YEAR IN REVIEW : 1938 American League

Off the field...

On October 30th, actor Orson Wells broadcasted his own adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic "War of the Worlds". His original "news-style" format proved more than a little convincing and created a nationwide panic as many listeners actually believed that alien invaders had landed in New Jersey. After the controversial program established him as a creative genius, Wells was signed by RKO pictures where he co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first film, "Citizen Kane" (1941) which is still considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was passed to establish minimum living standards for workers engaged directly or indirectly in interstate commerce. A major provision of the act was the establishment of a Minimum Wage, initially $0.25 an hour, along with a maximum workweek of forty-four hours. These went on to become $0.40 an hour and forty hours after seven years.

In the American League...

New York Yankee icon Lou Gehrig hit his twenty-third (and final) grand slam during an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics on August 20th for a Major League record that still stands today.

Indian catchers Frank Pytlak and Hank Helf broke the "all-time altitude mark" by catching baseballs dropped from the 706-foot Cleveland Terminal Tower on August 20th. Over the next few years, several players were seriously injured attempting to break this unusual record.

Cleveland ace Bob Feller set a Major League strikeout record after fanning eighteen Detroit Tigers on October 2nd (including six straight), yet still lost 4-1 on rival Harry Eisenstat's four-hitter.

In the National League...

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Texas Christian University All-American football star and Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh as an infielder. Although he started off with the team in spring training, he was eventually assigned to the "Redbirds" farm system in both Columbus and Rochester.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Hal Kelleher set two unwanted Major League records on May 5th after surrendering twelve runs off of sixteen Chicago Cub batters in the eighth inning of a 21-2 massacre. Joe Marty led the attack with four hits for four runs and four runs batted in.

In December, the National League granted the Cincinnati Reds their season opener one-day before the rest of the league in recognition of the 100th anniversary of baseball and the 1869 Red Stockings who were baseball's first professional team.

Around the League...

A special committee from the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Alexander Cartwright for originating baseball's original concepts and sports writer Henry Chadwick for the invention of the box score.

On June 18th, Babe Ruth signed on as a Brooklyn Dodgers coach for the remainder of the season. Desperately seeking a management position, "The Sultan of Swat" agreed to participate in many exploitive "non-coaching related" publicity stunts including appearing before games in uniform for batting demonstrations.

The founder of the Elias Sports Bureau and official statistician of the National League, Al Munro Elias, died in New York City on August 1st at the age of sixty-seven.

The New York Yankees became the first team to win three successive World Championships after defeating the Chicago Cubs by a score of 8-3. On a somber note, the ailing Lou Gehrig, went four for fourteen (all singles) for his last Series appearance.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"I'm sorry I have no picture, but you are absolutely right. I was out by a mile (September 27, 1938) and had no business being called safe so you can tell your boys that their dad stopped Hank Greenberg from getting home run number 57." - Hank Greenberg

1938 American League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Jimmie Foxx Boston 119 Top 25
Hank Greenberg Detroit
Batting Average Jimmie Foxx Boston .349 Top 25
Doubles Joe Cronin Boston 51 Top 25
Hits Joe Vosmik Boston 201 Top 25
Home Runs Hank Greenberg Detroit 58 Top 25
On Base Percentage Jimmie Foxx Boston .462 Top 25
RBI Jimmie Foxx Boston 175 Top 25
Runs Hank Greenberg Detroit 144 Top 25
Slugging Average Jimmie Foxx Boston .704 Top 25
Stolen Bases Frankie Crosetti New York 27 Top 25
Total Bases Jimmie Foxx Boston 398 Top 25
Triples Jeff Heath Cleveland 18 Top 25

1938 American League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Bobo Newsom St. Louis 31 Top 25
ERA Lefty Grove Boston 3.08 Top 25
Games Johnny Humphries Cleveland 45 Top 25
Saves Johnny Murphy New York 11 Top 25
Shutouts Lefty Gomez New York 4 Top 25
Strikeouts Bob Feller Cleveland 240 Top 25
Winning Percentage Red Ruffing New York .750 Top 25
Wins Red Ruffing New York 21 Top 25

1938 American League

Team Standings

New York Yankees 99 53 .651 0
Boston Red Sox 88 61 .591
Cleveland Indians 86 66 .566 13
Detroit Tigers 84 70 .545 16
Washington Senators 75 76 .497 23½
Chicago White Sox 65 83 .439 32
St. Louis Browns 55 97 .362 44
Philadelphia Athletics 53 99 .349 46

1938 American League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls New York 749
Batting Average Boston .299
Doubles Cleveland 300
Hits Washington 1,602
Home Runs New York 174
On Base Percentage Boston .378
Runs New York 966
Slugging Average New York .446
Stolen Bases New York 91
Triples Cleveland 89

1938 American League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games New York 91
ERA New York 3.92
Fewest Hits Allowed Cleveland 1,416
Fewest Home Runs Allowed New York 85
Fewest Walks Allowed Boston 528
Saves Cleveland 17
Shutouts New York 11
Strikeouts Cleveland 717
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | World Series
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Retirements | Rookies List
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baseball almanac fast facts

In 1932 Jimmie Foxx hit fifty-eight home runs with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1938 Foxx hit fifty home runs with the Red Sox making him the first player to hit more than fifty home runs during a single season with two different teams.

Respect? Jimmie Foxx had that and more on June 16, 1938 when the St. Louis Browns walked him six times in six at-bats tieing the Major League record for bases on balls during a game.

Hank Greenberg held his own in 1938 also as he led the American League in home runs, set a single season record for long balls in Briggs Stadium (39), and received the following comments by National Baseball Hall of Fame member Harry Heilmann, "Hank Greenberg hits the ball harder than Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, or Lou Gehrig."