1929
Changes- Change DH - both leagues will now use the DH.
- 3 less fan loyalty - Milwaukee's fan loyalty is reduced from 7 to 4.
- 10 more fan interest - Cardinals' fan interest increased from 81 to 91.
Off-Season
- Veteran ace Joe Wood signed with the Twins, the franchise he started his career with.
American League
Providence Angels (88-66)
St. Louis Browns (84-70)
Minnesota Twins (83-71)
Boston Red Sox (81-73)
Detroit Tigers (80-74)
Chicago White Sox (79-75)
Milwaukee Brewers (79-75)
Cleveland Indians (77-77)
Kansas City Athletics (73-81)
Washington Senators (71-83)
Baltimore Orioles (65-89)
New York Yankees (64-90)
AL MVP: Chuck Klein (Minnesota)
AL CYA: Lefty Grove (Washington)
AL ROY: Johnny Frederick (Detroit)
National League
Newark Bears (93-61)
Boston Braves (91-63)
St. Louis Cardinals (87-67)
Cincinnati Reds (84-70)
Pittsburgh Pirates (83-71)
Philadelphia Phillies (81-73)
Texas Rangers (79-75)
Chicago Cubs (77-77)
Montreal Expos (70-84)
New York Giants (65-89)
Brooklyn Dodgers (60-94)
Louisville Colonels (54-100)
NL MVP: Babe Ruth (Boston) (13th award)
NL MOP: Pete Donohue (Newark) (5th award)
NL ROY: Earl Averill (Cincinnati)
Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Chuck Klein (Minnesota) .253, Babe Ruth (Boston) .260
Home Runs: Chuck Klein (Minnesota) 56, Babe Ruth (Boston) 74
Runs Batted In: Chuck Klein (Minnesota) 120, Babe Ruth (Boston) 123
Stolen Bases: Jack Smith (Chicago) 28, Bernie Neis (Chicago) 20
WAR: Chuck Klein (Minnesota) 10.6, Babe Ruth (Boston) 15.4
Wins: Guy Morton (Providence) 23, Pete Donohue (Newark) 25
ERA: Joe Wood (Minnesota) 1.37, Pete Donohue (Newark) 1.34
Strikeouts: Lefty Grove (Washington) 263, George Earnshaw (New York) 165
Saves: John Sullivan (Providence) 31, Dutch Ulrich (Pittsburgh) 28
WAR: Lefty Grove (Washington) 12.1, Pete Donohue (Newark) 12.6
Notes
- The Angels won their first pennant since 1926, although their run differential was only +17, considerably worse than both Minnesota and Boston.
- Newark's excellent pitching and defense let them overcome Babe Ruth's fearsome power hitting. The team also played in the 1926 World Series, although they were known as the New Jersey Nationals.
- Klein won the Triple Crown, as did Ruth, for the sixth time.
- Lou Gehrig (Cincinnati) had a great season, bashing 47 homers and finishing second in the NL in OPS.
- The Yankees traded veteran ace Earl Hamilton to Kansas City for a minor leaguer.
Achievements & Milestones
- Earl Averill (Cincinnati) hit three homers in a game.
- Alex Ferguson (Philadelphia) and Carl Hubbell (Browns) both threw perfect games. Hubbell also threw two other no-hitters.
- Edd Roush (Texas), Pat O'Farrell (Cleveland), Happy Felsch (NY Giants), Bill Lamar (White Sox), Johnny Bassler (NY Yankees), and Joe Judge (Baltimore) all reached 2000 hits.
- Babe Ruth (Braves) hit his 700th homer.
- Burleigh Grimes (Cubs), Elmer Knetzer (Texas), Rube Foster (Braves), Ray Keating (Detroit), Bill Doak (Kansas City), and Dutch Reuther (Milwaukee) won their 200th games.
- Bill James (Philadelphia) and Guy Morton (Providence) passed 250 wins.
- Herb Pennock (White Sox) joined the 300 wins club.
- Guy Morton (Providence), Herb Pennock (White Sox), and George Ruth (Newark) struck out their 2000th hitters.
World Series
-
Newark defeated Providence, 5 games to 2.
- Pete Donohue was the series MVP, winning both of his starts. He had previously been MVP on the losing side in 1924.
- Donohue threw a shutout in Game One, as the Bears won 1-0.
- Ray Blades (Newark) bashed three doubles in Game Two, but Providence won 8-7.
- Huck Betts (Providence) out-dueled George Ruth in Game Three, winning 2-0.
- Game Four took eleven innings to settle. Taylor Douhit (Newark) doubled home Ray Blades to give the Bears the 2-1 win.
- Newark scored three runs in the top of the ninth in Game Five, winning 3-2.
- George Ruth threw a shutout in Game Seven to secure the series for the Bears.
- Blades was the best hitter for Newark, going 7-25.
- Babe Pinelli (Providence) batted 10-22.
- Newark's first championship. They are the first NL team other than the Braves to win the World Series since the 1912 Pirates.
Retirements
- Dave Bancroft. Fine two-way shortstop who won three Gold Gloves. Back-to-back-to-back titles with Cleveland from 1923 to 1925. Only a 98 OPS+, and struggled to produce in his mid-to-late 30s, but his glove more than made up for it.
- Ray Chapman. Four-time All-Star who had a career 112 OPS+ as a shortstop. Won ring with Baltimore in 1919 and 1921.
- Ty Cobb. 1913 and 1914 AL MVP. Outstanding hitter who made 11 All-Star games and won five batting titles. Rings in 1914 and 1927. 3083 hits and a 156 OPS+, and would have accrued even more impressive stats if it weren't for recurring injuries.
- Harry Coveleski. 259-178 in long career for Reds, Cubs, Dodgers, Orioles, and Bears, winning two rings. 116 ERA+.
- Elmer Knetzer. 1925 NL MOP who broke out in his late 30s on the Braves dynasty. 211-156 record, but only a 109 ERA+.
- Harry Krause. Arguably the greatest pitcher of all-time. 384-216 record, 2.24 ERA and 146 ERA+. Eight Cy Young Awards, 1912 ALCS MVP, 1914 WS MVP, and two rings. Career leader in many stats, including wins, shutouts, and strikeouts.
- Erskine Mayer. Veteran hurler who was Knetzer's teammate with the Braves. 247-189, 116 ERA+.
- Steve O'Neill. One of the outstanding catchers of his generation. Ten All-Star teams, seven Silver Sluggers, and the 1920 WS MVP. Starting backstop for three championships with the Braves, and many other pennant-winners. 118 OPS+ and nearly 2000 games caught.
- Roger Peckinpaugh. Shortstop who starred for Buffalo and Brooklyn. 2219 hits, 107 OPS+ for a very consistent and reliable veteran.
- Bill Steen. Important pitcher for strong Baltimore teams of the 20s, winning two rings. 234-193, 3.17 ERA, 105 ERA+.
Draft
- Louisville picked Hank Greenberg with the first pick.
- Brooklyn opted for Wally Berger at two.
- Luke Appling was the Yankee's choice at three.
- Dizzy Dean went to the Giants fourth.
- #6 was Lefty Gomez for Montreal.
Babe Ruth won his fifth straight Triple Crown.
Carl Hubbell threw an eleven-inning perfect game.