The American League season opened with Boston Red Sox ace Babe Ruth pitching a four-hit, 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. In the first of many, the 1918 season was the first to show the effects of wartime on baseball. B-38 … We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The "Work or Fight" rule exempted theatrical performers such as actors, singers and musicians because they provided "essential recreation" but baseball players got no such exemption. Find out more. Top Pitcher John Donaldson. 2 . The 1919 season was tentatively canceled, the 1918 season shortened and the World Series between the Red Sox and Cubs was moved up. An estimated 500 million people were infected worldwide— that was one-third of the world’s population at the time — including a death toll of at least 50 million people globally. — The 1918 season was shortened because of World War I, and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs in six games in the World Series, which ended Sept. 11. The “war to end all wars” had caused an existential crisis throughout the baseball world. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? While the Armistice was reached on November 11, 1918, the 1919 season was also shortened to 140 games as teams waited for players to return from military service. W. L. T. W% GB. In fact, Ruth himself became gravely ill, though it’s not known for certain if he suffered from the Spanish Flu. Overview of the events of 1918 in baseball, War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith, Baseball: The Presidents' Game By William B. Mead, Paul Dickson, "1918 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log", https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1918-schedule.shtml, Baseball Almanac - Major League Baseball Players Who Were Born in 1918, Baseball Almanac - Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 1918, Baseball Reference - 1918 MLB Season Summary, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1918_in_baseball&oldid=1000894298, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, March 23 - The Boston Red Sox played an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Army cantonment at Camp Pike in Arkansas featuring Babe Ruth hitting five home runs and spawning the Boston American headline: “Babe Ruth Puts Five Over Fence, Heretofore Unknown to Baseball Fans.”, April 15 – The American League season opened with Boston Red Sox ace. Full Summary. They called it the "Spanish flu." May 14 – Sunday baseball was officially legalized in Washington, D.C. after district commissioners finally rescinded the ban in response to the large increase in the city's wartime population and the need for more recreational activities. The flu epidemic of 1918 killed 675,000 Americans. View Comments. In January 1918, the horrors of World War I were in their final year, and Major League Baseball was preparing for its 16th season. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Site Last Updated: Saturday, January 30, 10:48PM Question, Comment, Feedback, or … August 1 – The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Braves went head-to-head for a major-league record twenty scoreless innings. Baseball in 1918 was affected more by World War I than by the growing influenza pandemic. Are you a Stathead, too? The 1918 season begins, and the killer arrives. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Pearl Webster. By early September, MLB was ready for the (non-)October Classic. Marathon man, September 1 – During the regular season, Washington Senators ace, September 11 – Against the backdrop of World War I, which forced the premature ending to the regular season on September 2, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs, 2–1, in Game 6 of the World Series to win their fifth, This page was last edited on 17 January 2021, at 07:05. The memorable 1918 Major League Baseball season was not immune to the flu epidemic. Glossary. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Standings. The 1918 baseball season opened April 15. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. 1918 would be the last Red Sox World Series Championship until 2004. Read highlights of the 1918 baseball season below. 1918 MLB Standings, Team and Player Statistics, Leaderboards, Award Winners, Trades, Minor Leagues, Fielding, Batting, Pitching, New Debuts After a significant scare, he recovered about a week later. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Eleven days later, Speaker duplicated the feat against Chicago for the fourth solo-DP of h… Though the first case of the flu appeared in the United States in March 1918, the MLB season began as scheduled on April 16 and completed most of its slate. Top Hitter Cristóbal Torriente. The original cause of the H1N1 virus is unknown, but it’s believed to have started in Europe before spreading across Asia and hitting the United States. May 23 - General Enoch Crowder, provost marshal of the Army who constructed the Selective Service Act, commonly known as “the draft," issued an order that stated young men should get into essential work by July 1st or face induction into the armed services. Unless noted, stats are batting & fielding. We present them here for purely educational purposes. As the 1918 baseball season continues, the Giants and the minor leagues face the realities of the war economy, and the shipyards struggle to keep their league intact. Baseball was the last of the three interrupted leagues to figure out a plan and this time many will be watching to see if sports can avoid the disastrous impact of the 1918 … ... Mass. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. As the season continued — and as Boston Red Sox ace Babe Ruth began his metamorphosis from pitcher to slugger — a new virus emerged. Do you have a sports website? The 1918 baseball season was the first to be dramatically affected by World War I -- the American and National Leagues both lost players to the war effort. