The following are the baseball events of the year 1901 throughout the world.
Champions
Major League Baseball
Other champions
Statistical leaders
1Modern (post-1900) single season batting average record
Notable seasons
- Nap Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics hits .426, an AL batting average record that still stands today. This record is also the modern or post-1900 batting average record and is often cited as the highest batting average of all time. The true all-time batting average leader is Hugh Duffy, who hit .440 in 1894.
- Cy Young of the Boston Americans leads the AL in ERA at 1.62 and wins 33 games, 41.8% of the Pilgrims' total.
Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
Note: The Baltimore Orioles of 1901 became the New York Highlanders in 1903. The Milwaukee Brewers of 1901 became the St. Louis Browns in 1902.
National League final standings
Events
January
- January 4 - The Baltimore Oriole club incorporates. John McGraw is manager and part-owner.
- January 28 - The American League formally organizes. The eight original clubs were the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Brewers, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Blues, Cleveland Lake Shores, Buffalo Bisons, and Minneapolis Millers. The Hoosiers, Bisons, and Millers are contracted; the Boston Americans, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Athletics are admitted. Teams are limited to 14 players and will play 140 games per season.
February
- February 8 - Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Nap Lajoie, along with pitchers Chick Fraser and Bill Bernhard, jump to the new American League Philadelphia club, the Athletics.
- February 27 - The National League Rules Committee decrees that all fouls are strikes, except those hit after two strikes. In order to prevent balls from fouled and lost, the committee urges that "batsmen who foul off good strikes are to be disciplined." Also, now a ball will be called if the pitcher does not throw to the ready batter within 20 seconds, or if the pitcher hits the batter with a pitch.
March
April
May
- May 2 - This was the date of the American League's first forfeit, with the Detroit Tigers playing the Chicago White Stockings. The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the ninth to put them on top, 7-5, and the White Stockings began stalling for a rainout. However, the umpire forfeited the game to the Tigers.
- May 8:
- Amos Rusie, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, makes his first start in more than two years. He loses, 14-3, and retires after two more appearances.
- With the New York Giants leading the Philadelphia Phillies 9-8 with two out in the ninth, John Ganzel of the Giants pulls the hidden ball trick on Harry Wolverton of the Phillies. This trick ends the game and preserves the Giants' win.
- May 9 - Earl Moore of the Cleveland Blues pitched nine hitless innings against the Chicago White Stockings before giving up two hits in the 10th inning to lose 4-2.
- May 17 - The Philadelphia Athletics are beating the Washington Senators 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth when Senators player Bill Coughlin hits an apparent game-ending home run. However, under the rules of the time, Coughlin is credited with just a single, as that is all that it would have taken for the Senators to beat the Athletics.
- May 21 - Andrew Freedman, owner of the New York Giants, refuses to allow umpire Billy Nash inside the Polo Grounds, accusing him of incompetence. Players from both teams umpired the rest of the game.
- May 23 - Nap Lajoie, on his way to hitting a record .426 for the Philadelphia Athletics, is considered such a dangerous hitter by the Chicago White Stockings that he is intentionally walked with the bases loaded.
- May 27 - Third baseman Jimmy Burke of the Milwaukee Brewers sets an American League record by committing four errors in an inning. This record will be tied in 1914 by the Cleveland Naps' Ray Chapman, and in 1942 by the Chicago Cubs' Len Merullo.
- May 30 - In the afternoon game of a holiday doubleheader, the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Giants 6-5 in 10 innings. An NL record 28,500 fans attend the game.
June
- June 9 - 17,000 fans attend the Reds-Giants game. The Giants are up, 15-4, after six innings, when the fans begin to overflow the field. Over the next two and a half innings, 19 runs score as ground-rule doubles multiply. As the crowd enters the infield, with the Giants leading 25-13, umpire Bob Emslie forfeits the game to the Giants. The game ends with a record 31 hits and 13 doubles.
- June 20 - Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates steals home twice in one game as the Pirates beat the Giants 7-0.
July
August
September
October–December
- October 20 - The St. Louis Cardinals roster was devastated when seven players jumped to the American League's new St. Louis franchise.
- December 3 - The American League officially approved the transfer of the Milwaukee franchise to St. Louis. The nickname changes from the Brewers to the Browns.
Births
January–April
May–August
September–December
Deaths
- April 30 - Dude Esterbrook, 43, infielder who batted .314 for the pennant-winning 1884 New York Metropolitans