The 1940 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 16 through October 8, 1940. Both the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) and

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL) had eight teams, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. The Cincinnati Reds won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

over the Detroit Tigers in seven games.

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

of the Tigers and

Frank McCormick Frank Andrew McCormick (June 9, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was an American baseball first baseman who played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelph ...

of the Reds won the

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

in the AL and NL, respectively.

Awards and honors

* Most Valuable Player **

(AL) – OF, Detroit Tigers **

(NL) – 1B, Cincinnati Reds *

The Sporting News Player of the Year Award ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year Award refers to a set of awards given to the player of the year in various sports as adjudged by '' Sporting News'': Awards include: * ''Sporting News'' College Football Player of the Year, beginning in 1942 ...

** Bob Feller – P,

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

* The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award **

(AL) – OF, Detroit Tigers **

(NL) – 1B, Cincinnati Reds *

The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award The ''Sporting News'' Manager of the Year Award was established in 1936 by ''The Sporting News'' and was given annually to one manager in Major League Baseball. In 1986 it was expanded to honor one manager from each league. In 2021 the winners we ...

** Bill McKechnie – Cincinnati Reds Frank McCormick 1949

Statistical leaders

American League Triple Crown In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, ...

Pitching Winner

Standings

American League

National League

Postseason

Bracket

Season overview

The 1940 MLB season was dominated by stars such as

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

, Bob Feller,

, and

. Bob Feller took home the American league

pitching triple crown In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, ...

by having the most wins, strikeouts and lowest era in his respective league.

Debs Garms Debs C. Garms (June 26, 1907 – December 16, 1984) was a professional baseball player for 12 seasons as an outfielder and third baseman for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. Garms broke up Johnny ...

led the entire league in batting average by hitting .355.

and

Johnny Mize John Robert Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993), nicknamed "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat", was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons between 1936 ...

led their respective leagues in homerun's and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

by having (41,150) and (43,137). The ''Sporting News'' Manager of the Year Award went to Bill McKechnie for leading his team to the World Series and winning it. The

was won in Game 7 by the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

over the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

, due to a strong pitching performance by

Paul Derringer Samuel Paul Derringer (October 17, 1906 – November 17, 1987) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three National League teams from 1931 to 1945, primarily the Cincinnati Reds. He won 20 games for Cincin ...

1940 All Star Game

This was the 8th time the MLB all star game "mid summer classic" had been played. It was held in St. Louis Missouri at

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

on July 9, 1940. The NL was led to victory by the lone home run of the game by Max West of the Braves and they won the game 4–1. The two starting pitchers of the game were

Red Ruffing Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for the American League who took the loss for this game and

of the Cincinnati Reds for the National League who got the win in this game. The starting rosters for both the National League and the American League are shown below:

World Series

In a 7 game

world series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

between the Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Reds the Cincinnati Reds won in Game 7. The 1940

was a showdown between the best team in each league. The

were led by

NL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

and the

were led by

AL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

. This series game down to the last game where

threw a complete game, allowing no earned runs, and the

won 2-1.

Managers

American League

National League

Home field attendance

Events

April 16, 1940 – Bob Feller pitches his first career

no hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on opening day against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. This

remains the only no hitter ever on opening day. April 23, 1940 –

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star ...

makes his Major League Baseball debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

later in his career goes into the Hall of Fame. June 6, 1940 –

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

signs with the

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During ...

. 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 James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...

"The Beast" hits his 500th career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. October 8, 1940 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Detroit Tigers in game 7 of the

. This is the second time the

have won the

, they were led by

References

External links

1940 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1940 Major League Baseball Season Major League Baseball seasons