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1934 Major League Baseball season

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1934 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 17 – September 30, 1934
World Series:
  • October 3–9, 1934
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Mickey Cochrane (DET)
NL: Dizzy Dean (STL)
AL championsDetroit Tigers
  AL runners-upNew York Yankees
NL championsSt. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-upNew York Giants
World Series
Venue
ChampionsSt. Louis Cardinals
  Runners-upDetroit Tigers
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1934–1939 American League seasons
American League
President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. during a Boston Red Sox vs. Washington Senators game, April 24.

The 1934 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1934. The regular season ended on September 30, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 31st World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. The Cardinals then defeated the Tigers, four games to three, capturing their third championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1931. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Giants from the 1933 season.

The second All-Star Game was held on July 10 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York, home of the New York Giants. The American League won, 9–7.

Schedule

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The 1934 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 17, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1931 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continued the trend which began with the 1930 season. This was the second time that both Opening Day and the final day of the season saw all sixteen teams play, the previous being in 1931. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 9.

Rule changes

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The 1934 season saw the following rule changes:

  • The National and American Leagues agree to adopt a uniform ball, authorizing respective Presidents John Heydler and Will Harridge to meet with manufactures and settle on a ball for both leagues.[1]
  • Both leagues agreed to prohibit "synthetic" doubleheaders (which is when teams would postpone weekday games to have two games on a weekend day) on Sundays until after June 15.[1]
  • Both leagues altered the practices governing counting players on option toward team limits and salary responsibility for optioned players.[1]

Teams

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League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[2]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 33,817 Bucky Harris
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 52,000 Lew Fonseca
Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio League Park 21,414 Walter Johnson
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Navin Field 30,000 Mickey Cochrane
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 62,000 Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Rogers Hornsby
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Joe Cronin
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 46,500 Bill McKechnie
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,000 Casey Stengel
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 40,000 Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 26,060 Bob O'Farrell
Burt Shotton
Chuck Dressen
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 56,000 Bill Terry
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Baker Bowl 18,800 Jimmie Wilson
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 41,000 George Gibson
Pie Traynor
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Frankie Frisch

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 10153 .656 — 54‍–‍26 47‍–‍27
New York Yankees 9460 .610 7 53‍–‍24 41‍–‍36
Cleveland Indians 8569 .552 16 47‍–‍31 38‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox 7676 .500 24 42‍–‍35 34‍–‍41
Philadelphia Athletics 6882 .453 31 34‍–‍40 34‍–‍42
St. Louis Browns 6785 .441 33 36‍–‍39 31‍–‍46
Washington Senators 6686 .434 34 34‍–‍40 32‍–‍46
Chicago White Sox 5399 .349 47 29‍–‍46 24‍–‍53

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9558 .621 — 48‍–‍29 47‍–‍29
New York Giants 9360 .608 2 49‍–‍26 44‍–‍34
Chicago Cubs 8665 .570 8 47‍–‍30 39‍–‍35
Boston Braves 7873 .517 16 40‍–‍35 38‍–‍38
Pittsburgh Pirates 7476 .493 19½ 45‍–‍32 29‍–‍44
Brooklyn Dodgers 7181 .467 23½ 43‍–‍33 28‍–‍48
Philadelphia Phillies 5693 .376 37 35‍–‍36 21‍–‍57
Cincinnati Reds 5299 .344 42 30‍–‍47 22‍–‍52

Tie games

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8 tie games (5 in AL, 3 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

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  • Boston Red Sox, 1
  • Chicago White Sox, 1
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 3
  • St. Louis Browns, 2
  • Washington Senators, 3

National League

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  • Boston Braves, 1
  • Brooklyn Dodgers, 1
  • Chicago Cubs, 1
  • Cincinnati Reds, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 1
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 1

Postseason

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The postseason began on October 3 and ended on October 9 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Detroit Tigers in the 1934 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

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World Series
   
AL Detroit Tigers 3
NL St. Louis Cardinals 4

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Red Sox Marty McManus Bucky Harris
Brooklyn Dodgers Max Carey Casey Stengel
Cincinnati Reds Donie Bush Bob O'Farrell
Detroit Tigers Del Baker Mickey Cochrane
Philadelphia Phillies Burt Shotton Jimmie Wilson

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago White Sox Lew Fonseca Jimmy Dykes
Cincinnati Reds Bob O'Farrell Burt Shotton
Burt Shotton Chuck Dressen
Pittsburgh Pirates George Gibson Pie Traynor

