# 1940 Major League Baseball season

The 1940 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1940. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 37th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 8. The Reds defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1919. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1939 season.
The eighth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 9 at Sportsman's Park in [[St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the St. Louis Cardinals. The National League won, 4–0.

## Schedule

The 1940 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 16, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1936 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 29, which also saw all sixteen teams play, the first since the 1938 season. This was the first time since 1934 that all sixteen teams that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 8.

## Rule change

The 1940 season saw the following rule change:
* The scoring sacrifice fly, exempting a batter from a time at bat when a runner scored after the putout on a fly ball, was eliminated after being re-implemented the previous season. The sacrifice fly would be reimplemented in 1954.

## 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 | Ossie Vitt |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park* | 22,500* | Ossie Vitt |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Del Baker |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 71,699 | 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 | Fred Haney |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 32,000 | Bucky Harris |
| National League | Boston Bees | Boston, Massachusetts | National League Park | 45,000 | Casey Stengel |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 35,000 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,000 | Gabby Hartnett |
| 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 | Bill Terry |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Doc Prothro |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,537 | Frankie Frisch |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Ray Blades |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Mike González |
| 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 |
| Detroit Tigers | 90 | 64 | .584 | — | 50‍–‍29 | 40‍–‍35 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 1 | 51‍–‍30 | 38‍–‍35 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | 66 | .571 | 2 | 52‍–‍24 | 36‍–‍42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 8 | 45‍–‍34 | 37‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 8 | 41‍–‍36 | 41‍–‍36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 87 | .435 | 23 | 37‍–‍39 | 30‍–‍48 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 26 | 36‍–‍41 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 54 | 100 | .351 | 36 | 29‍–‍42 | 25‍–‍58 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 100 | 53 | .654 | — | 55‍–‍21 | 45‍–‍32 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 88 | 65 | .575 | 12 | 41‍–‍37 | 47‍–‍28 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | 69 | .549 | 16 | 41‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 76 | .506 | 22½ | 40‍–‍34 | 38‍–‍42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | 79 | .487 | 25½ | 40‍–‍37 | 35‍–‍42 |
| New York Giants | 72 | 80 | .474 | 27½ | 33‍–‍43 | 39‍–‍37 |
| Boston Bees | 65 | 87 | .428 | 34½ | 35‍–‍40 | 30‍–‍47 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 50 | 103 | .327 | 50 | 24‍–‍55 | 26‍–‍48 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Detroit Tigers | 3 |
| NL | Cincinnati Reds | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Earle Mack | Connie Mack |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Pie Traynor | Frankie Frisch |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Ray Blades | Mike González |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Mike González | Billy Southworth |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) | .352 |
| OPS | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 1.103 |
| HR | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 41 |
| RBI | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 150 |
| R | Ted Williams (BRS) | 134 |
| H | Doc Cramer (BRS) Barney McCosky (DET) Rip Radcliff (SLB) | 200 |
| SB | George Case (WSH) | 35 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Bob Feller$^1$ (CLE) | 27 |
| L | George Caster (PHA) Dutch Leonard (WSH) | 19 |
| ERA | Bob Feller$^1$ (CLE) | 2.61 |
| K | Bob Feller$^1$ (CLE) | 261 |
| IP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 320.1 |
| SV | Al Benton (DET) | 17 |
| WHIP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 1.133 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Debs Garms (PIT) | .355 |
| OPS | Johnny Mize (SLC) | 1.039 |
| HR | Johnny Mize (SLC) | 43 |
| RBI | Johnny Mize (SLC) | 137 |
| R | Arky Vaughan (PIT) | 113 |
| H | Stan Hack (CHC) Frank McCormick (CIN) | 191 |
| SB | Lonny Frey (CIN) | 22 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 22 |
| L | Hugh Mulcahy (PHP) | 22 |
| ERA | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 2.48 |
| K | Kirby Higbe (PHP) | 137 |
| IP | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 305.0 |
| SV | Joe Beggs (CIN) Jumbo Brown (NYG) Mace Brown (PIT) | 7 |
| WHIP | Bucky Walters (CIN) | 1.092 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Frank McCormick (CIN) | Hank Greenberg (DET) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Frank McCormick (CIN) | Hank Greenberg (DET) |
| Player of the Year | — | Bob Feller (CLE) |
| Manager of the Year | Bill McKechnie (CIN) | — |
| Executive of the Year | — | Walter Briggs Sr. (DET) |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Detroit Tigers | 90 | 11.1% | 1,112,693 | 33.1% | 14,085 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | −17.0% | 988,975 | 15.0% | 13,013 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 88 | 4.8% | 975,978 | 2.1% | 12,049 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 2.3% | 902,576 | 60.1% | 11,007 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 100 | 3.1% | 850,180 | −13.4% | 11,041 |
| New York Giants | 72 | −6.5% | 747,852 | 6.5% | 9,840 |
| Boston Red Sox | 82 | −7.9% | 716,234 | 25.0% | 9,066 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | −3.5% | 660,336 | 11.1% | 8,466 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | −10.7% | 534,878 | −26.4% | 6,946 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 14.7% | 507,934 | 34.8% | 6,772 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 54 | −1.8% | 432,145 | 9.4% | 6,087 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | −1.5% | 381,241 | 12.4% | 4,951 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | −8.7% | 324,078 | −19.0% | 4,209 |
| Boston Bees | 65 | 3.2% | 241,616 | −15.5% | 3,222 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 55.8% | 239,591 | 119.5% | 3,112 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 50 | 11.1% | 207,177 | −25.5% | 2,622 |

## Retired numbers

* Willard Hershberger had his No. 5 retired by the Cincinnati Reds, though his number would enter circulation just two years later. His number would later be re-retired to honor Johnny Bench in 1984. This was the first number retired by the team.

## Events

* April 16, 1940 – Bob Feller pitches his first career no-hitter on opening day against the Chicago White Sox. This no-hitter remains the only no-hitter ever on opening day.
* April 23, 1940 – Pee Wee Reese makes his Major League Baseball debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pee Wee Reese later in his career goes into the Hall of Fame.
* June 6, 1940 – Warren Spahn signs with the Boston Bees. Spahn later becomes a pitcher icon and wins the Cy Young Award.
* July 9, 1940 – All-Star Game held at Sportsman Park in St. Louis, Missouri. The National League beat the American League 4–1 with help from Max West's home run.
* September 24, 1940 – Jimmie Foxx "The Beast" hits his 500th career home run.
* October 8, 1940 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Detroit Tigers in game 7 of the World Series. This is the second time the Reds have won the World Series, they were led by NL MVP Frank McCormick.