# 1943 Major League Baseball season

The 1943 major league baseball season began on April 20, 1943. The regular season ended on October 3, 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 40th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 5 on October 11. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Cardinals, four games to one, capturing their tenth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1941. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the St. Louis Cardinals from the 1942 season.
The 11th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 13 at the Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Philadelphia Athletics. The American League won, 5–3. This was also the first All-Star Game held at night.
In order to conserve rail transport during World War II, the 1943 spring training sites was limited to an area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. Spring training sites included the Chicago White Sox in French Lick, Indiana; the Washington Senators in College Park, Maryland; and the Yankees in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

## Schedule

The 1943 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 20 with a game between the Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place on the following day, featuring four teams. This was the first season since 1941 that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on October 3, which saw all sixteen teams play, also the first time since 1941. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 11.

## Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Joe Cronin |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 50,000 | Jimmy Dykes |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Stadium | 78,811 | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park* | 22,500* | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Steve O'Neill |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 70,000 | 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 | Luke Sewell |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 32,000 | Ossie Bluege |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,746 | Casey Stengel |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,746 | Bob Coleman |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 35,000 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,396 | Jimmie Wilson |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,401 | Bill McKechnie |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 56,000 | Mel Ott |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Bucky Harris |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Freddie Fitzsimmons |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,467 | Frankie Frisch |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Billy Southworth |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 98 | 56 | .636 | — | 54‍–‍23 | 44‍–‍33 |
| Washington Senators | 84 | 69 | .549 | 13½ | 44‍–‍32 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Cleveland Indians | 82 | 71 | .536 | 15½ | 44‍–‍33 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 16 | 40‍–‍36 | 42‍–‍36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | 76 | .506 | 20 | 45‍–‍32 | 33‍–‍44 |
| St. Louis Browns | 72 | 80 | .474 | 25 | 44‍–‍33 | 28‍–‍47 |
| Boston Red Sox | 68 | 84 | .447 | 29 | 39‍–‍36 | 29‍–‍48 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 49 | 105 | .318 | 49 | 27‍–‍51 | 22‍–‍54 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | 49 | .682 | — | 58‍–‍21 | 47‍–‍28 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 67 | .565 | 18 | 48‍–‍29 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 81 | 72 | .529 | 23½ | 46‍–‍31 | 35‍–‍41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 74 | .519 | 25 | 47‍–‍30 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 79 | .484 | 30½ | 36‍–‍38 | 38‍–‍41 |
| Boston Braves | 68 | 85 | .444 | 36½ | 38‍–‍39 | 30‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | 90 | .416 | 41 | 33‍–‍43 | 31‍–‍47 |
| New York Giants | 55 | 98 | .359 | 49½ | 34‍–‍43 | 21‍–‍55 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 1 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Detroit Tigers | Del Baker | Steve O'Neill |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Hans Lobert | Bucky Harris |
| Washington Senators | Bucky Harris | Ossie Bluege |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Casey Stengel | Bob Coleman |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Bucky Harris | Freddie Fitzsimmons |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Luke Appling (CWS) | .328 |
| OPS | Charlie Keller (NYY) | .922 |
| HR | Rudy York (DET) | 34 |
| RBI | Rudy York (DET) | 118 |
| R | George Case (WSH) | 102 |
| H | Dick Wakefield (DET) | 200 |
| SB | George Case (WSH) | 61 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Spud Chandler (NYY) Dizzy Trout (DET) | 20 |
| L | Lum Harris (PHA) | 21 |
| ERA | Spud Chandler (NYY) | 1.64 |
| K | Allie Reynolds (CLE) | 151 |
| IP | Jim Bagby (CLE) | 273.0 |
| SV | Gordon Maltzberger (CWS) | 14 |
| WHIP | Spud Chandler (NYY) | 0.992 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Stan Musial (SLC) | .357 |
| OPS | Stan Musial (SLC) | .988 |
| HR | Bill Nicholson (CHC) | 29 |
| RBI | Bill Nicholson (CHC) | 128 |
| R | Arky Vaughan (BKN) | 112 |
| H | Stan Musial (SLC) | 220 |
| SB | Arky Vaughan (BKN) | 20 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Mort Cooper (SLC) Elmer Riddle (CIN) Rip Sewell (PIT) | 21 |
| L | Nate Andrews (BSB) | 20 |
| ERA | Max Lanier (SLC) | 1.90 |
| K | Johnny Vander Meer (CIN) | 174 |
| IP | Al Javery (BSB) | 303.0 |
| SV | Les Webber (BKN) | 10 |
| WHIP | Whit Wyatt (BKN) | 1.007 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Stan Musial (SLC) | Spud Chandler (NYY) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Stan Musial (SLC) | Spud Chandler (NYY) |
| Player of the Year | — | Spud Chandler (NYY) |
| Manager of the Year | — | Joe McCarthy (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year | — | Clark Griffith (WSH) |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 81 | −22.1% | 661,739 | −36.2% | 8,594 |
| New York Yankees | 98 | −4.9% | 618,330 | −32.9% | 8,030 |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | 6.8% | 606,287 | 4.5% | 7,773 |
| Washington Senators | 84 | 35.5% | 574,694 | 42.4% | 7,562 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | −0.9% | 517,135 | −6.6% | 6,384 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | 24.2% | 508,962 | 19.5% | 6,697 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 8.8% | 508,247 | −14.0% | 6,777 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 21.2% | 498,740 | 11.1% | 6,394 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | 52.4% | 466,975 | 102.9% | 5,987 |
| New York Giants | 55 | −35.3% | 466,095 | −40.2% | 6,053 |
| Cleveland Indians | 82 | 9.3% | 438,894 | −4.5% | 5,700 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 14.5% | 379,122 | −11.2% | 4,861 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 49 | −10.9% | 376,735 | −11.0% | 4,769 |
| Boston Red Sox | 68 | −26.9% | 358,275 | −50.9% | 4,653 |
| Boston Braves | 68 | 15.3% | 271,289 | −4.9% | 3,523 |
| St. Louis Browns | 72 | −12.2% | 214,392 | −16.1% | 2,784 |