# 1931 Major League Baseball season

The 1931 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1931. The regular season ended on September 27, 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 28th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Cardinals defeated the Athletics, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1926. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Philadelphia Athletics from the 1930 season.
This was the first season that the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) selected a Most Valuable Player in each league.

## Schedule

The 1931 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 14, featured all sixteen teams, the first time since the 1926 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27, which also saw all sixteen teams play on the final day continuing the trend which began the previous season. This was the first time that both Opening Day and the final day of the season saw all sixteen teams play. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 10.

## Rule changes

The 1931 season saw the following rule changes:
* The National League implements the ground rule double rule, which states that balls that bounce over the fence entitle the batter to two bases. The rule was previously implemented by the American League in 1929.
* The American League adopted the early-1920 rule that when calling home runs, balls are to be called based on where the ball crosses the outfield fence, no matter if the ball lands in the stands or leaves the ballpark. The National League previously implemented this rule in 1929.
* The rule previously implemented in 1926, that a sacrifice hit was awarded when any base runner advanced on a fly out, was eliminated.
* Regulations referring to a batter contacting his own ball were clarified as was the area of bases awarded a batter when a defensive player threw his glove at a batted or thrown ball or in the case of spectator interference.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Shano Collins |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 107 | 45 | .704 | — | 60‍–‍15 | 47‍–‍30 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 59 | .614 | 13½ | 51‍–‍25 | 43‍–‍34 |
| Washington Senators | 92 | 62 | .597 | 16 | 55‍–‍22 | 37‍–‍40 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 76 | .506 | 30 | 45‍–‍31 | 33‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 63 | 91 | .409 | 45 | 39‍–‍38 | 24‍–‍53 |
| Boston Red Sox | 62 | 90 | .408 | 45 | 39‍–‍40 | 23‍–‍50 |
| Detroit Tigers | 61 | 93 | .396 | 47 | 36‍–‍41 | 25‍–‍52 |
| Chicago White Sox | 56 | 97 | .366 | 51½ | 31‍–‍45 | 25‍–‍52 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 53 | .656 | — | 54‍–‍24 | 47‍–‍29 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 65 | .572 | 13 | 50‍–‍27 | 37‍–‍38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 70 | .545 | 17 | 50‍–‍27 | 34‍–‍43 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 79 | 73 | .520 | 21 | 46‍–‍29 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | 79 | .487 | 26 | 44‍–‍33 | 31‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 88 | .429 | 35 | 40‍–‍36 | 26‍–‍52 |
| Boston Braves | 64 | 90 | .416 | 37 | 36‍–‍41 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 58 | 96 | .377 | 43 | 38‍–‍39 | 20‍–‍57 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 3 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Red Sox | Heinie Wagner | Shano Collins |
| New York Yankees | Bob Shawkey | Joe McCarthy |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Al Simmons (PHA) | .390 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (NYY) | 1.195 |
| HR | Lou Gehrig (NYY) Babe Ruth (NYY) | 46 |
| RBI | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 185 |
| R | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 163 |
| H | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 211 |
| SB | Ben Chapman (NYY) | 61 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 31 |
| L | Pat Caraway (CWS) Sam Gray (SLB) | 24 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 2.06 |
| K | Lefty Grove$^1$ (PHA) | 175 |
| IP | Rube Walberg (PHA) | 291.0 |
| SV | Firpo Marberry (WSH) Wilcy Moore (BRS) | 8 |
| WHIP | Lefty Grove (PHA) | 1.077 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Chick Hafey (SLC) | .349 |
| OPS | Rogers Hornsby (CHC) | .996 |
| HR | Chuck Klein (PHP) | 31 |
| RBI | Chuck Klein (PHP) | 121 |
| R | Chuck Klein (PHP) Bill Terry (NYG) | 121 |
| H | Lloyd Waner (PIT) | 214 |
| SB | Frankie Frisch (SLC) | 28 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jumbo Elliott (PHP) Bill Hallahan (SLC) Heinie Meine (PIT) | 19 |
| L | Si Johnson (CIN) | 19 |
| ERA | Bill Walker (NYG) | 2.26 |
| K | Bill Hallahan (SLC) | 159 |
| IP | Heinie Meine (PIT) | 284.0 |
| SV | Jack Quinn (BKN) | 13 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.121 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Frankie Frisch (SLC) | Lefty Grove (PHA) |
The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Chuck Klein (PHP) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | −6.7% | 1,086,422 | −25.8% | 14,109 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 9.3% | 912,437 | −22.0% | 11,850 |
| New York Giants | 87 | 0.0% | 812,163 | −6.5% | 10,412 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 79 | −8.1% | 753,133 | −31.4% | 9,910 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 107 | 4.9% | 627,464 | −13.1% | 8,366 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 9.8% | 608,535 | 19.7% | 7,802 |
| Boston Braves | 64 | −8.6% | 515,005 | 10.8% | 6,603 |
| Washington Senators | 92 | −2.1% | 492,657 | −19.8% | 6,236 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | −3.7% | 483,027 | −8.6% | 6,356 |
| Detroit Tigers | 61 | −18.7% | 434,056 | −33.2% | 5,637 |
| Chicago White Sox | 56 | −9.7% | 403,550 | −0.6% | 5,241 |
| Boston Red Sox | 62 | 19.2% | 350,975 | −21.0% | 4,387 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 26.9% | 284,849 | −4.7% | 3,748 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 58 | −1.7% | 263,316 | −31.9% | 3,420 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 75 | −6.3% | 260,392 | −27.2% | 3,338 |
| St. Louis Browns | 63 | −1.6% | 179,126 | 17.8% | 2,326 |

## Events

* July 12 – the Chicago Cubs–St. Louis doubleheader has 33 doubles. Due to the large crowd spilling onto the field, any ball hit into them is a ground-rule double.
* August 29 – Facing Cincinnati Reds pitcher Si Johnson in his second at bat in the major leagues, Chicago Cubs player Billy Herman hits Johnson's pitch, which ricochets off the bat and hits Herman in the head, knocking him out.