Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs (4–0) All-Star Game, July 6 at Crosley Field: National League, 4–1
Other champions I Amateur World Series: Great Britain Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 5–4 Central American and Caribbean Games: Cuba Bolivarian Games: Venezuela
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Grover Cleveland Alexander Alexander Cartwright Henry Chadwick Most Valuable Player Jimmie Foxx, Boston Red Sox, 1B (AL) Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati Reds, C (NL) The Sporting News Player of the Year Award Johnny Vander Meer, Cincinnati Reds, P The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award Joe McCarthy, New York Yankees
Statistical leaders
American LeagueNational LeagueNegro American LeagueNegro National League Stat Player Total Player Total Player Total Player Total AVG Jimmie Foxx (BOS) .349 Ernie Lombardi (CIN) .342 David Whatley (MEM/BBB) .396 Buck Leonard (HOM) .420 HR Hank Greenberg (DET) 58 Mel Ott (NYG) 36 Willard Brown (KCM) 7 Josh Gibson (HOM) 13 RBI Jimmie Foxx (BOS) 175 Joe Medwick (STL) 122 Willard Brown (KCM) 48 Josh Gibson (HOM) 54 W Red Ruffing (NYY) 21 Bill Lee (CHC) 22 Willie Cornelius (CAG)Hilton Smith1 (KCM) 9 Ray Brown2 (HOM) 14 ERA Lefty Grove (BOS) 3.08 Bill Lee (CHC) 2.66 Hilton Smith1 (KCM) 1.92 Ray Brown2 (HOM) 1.88 K Bob Feller (CLE) 240 Clay Bryant (CHC) 135 Hilton Smith1 (KCM) 88 Ray Brown2 (HOM) 70 1 Negro American League Triple Crown pitching winner 2 Negro National League Triple Crown pitching winner
Major league baseball final standings American League final standings
National League final standings
Negro leagues final standings All Negro leagues standings below are per Seamheads. Negro American League final standings
Negro American League postseason Memphis beat Atlanta 2 games to 0 games in a contested play-off. At the league's winter meetings it was decided that the Red Sox had won the Negro American League pennant due to Memphis' two wins and the forfeiture of Atlanta in game three of the series.
Negro National League final standings
Events January–May February 10 – The St. Louis Browns trade Rollie Hemsley to the Cleveland Indians for Ed Cole, Roy Hughes and Billy Sullivan. March 6 – The Philadelphia Phillies trade Dolph Camilli to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Eddie Morgan and $45,000. April 3 – Goose Goslin joins the Washington Senators. April 16 – The St. Louis Cardinals trade Dizzy Dean to the Chicago Cubs for Curt Davis, Clyde Shoun, Tuck Stainback and $185,000. April 18 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in the season opener at Fenway Park. Hall of famer Joe Gordon makes his major league debut at second base for the Yankees. April 19 Heinie Mueller of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ernie Koy of the Brooklyn Dodgers each hit a home run in their first Major League Baseball at-bats, as Brooklyn defeats Philadelphia, 12–5, at the Baker Bowl. Enos Slaughter goes three-for-five in his major league debut with a double and a strike out. Fritz Ostermueller holds the New York Yankees to just two hits, as the Boston Red Sox shutout the Yanks, 6–0. April 24 – Dizzy Dean holds his former team to just four hits, as the Cubs beat the Cardinals, 4–0. May 5 – The Chicago Cubs defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 21–2 at Wrigley Field. May 6 – At International League, Newark Bears outfielder Bob Seeds hits four home runs in four successive innings and drives in 12 runs against the Buffalo Bisons. The next day, Seeds slams three more. His seven homers in the two-day barrage account for 17 runs batted in and 30 total bases. In his first 59 games‚ Seeds will clout 28 HR with 95 RBI. May 14 – The Philadelphia Athletics acquire Dick Siebert from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Paul Easterling, Gene Hasson and George Turbeville.