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. vs All Teams # Team. The Cubs dominated the NL, but Cleveland (Tris Speaker: .318) and Washington (Walter Johnson: 23 wins) were within four games of Boston. And baseball was not immune. May 19 - Babe Ruth fell ill. His temperature climbed to 104 degrees, his body ached, he shivered with chills, and his throat throbbed. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. The number of deaths in the United S… As the season continued – and as Boston Red Sox ace Babe Ruth began his metamorphosis from pitcher to slugger – a new virus emerged. The perennial Fall Classic was temporarily transformed into a "Late-Summer" version and ran from September 5th to the 11th. The alleged curse came to be when the Red Sox traded the superbly talented but troublesome Babe Ruth (who was instrumental in their 1918 victory) to the New York Yankees for cash after the 1919 season. We continue our short excursion through the Dead Ball Era today with a brief stop in 1918. With World War I lurking in the background, it’s not surprising the 1918 was the most dysfunctional year in baseball history. • March 23 - The Boston Red Sox played an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Army cantonment at Camp Pike in Arkansas featuring Babe Ruth hitting five home runs and spawning the Boston American headline: “Babe Ruth Puts Five Over Fence, Heretofore Unknown to Baseball Fans.” Shortly after, manager Ed Barrow started Ruth's conversion to slugger by working him into seventy-two games as an outfielder-first baseman. The major-league regular season was cut short by the US government’s “work or fight” order, requiring all able-bodied men to enlist in … Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. MULT.630 . On April 18th, Cleveland Indian's centerfielder Tris Speaker turned an unassisted double play against the Detroit Tigers. The influenza pandemic of 1918 was a highly contagious strain that viciously attacked the respiratory system. The book traces the 1918 baseball season and recalls how Ruth was one of the thousands of people infected during the spring. All rights reserved. July 19 - Newton Baker, Secretary of War, re-affirmed the position that baseball was not essential following an appeal by Washington Senators catcher Eddie Ainsmith and that players must take an essential job or be drafted. On November 11, 1918, minor-league owners from 40 teams, representing seven leagues, were preparing for a somber discussion about whether baseball would even be played in the 1919 season 1 when word came down that the World War had ended. Many thanks to him. EXPERT: Sports historian Randy Roberts, a distinguished professor of history at Purdue University, is author of the forthcoming book, “War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War,” which explores the impact of World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic on that year's professional baseball season. Eastern Independent Clubs. Bill Pettus ... All-1918 Team Wins Above Replacement . Join our linker program. The following are the baseball events of the year 1918 throughout the world. This baseball was used to record the final out in the last game of a shortened 1918 season between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. With the United States involved in World War I, the government ordered Major League Baseball to finish its regular season by Labor Day, which meant the 1918 … R/G RA/G Managers Ballpark; The shortened season ended in apropos fashion with a slog of a World Series. He had all the symptoms of the Spanish Flu, but was treated with silver nitrate for tonsillitis which worsened his condition to the point where he was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. Or write about sports? A regular season shortened by World War I ended at Labor Day, but resumed for the World Series. As a result, the doubleheader scheduled for Monday, September 2 (Labor Day) at Braves Field would be the season’s finale. Baseball asked for an extension of the exemption through October 15 so it could complete the full season. With the country fully committed to its involvement in the war, baseball was ruled a non-essential industry and the 1918 season was cut short after Crowder issued a “work-or-fight” order. Leaders. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Some defensive statistics Copyright © Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2021. Rather than the usual Fall Classic, the 1918 series was played in late summer from Sept. 5 to Sept. 11. ""Later that night, Ruth complained of a … The drought of 86 years was often attributed to the Curse of the Bambino. Explanation of Simple Rating System (SRS). By the time it had spread across the United States, the deadly event had killed an estimated 675,000 Americans. By the time the 1918 baseball season ended in Seattle, nearly 200,000 Americans had died in the murderous pandemic that raged in every city in the country and ravaged every corner of the globe. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. The games went on, however, and legendary players like Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson continued to thrill fans. The 1918 baseball season opened April 15. Every game played in the 1918 season. Slugging % # Player Team SLG; 1 . Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Thursday, February 4, 10:51PM. Pete Donovan. Baseball in 1918 not only had spring training, it had a season and a World Series (won by the Boston Red Sox). Do you have a blog? At the tail end of World War I, the deadliest influenza pandemic in human history spread around the world. Copyright © 2000-2021 Sports Reference LLC. But beneath the surface, another deadly battle was brewing. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Check out the 1918 MLB Season History, featuring league standings, postseason results, no-hitters, and baseball's leaders in Home Runs, ERA, and more. Because the curtain closed the 1918 regular season on Labor Day, reducing the number of games played by some teams to as few as 124, Hippo Vaughn of the Cubs was the lone National League hurler to win in excess of 20 games (22 victories). 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