1938 Season

30 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1938 Major League Baseball season was played by 30 teams. The New York Yankees won the World Series, defeating the Chicago Cubs. Hank Greenberg led with 58 home runs, Jimmie Foxx led with 175 RBI, and Frank McCormick led with 209 hits. This page carries the 1938 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

1938 Bracket
World Series NYA def. CHN (4-0)
ALC MRS def. BCA (2-0)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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1928 1933 1937 1938 1939 1943 1948

⚾ Batting Leaders

1938 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 — 468 plate appearances at 151 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Jimmie Foxx .349 2 Jeff Heath .343 3 Ernie Lombardi .342 4 Ben Chapman .340 5 Johnny Mize .337

OPS qualified

1 Jimmie Foxx 1.166 2 Hank Greenberg 1.122 3 Johnny Mize 1.036 4 Mel Ott 1.024 5 Rudy York .995

Home Runs all players

1 Hank Greenberg 58 2 Jimmie Foxx 50 3 Mel Ott 36 4 Harlond Clift 34 5 Rudy York 33

RBI all players

1 Jimmie Foxx 175 2 Hank Greenberg 146 3 Joe DiMaggio 140 4 Rudy York 127 5 Joe Medwick 122

Hits all players

1 Frank McCormick 209 2 Joe Vosmik 201 3 Doc Cramer 198 4 Mel Almada 197 5 Jimmie Foxx 197

Runs all players

1 Hank Greenberg 144 2 Jimmie Foxx 139 3 Charlie Gehringer 133 4 Red Rolfe 132 5 Joe DiMaggio 129

Stolen Bases all players

1 Frankie Crosetti 27 2 Henry Milton 25 3 Lyn Lary 23 4 Willard Brown 20 5 Billy Werber 19
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1938 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 151 innings at 151 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Bill Lee 2.66 2 Ira Hutchinson 2.74 3 Charlie Root 2.86 4 Paul Derringer 2.93 5 Danny MacFayden 2.95

WHIP qualified

1 Carl Hubbell 1.14 2 Paul Derringer 1.19 3 Jim Turner 1.20 4 Charlie Root 1.20 5 Bill Lohrman 1.22

Wins all pitchers

1 Bill Lee 22 2 Paul Derringer 21 3 Red Ruffing 21 4 Bobo Newsom 20 5 Clay Bryant 19

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Bob Feller 240 2 Bobo Newsom 226 3 Clay Bryant 135 4 Howard Mills 134 5 Paul Derringer 132

Saves all pitchers

1 Dick Coffman 12 2 Johnny Murphy 11 3 Charlie Root 8 4 Dick Errickson 6 5 Luke Hamlin 6
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

NAL

Memphis Red Sox ★ 34-23 Kansas City Monarchs 42-25 Atlanta Black Crackers 28-26 Chicago American Giants 31-32 Jacksonville Red Caps 11-12 Indianapolis ABCs 17-21 Birmingham Black Barons 12-36

NN2

Homestead Grays ★ 39-13 Philadelphia Stars 39-26 Pittsburgh Crawfords 25-23 Baltimore Elite Giants 21-23 Newark Eagles 23-29 New York Black Yankees 11-27 Washington Black Senators 2-19

American League

New York Yankees ★ 99-53 Boston Red Sox 88-61 Cleveland Indians 86-66 Detroit Tigers 84-70 Washington Senators 75-76 Chicago White Sox 65-83 St. Louis Browns 55-97 Philadelphia Athletics 53-99

National League

Chicago Cubs ★ 89-63 Pittsburgh Pirates 86-64 New York Giants 83-67 Cincinnati Reds 82-68 Boston Bees 77-75 St. Louis Cardinals 71-80 Brooklyn Dodgers 69-80 Philadelphia Phillies 45-105

The 1938 season in brief

At 39-13, the Homestead Grays had the top winning percentage of the 1938 season. 2-19 left the Washington Black Senators with the lowest winning percentage of 1938. Group by group, the Negro American League ended with the Memphis Red Sox and the Kansas City Monarchs level at 34-23, the Memphis Red Sox ranked first, National League honors went to the Chicago Cubs, whose 89-63 beat the Pittsburgh Pirates's 86-64, the Homestead Grays owned the Negro National League with a 39-13 mark, the Philadelphia Stars next at 39-26, and the New York Yankees owned the American League with a 99-53 mark, the Boston Red Sox next at 88-61. Alongside the American and National Leagues, the 1938 page carries standings for the Negro American League and Negro National League, whose seasons MLB now treats as major league. 1938's champions were the New York Yankees, World Series winners against the Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 0. The other series results were the Memphis Red Sox over the Atlanta Black Crackers in the series the bracket labels ALC (2-0). The home run board is topped by Hank Greenberg at 58, ahead of Jimmie Foxx with 50. Jimmie Foxx's .349 is the best average on the qualified board, with Jeff Heath next at .343. In 1938 the qualifying line sat at 468 plate appearances, from a 151-game club schedule. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1938 leaders page.

1938 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1938?
The New York Yankees won the 1938 World Series, beating the Chicago Cubs.
How many teams played in 1938?
30 teams played in the 1938 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1938?
Hank Greenberg led with 58 home runs in 1938.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1938?
Jimmie Foxx led with 175 RBI in 1938.
Who led MLB in hits in 1938?
Frank McCormick led with 209 hits in 1938.
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