# 1934 Major League Baseball season

The 1934 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1934. The regular season ended on September 30, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 31st World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. The Cardinals then defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their third championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1931. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Giants from the 1933 season.
The second Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 10 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York, home of the New York Giants. The American League won, 9–7.

## Schedule

The 1934 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 17, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1931 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continued the trend which began with the 1930 season. This was the second time that both Opening Day and the final day of the season saw all sixteen teams play, the previous being in 1931. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 9.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Bucky Harris |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Lew Fonseca |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Jimmy Dykes |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park | 21,414 | Walter Johnson |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 30,000 | Mickey Cochrane |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 62,000 | Joe McCarthy |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Rogers Hornsby |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 32,000 | Joe Cronin |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 46,500 | Bill McKechnie |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 32,000 | Casey Stengel |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 40,000 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 26,060 | Bob O'Farrell |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 26,060 | Burt Shotton |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 26,060 | Chuck Dressen |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 56,000 | Bill Terry |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Baker Bowl | 18,800 | Jimmie Wilson |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 41,000 | George Gibson |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 41,000 | Pie Traynor |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Frankie Frisch |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 54‍–‍26 | 47‍–‍27 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 60 | .610 | 7 | 53‍–‍24 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Cleveland Indians | 85 | 69 | .552 | 16 | 47‍–‍31 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 76 | .500 | 24 | 42‍–‍35 | 34‍–‍41 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 68 | 82 | .453 | 31 | 34‍–‍40 | 34‍–‍42 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 85 | .441 | 33 | 36‍–‍39 | 31‍–‍46 |
| Washington Senators | 66 | 86 | .434 | 34 | 34‍–‍40 | 32‍–‍46 |
| Chicago White Sox | 53 | 99 | .349 | 47 | 29‍–‍46 | 24‍–‍53 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 58 | .621 | — | 48‍–‍29 | 47‍–‍29 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 60 | .608 | 2 | 49‍–‍26 | 44‍–‍34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 86 | 65 | .570 | 8 | 47‍–‍30 | 39‍–‍35 |
| Boston Braves | 78 | 73 | .517 | 16 | 40‍–‍35 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 74 | 76 | .493 | 19½ | 45‍–‍32 | 29‍–‍44 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 71 | 81 | .467 | 23½ | 43‍–‍33 | 28‍–‍48 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | 93 | .376 | 37 | 35‍–‍36 | 21‍–‍57 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | 99 | .344 | 42 | 30‍–‍47 | 22‍–‍52 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Detroit Tigers | 3 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Red Sox | Marty McManus | Bucky Harris |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Max Carey | Casey Stengel |
| Cincinnati Reds | Donie Bush | Bob O'Farrell |
| Detroit Tigers | Del Baker | Mickey Cochrane |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Burt Shotton | Jimmie Wilson |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Chicago White Sox | Lew Fonseca | Jimmy Dykes |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bob O'Farrell | Burt Shotton |
| Cincinnati Reds | Burt Shotton | Chuck Dressen |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | George Gibson | Pie Traynor |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Lou Gehrig$^1$ (NYY) | .363 |
| OPS | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 1.172 |
| HR | Lou Gehrig$^1$ (NYY) | 49 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig$^1$ (NYY) | 166 |
| R | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 135 |
| H | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 214 |
| SB | Billy Werber (BRS) | 40 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown batting winner
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lefty Gomez$^2$ (NYY) | 26 |
| L | Bobo Newsom (SLB) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Gomez$^2$ (NYY) | 2.33 |
| K | Lefty Gomez$^2$ (NYY) | 158 |
| IP | Lefty Gomez (NYY) | 281.2 |
| SV | Jack Russell (WSH) | 8 |
| WHIP | Lefty Gomez (NYY) | 1.133 |
$^2$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Paul Waner (PIT) | .362 |
| OPS | Ripper Collins (SLC) | 1.008 |
| HR | Ripper Collins (SLC) Mel Ott (NYG) | 35 |
| RBI | Mel Ott (NYG) | 135 |
| R | Paul Waner (PIT) | 122 |
| H | Paul Waner (PIT) | 217 |
| SB | Pepper Martin (SLC) | 23 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Dizzy Dean (SLC) | 30 |
| L | Si Johnson (CIN) | 22 |
| ERA | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 2.30 |
| K | Dizzy Dean (SLC) | 195 |
| IP | Van Mungo (BKN) | 315.1 |
| SV | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 8 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.032 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Dizzy Dean (SLC) | Mickey Cochrane (DET) |
The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Dizzy Dean (SLC) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 34.7% | 919,161 | 186.4% | 11,490 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 3.3% | 854,682 | 17.4% | 11,100 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 2.2% | 730,851 | 20.9% | 9,745 |
| Chicago Cubs | 86 | 0.0% | 707,525 | 19.1% | 9,189 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 20.6% | 610,640 | 127.2% | 7,930 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 71 | 9.2% | 434,188 | −17.6% | 5,639 |
| Cleveland Indians | 85 | 13.3% | 391,338 | 0.9% | 5,017 |
| Washington Senators | 66 | −33.3% | 330,074 | −24.6% | 4,343 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 15.9% | 325,056 | 26.9% | 4,222 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 74 | −14.9% | 322,622 | 11.7% | 4,136 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 68 | −13.9% | 305,847 | 2.9% | 4,024 |
| Boston Braves | 78 | −6.0% | 303,205 | −41.4% | 4,043 |
| Chicago White Sox | 53 | −20.9% | 236,559 | −40.5% | 3,154 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | −10.3% | 206,773 | −5.3% | 2,651 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | −6.7% | 169,885 | 8.6% | 2,393 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 21.8% | 115,305 | 30.9% | 1,517 |

## Events

* June 6 – Myril Hoag of the New York Yankees hits six singles against the Boston Red Sox.
* June 9 – In the eighth inning of their game against the Boston Red Sox, the Washington Senators hit 5 consecutive doubles – the most ever hit consecutively in an inning.
* July 8 – In the course of the Philadelphia Athletics–Boston Red Sox game, Athletics player Bob Johnson hits a fly ball off Red Sox pitcher Hank Johnson, which is caught by center fielder Roy Johnson
* July 10 – At the All-Star Game held at the Polo Grounds in New York City, New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell strikes out five consecutive American League batters. These batters are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin: all future Hall-of-Famers.