1926
Changes- 4-team contraction - The Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Quakers will be contracted from the AL. The Columbus Clippers and the Kansas City Packers will be removed from the NL.
- Change Ks (smaller) - strikeouts will now be 40% less common.
- Change dev speed - Batter and pitcher development speed will be set to 1.1
Off-Season
- Ty Cobb moved from Brooklyn to the NL champion Braves.
- Mickey Cochrane, the Packers' second overall pick in 1924, moved to Milwaukee.
- His former teammate Charlie Gehringer signed with the New Jersey Nationals.
- Quaker Goose Goslin moved to the St. Louis Browns.
- Toronto second baseman George Grantham signed with Baltimore.
- Former Columbus catcher Gabby Hartnett signed with the Dodgers.
- Quakers slugger Joe Hauser moved to the Indianapolis Hoosiers.
- #3 overall pick Babe Herman signed with Detroit.
- Shoeless Joe Jackson signed with Milwaukee.
- Walter Johnson switched from Baltimore to Indianapolis.
- Al Simmons moved from Columbus to the Cardinals.
- Rookie Lloyd Waner signed with the Cardinals as well.
- Slugger Hack Wilson joined the world champion Indians.
American League
Providence Angels (91-64)
Cleveland Indians (90-65)
Baltimore Orioles (87-67)
Milwaukee Brewers (87-67)
Washington Senators (81-73)
Kansas City Athletics (76-78)
St. Louis Browns (76-78)
New York Yankees (74-80)
Boston Red Sox (71-83)
Detroit Tigers (68-86)
Chicago White Sox (66-88)
Minnesota Twins (58-96)
AL MVP: Hack Wilson (Cleveland)
AL CYA: Lew Moren (Chicago / Providence)
AL ROY: Babe Herman (Detroit)
National League
New Jersey Nationals (89-65)
Indianapolis Hoosiers (87-67)
St. Louis Cardinals (87-67)
Boston Braves (84-70)
Chicago Cubs (82-72)
Cincinnati Reds (79-75)
Pittsburgh Pirates (76-78)
Brooklyn Dodgers (72-82)
Buffalo Bisons (71-83)
Louisville Colonels (71-83)
New York Giants (69-85)
Philadelphia Phillies (57-97)
NL MVP: Babe Ruth (Boston) (10th award)
NL MOP: Pete Donohue (New Jersey) (3rd award)
NL ROY: Paul Waner (St. Louis)
Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Eddie Collins (Kansas City) .240, Babe Ruth (Boston) .277
Home Runs: Hack Wilson (Cleveland) 38, Babe Ruth (Boston) 54
Runs Batted In: Hack Wilson (Cleveland) 90, Babe Ruth (Boston) 104
Stolen Bases: Pat O'Farrell (Cleveland) 19, Freddie Lindstrom (Cincinnati) 14
WAR: Max Bishop (Washington) 9.2, Babe Ruth (Boston) 16.0
Wins: Lew Moren (Providence) 24, Pete Donohue (New Jersey) 26
ERA: Lew Moren (Providence) 1.40, Pete Donohue (New Jersey) 0.98
Strikeouts: Lefty Grove (Washington) 132, Hod Eller (Indianapolis) 117
Saves: Bill Evans (Cleveland) 35, Ben Van Dyke (Indianapolis) 36
WAR: Bill Steen (Baltimore) 8.3, Eddie Plank (Buffalo) 12.3
Notes
- Providence won 13 of their final 14 games to force a playoff with Cleveland, the second straight year an AL tiebreaker game had been required. The Angels rallied to score four runs in the eighth inning, and win the game 5-4 for their first pennant since 1914.
- The Nationals won their first ever pennant.
- The Braves led the NL by six games on June 4th, but came back to earth over the second half of the season.
- Rogers Hornsby (Milwaukee) missed most of the season with a back injury.
- The Nationals had the best pitching in the NL, and their batting was just good enough to get the pennant.
- Ruth's OPS was nearly 300 points higher than anyone else, and he won the Triple Crown for the second time.
- Louisville traded strong starter Bill James to Philadelphia for an exchange of minor leaguers.
- 42-year-old Lew Moren was traded from the White Sox to the Angels at midseason, and went on to win his first Cy Young Award.
Achievements & Milestones
- There were 19 no-hitters. Earl Whitehill (NY Giants) threw one in consecutive years. Elmer Knetzer (Braves) threw two no-nos in May. Harry Krause (Providence) threw his fifth no-hitter.
- Clarence Mitchell (Baltimore) threw the second perfect game, against the Yankees on September 24th.
- Stuffy McInnis (Kansas City) reached 2000 hits.
- Bill Sweeney (Cubs) and Max Carey (NY Yankees) collected their 2500th hits.
- Zack Wheat (Providence) and Joe Jackson (Milwaukee) joined the 3000 hit club.
- Eddie Collins (Kansas City) became the first man to 3500 hits.
- Babe Ruth (Braves) passed 500 homers.
- Pete Alexander (NY Giants), Bill Steen (Baltimore), and Guy Morton (Providence) won their 200th games.
- Lew Moren (White Sox), Harry Coveleski (Baltimore), Harry Suter (Kansas City), and Ray Collins (Braves) picked up win #250.
- Harry Krause (Providence) and Walter Johnson (Indianapolis) became the first men to win 350 games.
- Pete Donohue (New Jersey) was the first pitcher to have an ERA under 1.
- George Ruth (New Jersey) pitched a record 13 shutouts.
World Series
-
Providence defeated New Jersey, 5 games to 4.
- Pete Donohue (New Jersey) was the series MVP, winning two games practically single-handedly, though his teammates couldn't live up to his high standards.
- Donohue went the distance in Game One, allowing a single unearned run as the Nationals won 4-1.
- Second baseman Ossie Bluege hit two homers in Game Two, giving the Angels a 3-1 win.
- Donohue threw a dominant three-hit shutout in Game Five, giving the Nats the lead in the series.
- Providence previously won the World Series in 1914.
- The American League has now won six straight World Series, and 13 of the last 14.
Retirements
- Grover Cleveland Alexander. A workhorse of a starter, even if he was never particularly outstanding. 205-188 career record for seven big league clubs.
- Red Ames. 1907 NL MOP and five-time All-Star. 326-280 career record, with only Harry Krause and Walter Johnson having won more games. World champion with the Braves in 1911. Played for nine teams from 1903 to 1926.
- Harry Hooper. Fine outfielder for Athletics, Tigers, and Twins. 2281 career hits, seven All-Star games, four Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, and rings in 1909 and 1917.
- Wally Schang. Excellent catcher who starred for the Packers and Cardinals. Career .290 hitter with three Silver Sluggers and five All-Star games. 1913 NL Rookie of the Year.
- Bill Sweeney. Career .305 hitter who made three All-Star games at second base. Played for strong Orioles and Braves teams, but never won it all.
Draft
- The Phillies chose shortstop Woody English with the first pick.
- Sam West went second to Minnesota.
- Dick Bartell was the White Sox's pick at three.
- #4 was Red Kress to Detroit.
- Buffalo chose Lloyd Waner seventh.
- The Browns opted for Wes Ferrell at twelve.
Hack Wilson was American League MVP.
42-year-old knuckleballer Lew Moren was the Cy Young Award winner, and was traded to the champion Angels mid-season.