# 1929 Major League Baseball season

The 1929 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1929. The regular season ended on October 6, with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Athletics as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 26th World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 5 on October 14. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Athletics defeated the Cubs, four games to one, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1913. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1928 season.
Babe Ruth hit his 500th career home run this season on August 11 at Cleveland. Game 4 of the World Series featured a historic 10-run rally by the Athletics, nicknamed "The Mack Attack," after the team's manager, Connie Mack.
This was the last of eight seasons that "League Awards", a precursor to the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (introduced in 1931), were issued. Only a National League award was given in 1929.

## Schedule

The 1929 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 took place on April 16 and saw eight teams across both leagues play. The final day of the regular season was on October 6. The World Series took place between October 8 and October 14.

## Rule changes

The 1929 season saw the following rule changes:
* For all ballparks, foul poles must be constructed to be at least 25 feet above the outer barrier, to aid umpires in calling balls fair or foul. The poles were to be constructed either on top of the grandstand roof, or the outer fence of the ballpark. This was coupled with the home run rule, the interpretation of which follows the early-1920 rule, which states that balls are to be called based on where the ball crosses the outfield fence. This rule now accounts for all balls which leave the ballpark, including those which completely leave the ballpark. The American League would implement this home run rule in 1931.
* The American League implements the ground rule double rule, which states that balls that bounce over the fence entitle the batter to two bases. The rule would be implemented by the National League in 1931.
* The Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees are the first teams to make uniform numbers on the back of the jersey permanent. In the past teams, such as the St Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians, had experimented with numbers before, but only on the sleeves and only for a few weeks.

## 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 | Lena Blackburne |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Dunn Field | 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 | Miller Huggins |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 62,000 | Art Fletcher |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 30,000 | 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 | Walter Johnson |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 46,500 | Emil Fuchs |
| 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 | 20,000 | Burt Shotton |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 41,000 | Donie Bush |
| 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 | Billy Southworth |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Gabby Street |
| 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 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 104 | 46 | .693 | — | 57‍–‍16 | 47‍–‍30 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | 66 | .571 | 18 | 49‍–‍28 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 71 | .533 | 24 | 44‍–‍32 | 37‍–‍39 |
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | 73 | .520 | 26 | 41‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍37 |
| Washington Senators | 71 | 81 | .467 | 34 | 37‍–‍40 | 34‍–‍41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 70 | 84 | .455 | 36 | 38‍–‍39 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Chicago White Sox | 59 | 93 | .388 | 46 | 35‍–‍41 | 24‍–‍52 |
| Boston Red Sox | 58 | 96 | .377 | 48 | 32‍–‍45 | 26‍–‍51 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 98 | 54 | .645 | — | 52‍–‍25 | 46‍–‍29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 65 | .575 | 10½ | 45‍–‍31 | 43‍–‍34 |
| New York Giants | 84 | 67 | .556 | 13½ | 39‍–‍37 | 45‍–‍30 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 78 | 74 | .513 | 20 | 43‍–‍32 | 35‍–‍42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 82 | .464 | 27½ | 39‍–‍37 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 70 | 83 | .458 | 28½ | 42‍–‍35 | 28‍–‍48 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 88 | .429 | 33 | 38‍–‍39 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Boston Braves | 56 | 98 | .364 | 43 | 34‍–‍43 | 22‍–‍55 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 4 |
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 1 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Rogers Hornsby | Emil Fuchs |
| Detroit Tigers | George Moriarty | Bucky Harris |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Bill McKechnie | Billy Southworth |
| Washington Senators | Bucky Harris | Walter Johnson |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| New York Yankees | Miller Huggins | Art Fletcher |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Donie Bush | Jewel Ens |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Billy Southworth | Gabby Street |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Gabby Street | Bill McKechnie |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Lew Fonseca (CLE) | .369 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.128 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 46 |
| RBI | Al Simmons (PHA) | 157 |
| R | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 131 |
| H | Dale Alexander (DET) Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 215 |
| SB | Charlie Gehringer (DET) | 27 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | George Earnshaw (PHA) | 24 |
| L | Red Ruffing (BRS) | 22 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 2.81 |
| K | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 170 |
| IP | Sam Gray (SLB) | 305.0 |
| SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) Wilcy Moore (NYY) | 9 |
| WHIP | Firpo Marberry (WSH) | 1.206 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Lefty O'Doul (PHP) | .398 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | 1.139 |
| HR | Chuck Klein (PHP) | 43 |
| RBI | Hack Wilson (CHC) | 159 |
| R | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | 156 |
| H | Lefty O'Doul (PHP) | 254 |
| SB | Kiki Cuyler (CHC) | 43 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Pat Malone (CHC) | 22 |
| L | Watson Clark (BKN) | 19 |
| ERA | Bill Walker (NYG) | 3.09 |
| K | Pat Malone (CHC) | 166 |
| IP | Watson Clark (BKN) | 279.0 |
| SV | Guy Bush (CHC) Johnny Morrison (BKN) | 8 |
| WHIP | Red Lucas (CIN) | 1.204 |

## Awards and honors

* League Award: Rogers Hornsby (CHC)
* The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award: Al Simmons (PHA)

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Cubs | 98 | 7.7% | 1,485,166 | 29.9% | 19,041 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | −12.9% | 960,148 | −10.4% | 12,469 |
| Detroit Tigers | 70 | 2.9% | 869,318 | 83.3% | 11,290 |
| New York Giants | 84 | −9.7% | 868,806 | −5.2% | 11,283 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 104 | 6.1% | 839,176 | 21.7% | 11,340 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 70 | −9.1% | 731,886 | 10.1% | 9,505 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 30.6% | 536,210 | 42.6% | 7,055 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 3.5% | 491,377 | −0.7% | 6,465 |
| Chicago White Sox | 59 | −18.1% | 426,795 | −13.6% | 5,616 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 78 | −17.9% | 399,887 | −47.5% | 5,193 |
| Boston Red Sox | 58 | 1.8% | 394,620 | −0.6% | 5,059 |
| Boston Braves | 56 | 12.0% | 372,351 | 64.0% | 4,836 |
| Washington Senators | 71 | −5.3% | 355,506 | −6.1% | 4,558 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | −15.4% | 295,040 | −39.8% | 3,783 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 65.1% | 281,200 | 54.4% | 3,700 |
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | −3.7% | 280,697 | −17.3% | 3,645 |

## Key events

* Babe Ruth: On August 11, Babe Ruth became the first player to hit 500 home runs.
* Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago Cubs: First season since 1912 that both pennant winners won by more than 10 games.
* Philadelphia Athletics: On October 12, during Game 4 of the World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics scored ten runs in the seventh inning to come back from an 8–0 deficit. This was soon dubbed "The Mack Attack," after long-time manager Connie Mack. He commented that it was "The greatest thrill [he] had in 29 years of managing." At the time, this was a record.

## Deaths

* Miller Huggins, the Yankees manager, died of blood poisoning on September 25.