1909 Season

22 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1909 Major League Baseball season was played by 22 teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers. Ty Cobb led with 9 home runs, Ty Cobb led with 107 RBI, and Ty Cobb led with 216 hits. This page carries the 1909 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1909 Bracket
World Series PIT def. DET (4-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1909 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 477 plate appearances at 154 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Ty Cobb .377 2 Eddie Collins .347 3 Honus Wagner .339 4 Nap Lajoie .324 5 Harry Lord .315

OPS qualified

1 Ty Cobb .947 2 Honus Wagner .909 3 Eddie Collins .866 4 Sam Crawford .817 5 Jake Stahl .812

Home Runs all players

1 Ty Cobb 9 2 Red Murray 7 3 Tris Speaker 7 4 Beals Becker 6 5 Sam Crawford 6

RBI all players

1 Ty Cobb 107 2 Honus Wagner 100 3 Sam Crawford 97 4 Red Murray 91 5 Dots Miller 87

Hits all players

1 Ty Cobb 216 2 Eddie Collins 198 3 Sam Crawford 185 4 Larry Doyle 172 5 Eddie Grant 170

Runs all players

1 Tommy Leach 126 2 Donie Bush 115 3 Ty Cobb 115 4 Eddie Collins 104 5 Fred Clarke 97

Stolen Bases all players

1 Ty Cobb 76 2 Eddie Collins 63 3 Bob Bescher 54 4 Donie Bush 53 5 Red Murray 48
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1909 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 154 innings at 154 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Christy Mathewson 1.14 2 Mordecai Brown 1.31 3 Harry Krause 1.39 4 Ed Walsh 1.41 5 Orval Overall 1.42

WHIP qualified

1 Christy Mathewson 0.83 2 Mordecai Brown 0.87 3 Ed Walsh 0.94 4 Harry Krause 0.94 5 Addie Joss 0.94

Wins all pitchers

1 George Mullin 29 2 Mordecai Brown 27 3 Howie Camnitz 25 4 Christy Mathewson 25 5 Frank Smith 25

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Orval Overall 205 2 Nap Rucker 201 3 Frank Smith 177 4 Earl Moore 173 5 Mordecai Brown 172

Saves all pitchers

1 Frank Arellanes 8 2 Mordecai Brown 7 3 Doc Crandall 6 4 Howie Camnitz 3 5 Al Mattern 3
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

American League

Detroit Tigers ★ 98-54 Philadelphia Athletics 95-58 Boston Red Sox 88-63 Chicago White Sox 78-74 New York Highlanders 74-77 Cleveland Naps 71-82 St. Louis Browns 61-89 Washington Senators 42-110

INT

Brooklyn Royal Giants ★ 9-3 Cuban Stars of Havana 8-5 Philadelphia Giants 6-12

National League

Pittsburgh Pirates ★ 110-42 Chicago Cubs 104-49 New York Giants 92-61 Cincinnati Reds 77-76 Philadelphia Phillies 74-79 Brooklyn Superbas 55-98 St. Louis Cardinals 54-98 Boston Doves 45-108

WES

St. Paul Gophers ★ 11-2 Chicago Leland Giants 17-13 Kansas City Giants 12-12

The 1909 season in brief

The St. Paul Gophers set the pace in 1909 with a 11-2 record. At the other end, the Washington Senators went 42-110. Race by race in 1909, INT group honors went to the Brooklyn Royal Giants, whose 9-3 beat the Cuban Stars of Havana's 8-5, WES group honors went to the St. Paul Gophers, whose 11-2 beat the Chicago Leland Giants's 17-13, American League honors went to the Detroit Tigers, whose 98-54 beat the Philadelphia Athletics's 95-58, and nobody in the National League came near the Pittsburgh Pirates's 110-42. The bracket ends with the Pittsburgh Pirates taking the World Series from the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3. Ty Cobb led the majors with 9 home runs, ahead of Red Murray with 7. Among qualified hitters, Ty Cobb had the top batting average, .377, with Eddie Collins next at .347. Ty Cobb cleared the 477-plate-appearance line that 1909's 154 team games set. The batting tiles keep returning to Ty Cobb, first in batting average, OPS, home runs, RBI, hits, and stolen bases. Christy Mathewson's 1.14 ERA led the qualified pitchers; Mordecai Brown followed at 1.31. Elsewhere on the pitching side, the 1909 leaders were George Mullin in wins (29) and Orval Overall in strikeouts (205). The stolen-base tile is headed by Ty Cobb with 76. The 1909 leaders page lists every qualified line, and each club links to its own 1909 page.

1909 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1909?
The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 1909 World Series, beating the Detroit Tigers.
How many teams played in 1909?
22 teams played in the 1909 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1909?
Ty Cobb led with 9 home runs in 1909.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1909?
Ty Cobb led with 107 RBI in 1909.
Who led MLB in hits in 1909?
Ty Cobb led with 216 hits in 1909.
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