# 1901 Major League Baseball season

The 1901 major league baseball season was contested from April 18 through October 6, 1901. It was the inaugural major league season for the American League (AL) (having previously been the minor league Western League), with the Chicago White Stockings winning the AL pennant. In the National League (NL), in operation since 1876, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the NL pennant. There was no postseason.
This would be the only season in which the Milwaukee Brewers played, as the team would relocate to St. Louis, Missouri for the following season as the St. Louis Browns (before that team relocated to Baltimore, Maryland as the modern Baltimore Orioles in 1954, where they remain to this day. The Baltimore Orioles of this season would fold following the 1902 season).

## Schedule

The 1901 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This format had previously been used by the National League during their 1888–1891 seasons. This format would last until 1904, which saw an increase of games played.
National League Opening Day took place on April 18 with a game between the Brooklyn Superbas and the Philadelphia Phillies, while American League Opening Day did not take place until April 24, with a game between the Chicago White Stockings and the Cleveland Bluebirds. The American League would see its final day of the season on September 28, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 6.

## Rule changes

On February 27, 1901, the National League Rules Committee announced several rule changes, effective immediately.
* All foul balls are to count as strike balls, except after two strikes. Previously, foul balls would not affect the count. To cut the cost of lost foul balls, the committee urges that batters who foul off good strikes are to be disciplined. The American League will not adopt this rule until the 1903 season.
* catchers must play within 10 feet of the batter
* A ball will be called if the pitcher does not throw to a ready and waiting batter within 20 seconds
* Players using indecent or improper language will be banished by the umpire.
* A ball will be called when a batter is hit by a pitch.
Further changes were made in April:
* In a mail vote, the owners rescinded the new hit by pitch rule, restoring the rule that a HBP will earn a batter first base.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park | Unknown | John McGraw |
| American League | Boston Americans | Boston, Massachusetts | Huntington Avenue Grounds | 11,500 | Jimmy Collins |
| American League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | South Side Park | 12,500 | Clark Griffith |
| American League | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | Jimmy McAleer |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Bennett Park | 8,500 | George Stallings |
| American League | Milwaukee Brewers | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Lloyd Street Grounds | 10,000 | Hugh Duffy |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Columbia Park | 9,500 | Connie Mack |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | American League Park | 7,000 | Jim Manning |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | Frank Selee |
| National League | Brooklyn Superbas | New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | Ned Hanlon |
| National League | Chicago Orphans | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | Tom Loftus |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 9,000 | Bid McPhee |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | George Davis |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Bill Shettsline |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 16,000 | Fred Clarke |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | League Park (St. Louis) | 15,200 | Patsy Donovan |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Stockings | 83 | 53 | .610 | — | 49‍–‍21 | 34‍–‍32 |
| Boston Americans | 79 | 57 | .581 | 4 | 49‍–‍20 | 30‍–‍37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 61 | .548 | 8½ | 42‍–‍27 | 32‍–‍34 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 74 | 62 | .544 | 9 | 42‍–‍24 | 32‍–‍38 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 68 | 65 | .511 | 13½ | 40‍–‍25 | 28‍–‍40 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 72 | .459 | 20½ | 31‍–‍35 | 30‍–‍37 |
| Cleveland Blues | 54 | 82 | .397 | 29 | 28‍–‍39 | 26‍–‍43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 48 | 89 | .350 | 35½ | 32‍–‍37 | 16‍–‍52 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 90 | 49 | .647 | — | 45‍–‍24 | 45‍–‍25 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 83 | 57 | .593 | 7½ | 46‍–‍23 | 37‍–‍34 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 79 | 57 | .581 | 9½ | 43‍–‍25 | 36‍–‍32 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 64 | .543 | 14½ | 40‍–‍31 | 36‍–‍33 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 69 | 69 | .500 | 20½ | 41‍–‍29 | 28‍–‍40 |
| Chicago Orphans | 53 | 86 | .381 | 37 | 30‍–‍39 | 23‍–‍47 |
| New York Giants | 52 | 85 | .380 | 37 | 30‍–‍38 | 22‍–‍47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | 87 | .374 | 38 | 27‍–‍43 | 25‍–‍44 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Baltimore Orioles | Team enfranchised | John McGraw |
| Boston Americans | Team enfranchised | Jimmy Collins |
| Chicago White Stockings | Charles Comiskey (minor league) | Clark Griffith |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bob Allen | Bid McPhee |
| Cleveland Blues | Jimmy McAleer (minor league) | Jimmy McAleer |
| Detroit Tigers | George Stallings (minor league) | George Stallings |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Connie Mack (minor league) | Hugh Duffy |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Team enfranchised | Connie Mack |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Louie Heilbroner | Patsy Donovan |
| Washington Senators | Jim Manning (Kansas City Blues, minor league) | Jim Manning |

## 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 | Nap Lajoie$^1$ (PHA) | .426 |
| OPS | Nap Lajoie (PHA) | 1.106 |
| HR | Nap Lajoie$^1$ (PHA) | 14 |
| RBI | Nap Lajoie$^1$ (PHA) | 125 |
| R | Nap Lajoie (PHA) | 145 |
| H | Nap Lajoie (PHA) | 232 |
| SB | Frank Isbell (CWS) | 46 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown batting winner
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Cy Young$^2$ (BSA) | 33 |
| L | Pete Dowling (CLE/MIL) | 25 |
| ERA | Cy Young$^2$ (BSA) | 1.62 |
| K | Cy Young$^2$ (BSA) | 158 |
| IP | Joe McGinnity (BAL) | 382.0 |
| SV | Bill Hoffer (CLE) | 3 |
| WHIP | Cy Young (BSA) | 0.972 |
$^2$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Jesse Burkett (STL) | .376 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty (PHP) | .955 |
| HR | Sam Crawford (CIN) | 16 |
| RBI | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 126 |
| R | Jesse Burkett (STL) | 142 |
| H | Jesse Burkett (STL) | 142 |
| SB | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 49 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Bill Donovan (BKN) | 25 |
| L | Luther Taylor (NY) | 27 |
| ERA | Jesse Tannehill (PIT) | 2.18 |
| K | Noodles Hahn (CIN) | 239 |
| IP | Noodles Hahn (CIN) | 375.1 |
| SV | Bill Donovan (BKN) Jack Powell (STL) | 3 |
| WHIP | Al Orth (PHP) | 1.001 |

## Milestones
### Batters

* Nap Lajoie (PHA):
** Became the fourth player in MLB history and the first in American League history to win the Triple Crown, an achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) over the same season.

### Pitchers

* Cy Young (BSA):
** Won the pitching triple crown.

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 16.9% | 379,988 | 40.7% | 5,278 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 83 | | 354,350 | | 4,991 |
| New York Giants | 52 | −13.3% | 297,650 | 56.7% | 4,192 |
| Boston Americans | 79 | | 289,448 | | 4,195 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | | 259,430 | | 3,706 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 90 | 13.9% | 251,955 | −4.6% | 3,652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 83 | 10.7% | 234,937 | −22.2% | 3,405 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 74 | | 206,329 | | 3,126 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | −16.1% | 205,728 | 21.0% | 2,857 |
| Chicago Orphans | 53 | −18.5% | 205,071 | −17.5% | 2,930 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 79 | −3.7% | 198,200 | 8.3% | 2,915 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | | 161,661 | | 2,377 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 69 | 4.5% | 146,502 | −27.5% | 2,093 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 68 | | 141,952 | | 2,151 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 48 | | 139,034 | | 1,986 |
| Cleveland Blues | 54 | | 131,380 | | 1,904 |