1920 in baseball

Year in baseball
this year = 1920

Champions

*World Series: Cleveland Indians over Brooklyn Robins (5-2)

Awards and honors

*MLB Most Valuable Player Award
** None

MLB Statistical Leaders

Major League Baseball final standings

American League final standings

East (independent teams) final standings

A loose confederation of teams were gathered in the East to compete with the West, however East teams did not organize a formal league as the West did.
*Won-loss records were sporadically reported due to lack of interest by the press mainly in New York.
*Bacharach claimed the pennant, although Hilldale disputed it.

Events

*May 1 - In a kind of game you don't see anymore, the Brooklyn Dodgers' Leon Cadore and the Boston Braves' Joe Oeschger pitched 26 innings in a 1-1 tie. A morning rain delayed the start of the game until 3:00 p.m. The Robins scored a run in the top of the fifth, a single by Ivy Olson driving in Ernie Krueger. The Braves tied it in the bottom of the sixth with a double by Walt Cruise and a single by Tony Boeckel. The game went into extra innings. No runs were scored for the rest of the game and it was called off in the 26th inning due to darkness.

*May 14 - Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators records his 300th win.

*July 1 - Six weeks after recording his 300th, Walter Johnson pitches the only no-hitter of his career, as the Washington Senators top the Boston Red Sox, 1-0.

*August 16 - Indians shortstop Ray Chapman is struck in the head by a pitch from the Yankees' Carl Mays in a game at the Polo Grounds. He dies twelve hours later from a fractured skull, making it the only fatal field accident in major league history. His death leads to the banning of the spitball.

*September 17 - Detroit Tigers' Bobby Veach and New York Giants' George Burns hit for the cycle, the first time it happened twice on the same day, according to the "Elias Sports Bureau". Detroit past the Boston Red Sox, 13–12, in 12 innings, despite a major-league record 20 BoSox receiving walks. Eight Tigers walk off to set another ML record of 28 walks in an extra-inning game. Veach finished 6-for-6, adding two singles, as Burns added a second double to his cycle in New York's 4–3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings. Two separate players would not hit for the cycle on the same day until 2008, when the feat was duplicated by Stephen Drew and Adrián Beltré for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, respectively.

*October 12 - The Cleveland Indians defeat the Brooklyn Robins, 3-0, in Game 7 of the World Series, winning their first World Championship, five games to two. The only World Series triple play, the first World Series grand slam and the first World Series home run by a pitcher all occurred in one of the most unusual games in World Series history, Game 5. The triple play was unassisted and turned by Cleveland's Bill Wambsganssand, to date, it remains the only triple play turned in postseason play. The first grand slam in World Series history was hit by Cleveland's Elmer Smith and the first Series home run by a pitcher was hit by Cleveland's Jim Bagby, Sr. And in that same game, Brooklyn outhit Cleveland but lost, 8-1.

Births

January-March

*January 2 - Cliff Dapper
*January 4 - Walter Ockey
*January 6 - Early Wynn
*January 7 - Dixie Howell (P)
*January 8 - Bert Kuczynski
*January 10 - Max Patkin
*January 15 - Steve Gromek
*January 20 - Sammy Hairston
*February 2 - Zeb Eaton
*February 8 - Buddy Blattner
*February 11 - Boyd Bartley
*February 20 - Frankie Gustine
*February 20 - Roy Valdés
*February 26 - Danny Gardella
*February 27 - Connie Ryan
*March 18 - Mickey Rutner
*March 28 - Babe Martin
*March 31 - Dave Koslo

April-June

*April 8 - Dick Adams
*April 19 - John O'Neil
*April 24 - Dixie Howell
*April 26 - Ron Northey
*April 28 - Red Treadway
*May 3 - Dan Bankhead
*May 11 - Gene Hermanski
*May 16 - Dave Philley
*May 24 - Wally Shaner
*June 16 - Eddie Malone
*June 20 - Héctor Rodríguez
*June 22 - Walt Masterson
*June 23 - Deacon Donahue
*June 26 - Jean-Pierre Roy
*June 28 - Bert Shepard

July-September

*July 1 - Paul Lehner
*July 3 - Paul O'Dea
*July 6 - Eddie Bockman
*July 16 - Larry Jansen
*July 18 - Eddie Kazak
*July 26 - Sibby Sisti
*July 29 - Erv Dusak
*August 3 - Jim Hegan
*August 3 - Vic Johnson
*August 4 - Bob Keegan
*August 18 - Bob Kennedy
*August 19 - Vern Bickford
*September 3 - Sandy Consuegra
*September 12 - Andy Seminick
*September 18 - Paul Gillespie
*September 22 - Bob Lemon
*September 24 - Otis Davis

October-December

*October 2 - Spec Shea
*October 8 - Catfish Metkovich
*October 20 - Pat McGlothin
*October 20 - Bill Ramsey
*October 23 - Vern Stephens
*October 26 - Bud Byerly
*November 2 - Dick Sisler
*November 8 - Wally Westlake
*November 9 - Dick Whitman
*November 21 - Stan Musial
*November 23 - Jake Jones
*November 27 - Johnny Schmitz
*November 28 - Mike Schultz
*December 6 - Gus Niarhos
*December 15 - Eddie Robinson
*December 21 - Bill Werle
*December 28 - Leslie Aulds

Deaths

*August 17 - Ray Chapman, 29, shortstop for the Cleveland Indians since 1912 who batted .300 three times, led AL in runs and walks in 1918
*September 11 - Bill Hallman, 53, second baseman, mainly with the Phillies, who batted .300 and scored 100 runs four times each