# 1918 Major League Baseball season

The 1918 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1918. The regular season ended earlier than originally scheduled, September 2, because of a reduced schedule due to American participation in World War I. The National League and American League champions were the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 15th World Series on September 5 and ended with Game 6 on September 11. The Red Sox defeated the Cubs, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1916. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Chicago White Sox from the 1917 season.

## Schedule
### Scheduled start

American League Opening Day took place on April 15 with four American League teams playing, the Philadelphia Athletics at Boston Red Sox, and the New York Yankees at Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day saw all eight teams play the following day. It was the first season since 1906 which saw the two leagues open on different days.

### Shortened season

With World War I ongoing, a "work or fight" mandate was issued by the government, requiring men with non-essential jobs to enlist or take war-related jobs by July 1, or else risk being drafted. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker granted an extension to MLB players through Labor Day, September 2. In early August, MLB clubs decided that the regular season would end at that time. As a result, the number of regular-season games that each team played varied—123 to 130 for AL teams and 124 to 131 for NL teams, including ties—reduced from their original 154-game schedules. The final day of the regular season would see all teams but the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns play. Later in August, Baker granted a further extension to allow for the World Series to be contested; it began on September 5 and ended on September 11. World War I would end two months later, with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,000 | Ed Barrow |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 28,000 | Pants Rowland |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park | 21,414 | Lee Fohl |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 23,000 | Hughie Jennings |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Brush Stadium | 36,000 | Miller Huggins |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 23,000 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 18,000 | Fielder Jones |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 18,000 | Jimmy Austin |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 18,000 | Jimmy Burke |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 27,000 | Clark Griffith |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 40,000 | George Stallings |
| National League | Brooklyn Robins | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 30,000 | Wilbert Robinson |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Weeghman Park | 15,000 | Fred Mitchell |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Redland Field | 20,696 | Christy Mathewson |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Redland Field | 20,696 | Heinie Groh |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Brush Stadium | 36,000 | John McGraw |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Pat Moran |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 25,000 | Hugo Bezdek |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Robison Field | 21,000 | Jack Hendricks |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 51 | .595 | — | 49‍–‍21 | 26‍–‍30 |
| Cleveland Indians | 73 | 54 | .575 | 2½ | 38‍–‍22 | 35‍–‍32 |
| Washington Senators | 72 | 56 | .562 | 4 | 41‍–‍32 | 31‍–‍24 |
| New York Yankees | 60 | 63 | .488 | 13½ | 37‍–‍29 | 23‍–‍34 |
| St. Louis Browns | 58 | 64 | .475 | 15 | 23‍–‍30 | 35‍–‍34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 57 | 67 | .460 | 17 | 30‍–‍26 | 27‍–‍41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 55 | 71 | .437 | 20 | 28‍–‍29 | 27‍–‍42 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 52 | 76 | .406 | 24 | 35‍–‍32 | 17‍–‍44 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 45 | .651 | — | 49‍–‍25 | 35‍–‍20 |
| New York Giants | 71 | 53 | .573 | 10½ | 35‍–‍21 | 36‍–‍32 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 68 | 60 | .531 | 15½ | 46‍–‍24 | 22‍–‍36 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65 | 60 | .520 | 17 | 42‍–‍28 | 23‍–‍32 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 57 | 69 | .452 | 25½ | 33‍–‍21 | 24‍–‍48 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | 68 | .447 | 26 | 27‍–‍29 | 28‍–‍39 |
| Boston Braves | 53 | 71 | .427 | 28½ | 23‍–‍29 | 30‍–‍42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 51 | 78 | .395 | 33 | 32‍–‍40 | 19‍–‍38 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 4 |
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 2 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Red Sox | Jack Barry | Ed Barrow |
| New York Yankees | Bill Donovan | Miller Huggins |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Miller Huggins | Jack Hendricks |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cincinnati Reds | Christy Mathewson | Heinie Groh |
| St. Louis Browns | Fielder Jones | Jimmy Austin |
| St. Louis Browns | Jimmy Austin | Jimmy Burke |

## League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ty Cobb (DET) | .382 |
| OPS | Babe Ruth (BRS) | .966 |
| HR | Babe Ruth (BRS) Tillie Walker (PHA) | 11 |
| RBI | Bobby Veach (DET) | 84 |
| R | Ray Chapman (CLE) | 84 |
| H | George Burns (PHA) | 178 |
| SB | George Sisler (SLB) | 45 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Walter Johnson$^1$ (WSH) | 23 |
| L | Eddie Cicotte (CWS) Scott Perry (PHA) | 19 |
| ERA | Walter Johnson$^1$ (WSH) | 1.27 |
| K | Walter Johnson$^1$ (WSH) | 162 |
| IP | Scott Perry (PHA) | 332.1 |
| SV | George Mogridge (NYY) | 7 |
| WHIP | Walter Johnson (WSH) | 0.954 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Zack Wheat (BKN) | .335 |
| OPS | Edd Roush (CIN) | .823 |
| HR | Gavvy Cravath (PHP) | 8 |
| RBI | Sherry Magee (CIN) | 76 |
| R | Heinie Groh (CIN) | 86 |
| H | Charlie Hollocher (CHC) | 161 |
| SB | Max Carey (PIT) | 58 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Hippo Vaughn$^2$ (CHC) | 22 |
| L | Rube Marquard (BKN) Joe Oeschger (PHP) | 18 |
| ERA | Hippo Vaughn$^2$ (CHC) | 1.74 |
| K | Hippo Vaughn$^2$ (CHC) | 148 |
| IP | Hippo Vaughn (CHC) | 290.1 |
| SV | Fred Anderson (NYG) Wilbur Cooper (PIT) Joe Oeschger (PHP) Fred Toney (NYG/CIN) | 3 |
| WHIP | Hippo Vaughn (CHC) | 1.006 |
$^2$ National League Triple Crown pitching winner

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 13.5% | 337,256 | −6.4% | 4,558 |
| Cleveland Indians | 73 | −17.0% | 295,515 | −38.1% | 4,766 |
| New York Yankees | 60 | −15.5% | 282,047 | −14.6% | 4,210 |
| New York Giants | 71 | −27.6% | 256,618 | −48.7% | 4,582 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | −16.7% | 249,513 | −35.7% | 3,564 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65 | 27.5% | 213,610 | 10.8% | 3,009 |
| Detroit Tigers | 55 | −29.5% | 203,719 | −55.5% | 3,512 |
| Chicago White Sox | 57 | −43.0% | 195,081 | −71.5% | 3,484 |
| Washington Senators | 72 | −2.7% | 182,122 | 103.1% | 2,461 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 52 | −5.5% | 177,926 | −19.6% | 2,617 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 68 | −12.8% | 163,009 | −39.4% | 2,296 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | −36.8% | 122,266 | −65.5% | 2,145 |
| St. Louis Browns | 58 | 1.8% | 122,076 | −42.0% | 2,303 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 51 | −37.8% | 110,599 | −61.7% | 1,515 |
| Boston Braves | 53 | −26.4% | 84,938 | −51.3% | 1,633 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 57 | −18.6% | 83,831 | −62.2% | 1,552 |

## Notable events

* September 2 – In the last game of the season, against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers centerfielder Ty Cobb fields at third base and also pitches, yielding three hits and one run in two innings.