1940 Season

29 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1940 Major League Baseball season was played by 29 teams. The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers. Johnny Mize led with 43 home runs, Hank Greenberg led with 150 RBI, and Doc Cramer, Barney McCosky, and Rip Radcliff led with 200 hits. This page carries the 1940 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

1940 Bracket
World Series CIN def. DET (4-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1940 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 Joe DiMaggio .352 2 Luke Appling .348 3 Ted Williams .344 4 Rip Radcliff .342 5 Hank Greenberg .340

OPS qualified

1 Hank Greenberg 1.103 2 Joe DiMaggio 1.051 3 Johnny Mize 1.039 4 Ted Williams 1.036 5 Rudy York .993

Home Runs all players

1 Johnny Mize 43 2 Hank Greenberg 41 3 Jimmie Foxx 36 4 Rudy York 33 5 Joe DiMaggio 31

RBI all players

1 Hank Greenberg 150 2 Johnny Mize 137 3 Rudy York 134 4 Joe DiMaggio 133 5 Frank McCormick 127

Hits all players

1 Doc Cramer 200 2 Barney McCosky 200 3 Rip Radcliff 200 4 Luke Appling 197 5 Taffy Wright 196

Runs all players

1 Ted Williams 134 2 Hank Greenberg 129 3 Barney McCosky 123 4 Arky Vaughan 113 5 Joe Gordon 112

Stolen Bases all players

1 George Case 35 2 Lonny Frey 22 3 Stan Hack 21 4 Gee Walker 21 5 Joe Gordon 18
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1940 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 Ray Brown 2.07 2 Bucky Walters 2.48 3 Claude Passeau 2.50 4 Bob Feller 2.61 5 Rip Sewell 2.80

WHIP qualified

1 Bucky Walters 1.09 2 Ray Brown 1.10 3 Paul Derringer 1.11 4 Claude Passeau 1.13 5 Bob Feller 1.13

Wins all pitchers

1 Bob Feller 27 2 Bucky Walters 22 3 Bobo Newsom 21 4 Paul Derringer 20 5 Claude Passeau 20

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Bob Feller 261 2 Bobo Newsom 164 3 Johnny Rigney 141 4 Kirby Higbe 137 5 Tommy Bridges 133

Saves all pitchers

1 Al Benton 17 2 Clint Brown 10 3 Johnny Murphy 9 4 Joe Beggs 7 5 Jumbo Brown 7
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

NAL

Kansas City Monarchs ★ 38-13 Memphis Red Sox 31-26 Cleveland Bears 18-18 St. Louis-New Orleans Stars 24-25 Chicago American Giants 22-26 Birmingham Black Barons 16-29 Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords 9-21

NN2

Homestead Grays ★ 28-13 Baltimore Elite Giants 25-14 Newark Eagles 25-16 Philadelphia Stars 17-30 New York Black Yankees 9-19 New York Cubans 8-20

American League

Detroit Tigers ★ 90-64 Cleveland Indians 89-65 New York Yankees 88-66 Boston Red Sox 82-72 Chicago White Sox 82-72 St. Louis Browns 67-87 Washington Senators 64-90 Philadelphia Athletics 54-100

National League

Cincinnati Reds ★ 100-53 Brooklyn Dodgers 88-65 St. Louis Cardinals 84-69 Pittsburgh Pirates 78-76 Chicago Cubs 75-79 New York Giants 72-80 Boston Bees 65-87 Philadelphia Phillies 50-103

The 1940 season in brief

The best record in the 1940 standings belonged to the Kansas City Monarchs, who finished 38-13. At the other end, the New York Cubans went 8-20. Race by race in 1940, the Detroit Tigers (90-64) edged the Cleveland Indians (89-65) in the American League, Negro National League honors went to the Homestead Grays, whose 28-13 beat the Baltimore Elite Giants's 25-14, the Kansas City Monarchs ran away with the Negro American League at 38-13, and the Cincinnati Reds won the National League going away, 100-53 against 88-65 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Alongside the American and National Leagues, the 1940 page carries standings for the Negro American League and Negro National League, whose seasons MLB now treats as major league. The bracket ends with the Cincinnati Reds taking the World Series from the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3. On the home run tile, Johnny Mize sat first with 43, ahead of Hank Greenberg with 41. Among qualified hitters, Joe DiMaggio had the top batting average, .352, with Luke Appling next at .348. Qualification for that 1940 board is 477 plate appearances at 154 team games. The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Ray Brown at 2.07; Bucky Walters followed at 2.48. The other 1940 pitching tiles are led by Bob Feller in wins (27), Bob Feller in strikeouts (261), and Al Benton in saves (17). For the complete tables behind these tiles, see the 1940 leaders page.

1940 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1940?
The Cincinnati Reds won the 1940 World Series, beating the Detroit Tigers.
How many teams played in 1940?
29 teams played in the 1940 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1940?
Johnny Mize led with 43 home runs in 1940.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1940?
Hank Greenberg led with 150 RBI in 1940.
Who led MLB in hits in 1940?
Doc Cramer, Barney McCosky, and Rip Radcliff tied for the lead with 200 hits in 1940.
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