League leaders

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American League

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Hitting leaders[3]
Stat Player Total
AVG Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) .363
OPS Lou Gehrig (NYY) 1.172
HR Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) 49
RBI Lou Gehrig1 (NYY) 166
R Charlie Gehringer (DET) 135
H Charlie Gehringer (DET) 214
SB Billy Werber (BOS) 40

1 American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders[4]
Stat Player Total
W Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) 26
L Bobo Newsom (SLB) 20
ERA Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) 2.33
K Lefty Gomez2 (NYY) 158
IP Lefty Gomez (NYY) 281.2
SV Jack Russell (WSH) 8
WHIP Lefty Gomez (NYY) 1.133

2 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

National League

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Hitting leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
AVG Paul Waner (PIT) .362
OPS Ripper Collins (STL) 1.008
HR Ripper Collins (STL)
Mel Ott (NYG)		 35
RBI Mel Ott (NYG) 135
R Paul Waner (PIT) 122
H Paul Waner (PIT) 217
SB Pepper Martin (STL) 23
Pitching leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
W Dizzy Dean (STL) 30
L Si Johnson (CIN) 22
ERA Carl Hubbell (NYG) 2.30
K Dizzy Dean (STL) 195
IP Van Mungo (BRO) 315.1
SV Carl Hubbell (NYG) 8
WHIP Carl Hubbell (NYG) 1.032

Milestones

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Batters

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Cycles

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Other batting accomplishments

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Pitchers

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No-hitters

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  • Paul Dean (STL):
    • Dean threw his first career no-hitter and third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 3–0 in game two of a doubleheader on September 21. Dean walked one and struck out six.[12]

Awards and honors

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Regular season

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Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Most Valuable Player Dizzy Dean (STL) Mickey Cochrane (DET)
The Sporting News Awards
Award National League American League
Most Valuable Player[13] Dizzy Dean (STL) Lou Gehrig (NYY)

Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Detroit Tigers[14] 101 34.7% 919,161 186.4% 11,490
New York Yankees[15] 94 3.3% 854,682 17.4% 11,100
New York Giants[16] 93 2.2% 730,851 20.9% 9,745
Chicago Cubs[17] 86 0.0% 707,525 19.1% 9,189
Boston Red Sox[18] 76 20.6% 610,640 127.2% 7,930
Brooklyn Dodgers[19] 71 9.2% 434,188 −17.6% 5,639
Cleveland Indians[20] 85 13.3% 391,338 0.9% 5,017
Washington Senators[21] 66 −33.3% 330,074 −24.6% 4,343
St. Louis Cardinals[22] 95 15.9% 325,056 26.9% 4,222
Pittsburgh Pirates[23] 74 −14.9% 322,622 11.7% 4,136
Philadelphia Athletics[24] 68 −13.9% 305,847 2.9% 4,024
Boston Braves[25] 78 −6.0% 303,205 −41.4% 4,043
Chicago White Sox[26] 53 −20.9% 236,559 −40.5% 3,154
Cincinnati Reds[27] 52 −10.3% 206,773 −5.3% 2,651
Philadelphia Phillies[28] 56 −6.7% 169,885 8.6% 2,393
St. Louis Browns[29] 67 21.8% 115,305 30.9% 1,517

Venues

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After moving into Cleveland Stadium mid-way through the 1932 season, the Cleveland Indians move back into League Park due to plummeting attendance caused by the Great Depression.[30]

The Cincinnati Reds' Redland Field is renamed to Crosley Field following the February 1934 purchase of the Reds by local businessman Powel Crosley Jr.

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 Long, Jason C. "1933 Winter Meetings: The Sell-Off". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  2. ↑ "1934 Major League Managers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1934 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1934 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1934 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1934 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "New York Yankees 7, Philadelphia Athletics 3". Retrosheet. June 10, 1934. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ "New York Yankees 13, Chicago White Sox 2". Retrosheet. June 25, 1934. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Detroit Tigers 8, Boston Red Sox 6 (1)". Retrosheet. August 19, 1934. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Grounding Into Double Plays Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  11. ↑ Larkin, Kevin. "July 13, 1934: The Babe bashes 700th career home run". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  12. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score: September 21, 1934". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Clem's Baseball ~ League Park (IV)". www.andrewclem.com. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
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