1918 Major League Baseball season
# 1918 Major League Baseball season

The 1918 Major League Baseball season featured a reduced schedule due to American participation in World War I. The American League and National League champions, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, respectively, met in the World Series, which was won by Boston in six games.

## Shortened season

With World War I ongoing, a "work or fight" mandate was issued by the government, requiring men with non-essential jobs to enlist or take war-related jobs by July 1, or else risk being drafted. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker granted an extension to MLB players through Labor Day, September 2. In early August, MLB clubs decided that the regular season would end at that time. As a result, the number of regular-season games that each team played varied—123 to 130 for AL teams and 124 to 131 for NL teams, including ties—reduced from their original 154-game schedules. Later in August, Baker granted a further extension to allow for the World Series to be contested; it began on September 5 and ended on September 11. World War I would end two months later, with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

## Statistical leaders

| | American League | American League | National League |
| - | - | - | - |
| Type | Name | Stat | Name | Stat |
| AVG | Ty Cobb DET | .382 | Zack Wheat BKN | .335 |
| HR | Babe Ruth BSR Tillie Walker PHA | 11 | Gavvy Cravath PHP | 8 |
| RBI | Bobby Veach DET | 78 | Sherry Magee CIN | 76 |
| Wins | Walter Johnson WSH | 23 | Claude Hendrix CHC | 20 |
| ERA | Walter Johnson WSH | 1.27 | Hippo Vaughn CHC | 1.74 |
| SO | Walter Johnson WSH | 162 | Hippo Vaughn CHC | 148 |
| SV | George Mogridge NYY | 7 | Joe Oeschger PHP Wilbur Cooper PIT Fred Anderson NYG Fred Toney CIN/NYG | 3 |
| SB | George Sisler SLB | 45 | Max Carey PIT | 58 |

## Postseason

### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| - | - | - |
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 4 |
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 2 |

## Managers

### American League

| Team | Manager | Comments |
| - | - | - |
| Boston Red Sox | Ed Barrow | Won 5th World Series |
| Chicago White Sox | Pants Rowland | |
| Cleveland Indians | Lee Fohl | Finished 2nd |
| Detroit Tigers | Hughie Jennings | |
| New York Yankees | Miller Huggins | |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Connie Mack | |
| St. Louis Browns | Fielder Jones, Jimmy Austin, and Jimmy Burke | |
| Washington Senators | Clark Griffith | Finished 3rd |

### National League

| Team | Manager | Comments |
| - | - | - |
| Boston Braves | George Stallings | |
| Brooklyn Robins | Wilbert Robinson | |
| Chicago Cubs | Fred Mitchell | Won 5th NL pennant |
| Cincinnati Reds | Christy Mathewson | Finished 3rd |
| New York Giants | John McGraw | Finished 2nd |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Pat Moran | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Hugo Bezdek | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Jack Hendricks | |

## Notable events

* September 2 – In the last game of the season, against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers centerfielder Ty Cobb fields at third base and also pitches, yielding three hits and one run in two innings.
