The 1936 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1936. The regular season ended on September 27, with the New York Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 33rd World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 6 on October 6. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1932, and their first in a four-World Series run. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Detroit Tigers from the 1935 season.
| 1936 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Lou Gehrig (NYY) NL: Carl Hubbell (NYG) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
| NL champions | New York Giants |
| NL runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals & Chicago Cubs |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | New York Giants |
The fourth Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 7 at National League Park in Boston, Massachusetts, home of the Boston Bees. The National League had their first All-Star victory, winning 4–3.
The Boston Braves changed their nickname to "Bees" this season; they would revert to the Braves in 1941.
Schedule
The 1936 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 14, featured all sixteen teams, the first since the 1934 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 27 and featured fourteen teams (the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns finished their season the day before). This was the first season which didn't feature all sixteen teams since the 1929 season. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 6.
Rule changes
The 1936 season saw the following rule changes:
- The American League banned night games, as well as the installation of lights.
- Players were not allowed to barnstorm until 10 days after the close of the season.
Teams
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 33,817 | Joe Cronin |
| Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 52,000 | Jimmy Dykes | |
| Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park | 22,500 | Steve O'Neill | |
| Cleveland Stadium* | 78,811* | ||||
| Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Navin Field | 30,000 | Mickey Cochrane | |
| Del Baker | |||||
| 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 | Bucky Harris | |
| National League | Boston Bees | Boston, Massachusetts | National League Park | 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 | 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 | Pie Traynor | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Frankie Frisch |
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 102 | 51 | .667 | — | 56–21 | 46–30 |
| Detroit Tigers | 83 | 71 | .539 | 19½ | 44–33 | 39–38 |
| Washington Senators | 82 | 71 | .536 | 20 | 42–35 | 40–36 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 70 | .536 | 20 | 43–32 | 38–38 |
| Cleveland Indians | 80 | 74 | .519 | 22½ | 49–30 | 31–44 |
| Boston Red Sox | 74 | 80 | .481 | 28½ | 47–29 | 27–51 |
| St. Louis Browns | 57 | 95 | .375 | 44½ | 31–43 | 26–52 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | 100 | .346 | 49 | 31–46 | 22–54 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 92 | 62 | .597 | — | 52–26 | 40–36 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 87 | 67 | .565 | 5 | 43–33 | 44–34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 87 | 67 | .565 | 5 | 50–27 | 37–40 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 70 | .545 | 8 | 46–30 | 38–40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 80 | .481 | 18 | 42–34 | 32–46 |
| Boston Bees | 71 | 83 | .461 | 21 | 35–43 | 36–40 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 67 | 87 | .435 | 25 | 37–40 | 30–47 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 54 | 100 | .351 | 38 | 30–48 | 24–52 |
Tie games
10 tie games (6 in AL, 4 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
American League
- Boston Red Sox, 1
- Chicago White Sox, 2
- Cleveland Indians, 3
- New York Yankees, 2
- Philadelphia Athletics, 1
- St. Louis Browns, 3
National League
- Boston Bees, 3
- Brooklyn Dodgers, 2
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 2
- St. Louis Cardinals, 1
Postseason
The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 6 with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Giants in the 1936 World Series in six games.
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | New York Giants | 2 | ||
Managers
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | Mickey Cochrane | Del Baker |
League leaders
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Luke Appling (CWS) | .388 |
| OPS | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 1.174 |
| HR | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 49 |
| RBI | Hal Trosky (CLE) | 162 |
| R | Lou Gehrig (NYY) | 167 |
| H | Earl Averill (CLE) | 232 |
| SB | Lyn Lary (SLB) | 37 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Tommy Bridges (DET) | 23 |
| L | Gordon Rhodes (PHA) | 20 |
| ERA | Lefty Grove (BOS) | 2.81 |
| K | Tommy Bridges (DET) | 175 |
| IP | Wes Ferrell (BOS) | 301.0 |
| SV | Pat Malone (NYY) | 9 |
| WHIP | Lefty Grove (BOS) | 1.192 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Paul Waner (PIT) | .373 |
| OPS | Mel Ott (NYG) | 1.036 |
| HR | Mel Ott (NYG) | 33 |
| RBI | Joe Medwick (STL) | 138 |
| R | Arky Vaughan (PIT) | 122 |
| H | Joe Medwick (STL) | 223 |
| SB | Pepper Martin (STL) | 23 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 26 |
| L | Bucky Walters (PHI) | 21 |
| ERA | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 2.31 |
| K | Van Lingle Mungo (BRO) | 238 |
| IP | Dizzy Dean (STL) | 315.0 |
| SV | Dizzy Dean (STL) | 11 |
| WHIP | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | 1.059 |
Milestones
The New York Yankees set a Major League record for the most runs batted in during a season, with 995.
Awards and honors
Regular season
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |
Other awards
| The Sporting News Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | Lou Gehrig (NYY) |
| Player of the Year | Carl Hubbell (NYG) | — |
| Manager of the Year | — | Joe McCarthy (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year | Branch Rickey (STL) | — |
Baseball Hall of Fame
- Ty Cobb
- Babe Ruth
- Honus Wagner
- Christy Mathewson
- Walter Johnson
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 102 | 14.6% | 976,913 | 48.6% | 12,687 |
| Detroit Tigers | 83 | −10.8% | 875,948 | −15.4% | 11,376 |
| New York Giants | 92 | 1.1% | 837,952 | 11.9% | 10,743 |
| Chicago Cubs | 87 | −13.0% | 699,370 | 1.0% | 9,083 |
| Boston Red Sox | 74 | −5.1% | 626,895 | 12.2% | 8,141 |
| Cleveland Indians | 80 | −2.4% | 500,391 | 25.8% | 6,178 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 67 | −4.3% | 489,618 | 4.1% | 6,198 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 8.8% | 466,345 | 4.0% | 6,136 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 87 | −9.4% | 448,078 | −11.5% | 5,819 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 9.5% | 440,810 | −6.3% | 5,877 |
| Washington Senators | 82 | 22.4% | 379,525 | 48.8% | 4,929 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | −2.3% | 372,524 | 5.6% | 4,902 |
| Boston Bees | 71 | 86.8% | 340,585 | 46.3% | 4,311 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | −8.6% | 285,173 | 22.3% | 3,704 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 54 | −15.6% | 249,219 | 21.3% | 3,195 |
| St. Louis Browns | 57 | −12.3% | 93,267 | 15.3% | 1,211 |
Venues
Over 81 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 80 games at League Park and 1 game at Cleveland Stadium, on Sunday, August 2, against the New York Yankees. This would be the 2nd of 12 seasons since 1932 that saw the Indians play at both venues.
With the renaming of the Boston Braves to the Boston Bees, Braves Field is renamed National League Park, nicknamed by fans as The Bee Hive.
See also
- 1936 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
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