# 1930 Major League Baseball season

The 1930 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1930. The regular season ended on September 28, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Athletics as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 27th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 6 on October 8. The Athletics defeated the Cardinals, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, winning back-to-back World Series.
Offense dominated this season. The National League batted .303, with six teams batting better than .300. The American League came in at .288, with three teams batting over .300.

## Schedule

The 1930 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 14 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 28, which saw all sixteen teams play on the final day for the first time. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 8.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Heinie Wagner |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Donie Bush |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park | 21,414 | Roger Peckinpaugh |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 30,000 | Bucky Harris |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 62,000 | Bob Shawkey |
| 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 | Bill Killefer |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 27,000 | Walter Johnson |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 46,500 | Bill McKechnie |
| 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 | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 40,000 | Rogers Hornsby |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Redland Field | 26,060 | Dan Howley |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 56,000 | John McGraw |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Baker Bowl | 18,800 | Burt Shotton |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 41,000 | Jewel Ens |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Gabby Street |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 102 | 52 | .662 | — | 58‍–‍18 | 44‍–‍34 |
| Washington Senators | 94 | 60 | .610 | 8 | 56‍–‍21 | 38‍–‍39 |
| New York Yankees | 86 | 68 | .558 | 16 | 47‍–‍29 | 39‍–‍39 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 73 | .526 | 21 | 44‍–‍33 | 37‍–‍40 |
| Detroit Tigers | 75 | 79 | .487 | 27 | 45‍–‍33 | 30‍–‍46 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | 90 | .416 | 38 | 38‍–‍40 | 26‍–‍50 |
| Chicago White Sox | 62 | 92 | .403 | 40 | 34‍–‍44 | 28‍–‍48 |
| Boston Red Sox | 52 | 102 | .338 | 50 | 30‍–‍46 | 22‍–‍56 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 62 | .597 | — | 53‍–‍24 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 90 | 64 | .584 | 2 | 51‍–‍26 | 39‍–‍38 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 67 | .565 | 5 | 46‍–‍31 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 86 | 68 | .558 | 6 | 49‍–‍28 | 37‍–‍40 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 74 | .519 | 12 | 42‍–‍35 | 38‍–‍39 |
| Boston Braves | 70 | 84 | .455 | 22 | 39‍–‍38 | 31‍–‍46 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 59 | 95 | .383 | 33 | 37‍–‍40 | 22‍–‍55 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 52 | 102 | .338 | 40 | 35‍–‍42 | 17‍–‍60 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 4 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 2 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Emil Fuchs | Bill McKechnie |
| Boston Red Sox | Bill Carrigan | Heinie Wagner |
| Chicago White Sox | Lena Blackburne | Donie Bush |
| Cincinnati Reds | Jack Hendricks | Dan Howley |
| New York Yankees | Art Fletcher | Bob Shawkey |
| St. Louis Browns | Dan Howley | Bill Killefer |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Bill McKechnie | Gabby Street |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Chicago Cubs | Joe McCarthy | Rogers Hornsby |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Al Simmons (PHA) | .381 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.225 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 49 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 173 |
| R | Al Simmons (PHA) | 152 |
| H | Johnny Hodapp (CLE) | 225 |
| SB | Marty McManus (DET) | 23 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 28 |
| L | Milt Gaston (BRS) Jack Russell (BRS) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 2.54 |
| K | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 209 |
| IP | Ted Lyons (CWS) | 297.2 |
| SV | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 9 |
| WHIP | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 1.144 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Bill Terry (NYG) | .401 |
| OPS | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 1.177 |
| HR | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 56 |
| RBI | Hack Wilson$^2$ (CHC) | 191 |
| R | Chuck Klein (PHP) | 158 |
| H | Bill Terry (NYG) | 254 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 37 |
$^2$ All-time single-season runs batted in record
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Ray Kremer (PIT) Pat Malone (CHC) | 20 |
| L | Larry French (PIT) Benny Frey (CIN) | 18 |
| ERA | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 2.61 |
| K | Bill Hallahan (SLC) | 177 |
| IP | Ray Kremer (PIT) | 276.0 |
| SV | Herman Bell (SLC) | 8 |
| WHIP | Dazzy Vance (BKN) | 1.144 |

## Awards and honors

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Bill Terry (NYG) | Joe Cronin (WSH) |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Cubs | 90 | −8.2% | 1,463,624 | −1.5% | 18,527 |
| New York Yankees | 86 | −2.3% | 1,169,230 | 21.8% | 15,385 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 86 | 22.9% | 1,097,329 | 49.9% | 14,251 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 3.6% | 868,714 | 0.0% | 11,282 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 102 | −1.9% | 721,663 | −14.0% | 9,496 |
| Detroit Tigers | 75 | 7.1% | 649,450 | −25.3% | 8,326 |
| Washington Senators | 94 | 32.4% | 614,474 | 72.8% | 7,980 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 0.0% | 528,657 | −1.4% | 6,866 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 17.9% | 508,501 | 27.2% | 6,604 |
| Boston Braves | 70 | 25.0% | 464,835 | 24.8% | 6,037 |
| Boston Red Sox | 52 | −10.3% | 444,045 | 12.5% | 5,843 |
| Chicago White Sox | 62 | 5.1% | 406,123 | −4.8% | 5,207 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 59 | −10.6% | 386,727 | 31.1% | 5,022 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | −9.1% | 357,795 | −27.2% | 4,647 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 52 | −26.8% | 299,007 | 6.3% | 3,883 |
| St. Louis Browns | 64 | −19.0% | 152,088 | −45.8% | 1,950 |

## Events

* On consecutive days in July 1930, the Philadelphia Phillies managed to score 15 runs in a game but were losers in both games. On July 23, the Phillies lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 16–15, and on July 24, they lost to the Chicago Cubs 19–15. The July 24 game still holds the record for the most runs scored in a game without a home run.