1921 Season

29 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1921 Major League Baseball season was played by 29 teams. The New York Giants won the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth led with 59 home runs, Babe Ruth led with 171 RBI, and Harry Heilmann led with 237 hits. This page carries the 1921 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

1921 Bracket
World Series NY1 def. NYA (5-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

⏳ Browse Seasons

1911 1916 1920 1921 1922 1926 1931

⚾ Batting Leaders

1921 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 — 474 plate appearances at 153 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Rogers Hornsby .397 2 Harry Heilmann .394 3 Ty Cobb .389 4 Babe Ruth .378 5 George Sisler .371

OPS qualified

1 Babe Ruth 1.359 2 Rogers Hornsby 1.097 3 Harry Heilmann 1.051 4 Ty Cobb 1.048 5 Ken Williams .990

Home Runs all players

1 Babe Ruth 59 2 Bob Meusel 24 3 Ken Williams 24 4 George Kelly 23 5 Tillie Walker 23

RBI all players

1 Babe Ruth 171 2 Harry Heilmann 139 3 Bob Meusel 136 4 Bobby Veach 128 5 Rogers Hornsby 126

Hits all players

1 Harry Heilmann 237 2 Jack Tobin 236 3 Rogers Hornsby 235 4 George Sisler 216 5 Frankie Frisch 211

Runs all players

1 Babe Ruth 177 2 Jack Tobin 132 3 Rogers Hornsby 131 4 Roger Peckinpaugh 128 5 George Sisler 125

Stolen Bases all players

1 Frankie Frisch 49 2 Max Carey 37 3 Oscar Charleston 35 4 George Sisler 35 5 Joe Hewitt 32
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1921 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 153 innings at 153 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Bullet Rogan 1.82 2 Red Faber 2.48 3 Bill Doak 2.59 4 Babe Adams 2.64 5 José Leblanc 2.74

WHIP qualified

1 Babe Adams 1.08 2 Rube Curry 1.09 3 José Leblanc 1.11 4 Dicta Johnson 1.14 5 Bill Holland 1.15

Wins all pitchers

1 Carl Mays 27 2 Urban Shocker 27 3 Red Faber 25 4 Stan Coveleski 23 5 Sad Sam Jones 23

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Walter Johnson 143 2 Burleigh Grimes 136 3 Wilbur Cooper 134 4 Urban Shocker 132 5 Bob Shawkey 126

Saves all pitchers

1 Carl Mays 7 2 Jim Middleton 7 3 Lou North 7 4 Jesse Barnes 6 5 Hugh McQuillan 5
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

NNL

Chicago American Giants ★ 44-22 St. Louis Giants 42-32 Kansas City Monarchs 53-41 Indianapolis ABCs 39-37 Detroit Stars 31-33 Columbus Buckeyes 31-39 Cincinnati Cuban Stars 29-40 Chicago Giants 10-35

EAS

Hilldale Club ★ 27-18 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 44-36 New York Lincoln Giants 12-10 Cuban Stars East 10-9 Brooklyn Royal Giants 5-8

American League

New York Yankees ★ 98-55 Cleveland Indians 94-60 St. Louis Browns 81-73 Washington Senators 80-73 Boston Red Sox 75-79 Detroit Tigers 71-82 Chicago White Sox 62-92 Philadelphia Athletics 53-100

National League

New York Giants ★ 94-59 Pittsburgh Pirates 90-63 St. Louis Cardinals 87-66 Boston Braves 79-74 Brooklyn Robins 77-75 Cincinnati Reds 70-83 Chicago Cubs 64-89 Philadelphia Phillies 51-103

The 1921 season in brief

Of every club in the 1921 standings, the Chicago American Giants won most often, going 44-22. Nobody in 1921 fared worse than the Chicago Giants (10-35). In the 1921 standings, the Hilldale Club (27-18) edged the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (44-36) in the EAS group, the New York Giants (94-59) held off the Pittsburgh Pirates (90-63) in the National League, the Cleveland Indians (94-60) finished a distant second to the New York Yankees (98-55) in the American League, and the St. Louis Giants (42-32) finished a distant second to the Chicago American Giants (44-22) in the Negro National League. Alongside the American and National Leagues, the 1921 page carries standings for the Negro National League, whose seasons MLB now treats as major league. The New York Giants won the World Series over the New York Yankees, 5 games to 3. On the home run tile, Babe Ruth sat first with 59, ahead of Bob Meusel with 24. Among qualified hitters, Rogers Hornsby had the top batting average, .397, with Harry Heilmann next at .394. Rogers Hornsby cleared the 474-plate-appearance line that 1921's 153 team games set. The batting tiles keep returning to Babe Ruth, first in OPS, home runs, RBI, and runs. Bullet Rogan's 1.82 ERA led the qualified pitchers; Red Faber followed at 2.48. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1921 leaders page.

1921 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1921?
The New York Giants won the 1921 World Series, beating the New York Yankees.
How many teams played in 1921?
29 teams played in the 1921 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1921?
Babe Ruth led with 59 home runs in 1921.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1921?
Babe Ruth led with 171 RBI in 1921.
Who led MLB in hits in 1921?
Harry Heilmann led with 237 hits in 1921.
All Seasons