June–July June 5 – The Chicago White Sox win the first game of a double header with the Philadelphia Athletics, 8–2, to snap a ten-game losing streak. June 6 – The Cincinnati Reds sent Alex Kampouris to the New York Giants in exchange for Wally Berger. June 11 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer tosses a no-hitter against the Boston Bees, leading his team to a 3–0 win. June 13 – The Philadelphia Phillies sent Bucky Walters to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Spud Davis, Al Hollingsworth and $50,000. June 15 – Johnny Vander Meer becomes the first, and only to date, pitcher in Major League history to throw two consecutive no-hitters as the Cincinnati Reds blank the Brooklyn Dodgers, 6–0. June 18: Babe Ruth signs a contract to coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ruth dons a Dodger uniform the next day, entertains observers with a batting demonstration, and works the third-base coaching box for the remainder of the season. Lefty Mills of the St. Louis Browns pitches a 1–0 shutout over the New York Yankees. It is the second of only two shut outs the Yankees endure all season. June 22 - The Tigers Vern Kennedy fans Pinky Higgins in his first-at-bat, ending his consecutive hit streak at 12. June 26 – Carl Hubbell wins his 200th career game‚ as the New York Giants beat the visiting Chicago Cubs, 5–1, and stretch their National League lead over the second-place Cincinnati Reds to two games. Larry French takes the loss, while newly acquired Bob Seeds‚ up from Newark‚ leads the way with a 470-foot inside-the-park home run. June 30 – In their final game at the Baker Bowl, The Philadelphia Phillies lose to the New York Giants 14–1. Giants outfielder Hank Leiber hit the final home run in the history of the 51 year old stadium. July 6 – At Crosley Field, home of the Cincinnati Reds, the National League defeats the American League, 4–1, in the All-Star Game. July 12 – The Pittsburgh Pirates complete a thirteen-game winning streak to pull themselves within half a game of the first place New York Giants. July 16 – The St. Louis Browns snap a ten-game losing streak with an 8–3 victory over the Boston Red Sox. July 29 – Jake Powell is interviewed by WGN's Bob Elson. When asked about his work as a police office in Dayton Ohio, Powell brags that he "beats n*****s in the head". Commissioner Landis suspends Powell for the comments.
August–September August 2 – The Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals used a yellow baseball in the first game of a doubleheader as an experiment. The two teams went back to the white ball in the second game as the Dodgers swept the doubleheader 6–2 and 9–3. August 7 – Mickey Cochrane is replaced as manager of the Detroit Tigers by Del Baker. August 9 – The Philadelphia A's send Bill Nicholson and $30,000 to the Washington Senators for Dee Miles. August 10 – The New York Yankees trade Eddie Miller to the Boston Bees for Gil English, Johnny Riddle, cash and four players to be named later. On February 4, , the Yankees receive Joe DiMaggio's brother, Vince to complete the trade. August 20 – Cleveland Indians catchers Hank Helf and Frank Pytlak break the "all-time altitude mark" by catching baseballs dropped from the 708-foot Cleveland Terminal Tower. August 22 – Preacher Roe makes his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals. He lasts just 2.2 innings and gives up four earned runs. He doesn't pitch in the major leagues again until with the Pittsburgh Pirates. August 27 – In the second game of a doubleheader, Monte Pearson pitches a no-hitter as the New York Yankees crush the Cleveland Indians, 13–0. September 7: It's Joe Cronin day at Fenway Park, but Jimmie Foxx steals the spotlight with eight RBI in an 11-4 victory over the visiting Yankees. September 9: Lou Boudreau makes his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians in an 11–5 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The Cincinnati Reds sell Jake Mooty and Jimmy Outlaw to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Five days later (September 14), Commissioner Landis voids the deal, making both players eligible for the draft. Outlaw is drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1938 rule 5 draft on October 5, and traded to the Dodgers for Lew Krausse and cash on December 13. Brooklyn then packages him with Buddy Hassett, and send him to the Boston Bees for Ira Hutchinson and Gene Moore the same day. Mooty isn't drafted until October 3, 1939, by the Chicago Cubs from Syracuse (International). September 10 – At the Polo Grounds, the New York Giants defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 20–2. September 30 – The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals play to a 7–7 tie. The tie breaks the Cubs' ten-game winning streak that sees them go from 3.5 games back of the Pittsburgh Pirates to first place in the National League.
