 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 98 | 55 | .641 | 2½ | 52‍–‍25 | 46‍–‍30 |
| St. Louis Browns | 82 | 72 | .532 | 19 | 43‍–‍34 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Washington Senators | 75 | 79 | .487 | 26 | 37‍–‍43 | 38‍–‍36 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 82 | .468 | 29 | 37‍–‍40 | 35‍–‍42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 86 | .442 | 33 | 36‍–‍41 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Cleveland Indians | 62 | 92 | .403 | 39 | 28‍–‍49 | 34‍–‍43 |
| Boston Red Sox | 57 | 96 | .373 | 43½ | 26‍–‍47 | 31‍–‍49 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 59 | .617 | — | 42‍–‍35 | 53‍–‍24 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 61 | .604 | 2 | 51‍–‍26 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Chicago Cubs | 91 | 63 | .591 | 4 | 52‍–‍25 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 85 | 67 | .559 | 9 | 47‍–‍30 | 38‍–‍37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 78 | 74 | .513 | 16 | 44‍–‍33 | 34‍–‍41 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 77 | 76 | .503 | 17½ | 41‍–‍35 | 36‍–‍41 |
| Boston Braves | 50 | 103 | .327 | 44½ | 25‍–‍51 | 25‍–‍52 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | 109 | .283 | 51 | 26‍–‍49 | 17‍–‍60 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 0 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Dave Bancroft | Jack Slattery |
| Cleveland Indians | Jack McCallister | Roger Peckinpaugh |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Stuffy McInnis | Burt Shotton |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Bob O'Farrell | Bill McKechnie |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Jack Slattery | Rogers Hornsby |
| Chicago White Sox | Ray Schalk | Lena Blackburne |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Goose Goslin (WSH) | .379 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.172 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 54 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 147 |
| R | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 163 |
| H | Heinie Manush (SLB) | 241 |
| SB | Buddy Myer (BRS) | 30 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lefty Grove (PHA) George Pipgras (NYY) | 24 |
| L | Red Ruffing (BRS) | 25 |
| ERA | Garland Braxton (WSH) | 2.51 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 183 |
| IP | George Pipgras (NYY) | 300.2 |
| SV | Waite Hoyt (NYY) | 8 |
| WHIP | Garland Braxton (WSH) | 1.012 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Rogers Hornsby (BSB) | .387 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (BSB) | 1.130 |
| HR | Jim Bottomley (SLC) Hack Wilson (CHC) | 31 |
| RBI | Jim Bottomley (SLC) | 136 |
| R | Paul Waner (PIT) | 142 |
| H | Freddie Lindstrom (NYG) | 231 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 37 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Larry Benton (NYG) Burleigh Grimes (PIT) | 25 |
| L | Ed Brandt (BSB) | 21 |
| ERA | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 2.09 |
| K | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 200 |
| IP | Burleigh Grimes (PIT) | 330.2 |
| SV | Hal Haid (SLC) Bill Sherdel (SLC) | 5 |
| WHIP | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 1.063 |

## Awards and honors

* League Award: Jim Bottomley (SLC, National); Mickey Cochrane (PHA, American)

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Cubs | 91 | 7.1% | 1,143,740 | −1.3% | 14,854 |
| New York Yankees | 101 | −8.2% | 1,072,132 | −7.9% | 13,924 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 1.1% | 916,191 | 6.8% | 11,899 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 3.3% | 761,574 | 1.6% | 9,891 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 98 | 7.7% | 689,756 | 13.9% | 8,958 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 77 | 18.5% | 664,863 | 4.3% | 8,635 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 85 | −9.6% | 495,070 | −43.1% | 6,429 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 2.9% | 494,152 | −19.6% | 6,335 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 78 | 4.0% | 490,490 | 10.9% | 6,288 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | −17.1% | 474,323 | −38.7% | 6,160 |
| Boston Red Sox | 57 | 11.8% | 396,920 | 30.0% | 5,364 |
| Washington Senators | 75 | −11.8% | 378,501 | −28.4% | 4,731 |
| Cleveland Indians | 62 | −6.1% | 375,907 | 0.7% | 4,882 |
| St. Louis Browns | 82 | 39.0% | 339,497 | 37.0% | 4,409 |
| Boston Braves | 50 | −16.7% | 227,001 | −21.4% | 2,987 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | −15.7% | 182,168 | −40.4% | 2,429 |