WW I, not Spanish Flu shortened baseball in 1918

With baseball beaned by the bug in 2020, many note that the 1918 season was also shorted by a pandemic, the Spanish Flu that claimed 675,000 Americans among its 50 million deaths worldwide.

Not true. Baseball biggies agreed to a shortened 140 game schedule for 1918 (from 154) to accommodate the massive US buildup for WW I. But in July, War Secretary Newton Baker issued a ‘work or fight’ edict which spelled doom for men playing a kids game for money. After negotiations between the League and Baker, the season finally ended a month early on September 2, with teams having played between 125 and 128 games. The World Series made its earliest start ever on September 5. The Red Sox, led by ace pitcher Babe Ruth, downed the Cubbies 4 games to 2. To accommodate players returning from France, the 1919 season was also trimmed to 140 games, which proceeded as scheduled.

The Spanish Flu did shorten the lives of a number of 1918 players, sports writers and an umpire including former White Sox outfielder Larry Chappell.

Pandemic wise, 2020 is unique.