October–December October 5 – Red Ruffing and the New York Yankees take game one of the 1938 World Series, 3–1, over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. October 6 – The Cubs jump out to a 1–0, then 3–2 lead against the Yankees, however, two run home runs by Frankie Crosetti and Joe DiMaggio in the eighth and ninth inning, respectively, give the Yankees the 6–3 victory. October 8 – With two outs and no one on base, a two out rally in the fifth inning plates two runs, as the New York Yankees take game three of the World Series, 5–2. October 9 – The New York Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs, 8–3, in Game four of the World Series to win a record third consecutive World Championship, and seventh overall, four games to none. November 1 – National League batting champ Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds is named the Most Valuable Player. Chicago Cubs pitcher Bill Lee is the runner-up. November 2 – Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx is voted Most Valuable Player of the American League for the third time, with New York Yankees catcher Bill Dickey second in the voting. November 28 – The Chicago White Sox 25-year-old pitching star Monty Stratton has his right leg amputated as a result of a hunting accident. Stratton attempted comeback is chronicled in The Stratton Story, with James Stewart in the title role. December 6 – The Chicago Cubs trade Frank Demaree, Billy Jurges and Ken O'Dea to the New York Giants for Dick Bartell, Hank Leiber and Gus Mancuso. December 14 – Major League Baseball teams adopt several resolutions. The National League allows the Cincinnati Reds to play their season opener one day before other teams, as a way of honoring the 100th anniversary of baseball and of the 1869 Red Stockings being the first professional team. In other news, Will Harridge is re-elected American League president and given a 10-year term. The AL permits the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Athletics to play night games. Finally, MLB agree on a standard ball but disagree on increasing rosters from 23 to 25 players. Judge Landis will eventually decide on 25. December 15 – The Boston Red Sox trade Ben Chapman to the Cleveland Indians for Denny Galehouse and Tommy Irwin, trade Pinky Higgins and Archie McKain to the Detroit Tigers for Elden Auker, Chet Morgan and Jake Wade, and sell Bill Harris' contract to the New York Giants. December 16 – The Boston Bees trade Ray Mueller to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Johnny Dickshot and Al Todd.
Births
January January 7 – Fred Whitfield January 10 – Willie McCovey January 16 – Ron Herbel January 18 – Curt Flood January 23 – Bob Moorhead
February February 2 – Max Alvis February 7 – Johnny Werhas February 13 – Dick Hughes February 15 – Chuck Estrada February 18 – Manny Mota February 19 – Bob Sadowski February 22 – Steve Barber
March March 3 – Tetsuya Yoneda March 5 – Larry Elliot March 15 – Bob Locker March 16 – Cal Browning March 17 – Jimmie Hall March 23 – Sam Bowens March 25 – Alan Koch March 30 – Dave Baldwin March 31: John Herrnstein Moose Stubing
April April 2 – Al Weis April 4 – A. Bartlett Giamatti April 5: Ron Hansen Don Prince April 8 – Tom Butters April 11 – Art Quirk April 16 – Rich Rollins April 18 – Rogelio Álvarez April 20 – Jim Dickson April 22 – John Orsino
May May 3 – Chris Cannizzaro May 4 – Howie Koplitz May 10 – Merritt Ranew May 12 – Norm Gigon May 15 – Al McBean May 27 – Fred Bruckbauer May 29: Fay Vincent Dale Willis May 31 – Ray Washburn
June June 2: