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1891 Major League Baseball season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1891 MLB season |
| league | American Association (AA) |
| National League (NL) | |
| sport | Baseball |
| duration | April 8 – October 6, 1891 (AA) |
| April 22 – October 3, 1891 (NL) | |
| no_of_games | 140 |
| no_of_teams | 17 (8 active per league, 9 AA total) |
| playoffs | Pennant winner |
| conf1 | AA |
| conf1_champ | [Boston Reds](1891-boston-reds-season) |
| conf1_runner-up | [St. Louis Browns](1891-st-louis-browns-season) |
| conf2 | NL |
| conf2_champ | [Boston Beaneaters](1891-boston-beaneaters-season) |
| conf2_runner-up | [Chicago Colts](1891-chicago-colts-season) |
| seasonslist | List of Major League Baseball seasons |
| seasonslistnames | MLB |
| prevseason_link | 1890 Major League Baseball season |
| prevseason_year | 1890 |
| nextseason_link | 1892 Major League Baseball season |
| nextseason_year | 1892 |
National League (NL) April 22 – October 3, 1891 (NL) | conf1_runner-up = St. Louis Browns | conf2_runner-up = Chicago Colts | finals_runner-up = The 1891 major league baseball season was contested from April 8 through October 6, 1891. It was the final season for the American Association (AA), with the Boston Reds winning the AA pennant. In the National League (NL), in operation since 1876, the Boston Beaneaters won the NL pennant. There was no postseason. The Reds, following the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms consecutive pennant wins 1889–1890 in different leagues, also followed such a feat, winning the since folded Players' League's 1890 pennant and becoming the second and last team to win consecutive pennants in different leagues.
This was the first season since which saw no postseason, due to a breakdown in relations between the American Association and National League prior to the start of the season. The next championship series would take place the following season in a unique split season format, due to negotiations during the merger of the AA into the NL.
The 1891 season saw the aftermath of the single-season Players' League disbanding during the offseason, with most teams either folding or merging with existing American Association and National League teams; the Boston Reds and Philadelphia Athletics would join the AA for the 1891 season, with the latter replacing the financially struggling original AA Philadelphia Athletics.
The unstable American Association would see that 1891 would be its final season, before merging into the National League the following season; the four clubs that would continue on were the Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Statesmen. The other four AA clubs, the Boston Reds, Columbus Solons, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Athletics), saw their owners paid $135,000 () and their players dispersed to the surviving twelve clubs.
Schedule
The 1891 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight active teams (the Milwaukee Brewers would finish the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers' schedule once they folded following their last game on August 16). Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American Association since the season and by the National League since the season, and was the last season this format would be used until the National League contracted from twelve to eight teams in .
American Association Opening Day took place on April 8 featuring all eight teams, while National League Opening Day would not take place for another two weeks on April 22, also featuring all eight teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 6, while the National would see its final day of the season on October 3.
Rule changes
The 1891 season saw the following rule changes:
- Rule 28 was amended so that now, substituting players could now happen at any point in the game.
- Large, padded mitts were allowed for catchers.
- Rule 48, regarding baserunning, was changed to allow a baserunner to prepare to round first base towards second on a hit to the outfield. Previously, a baserunner was to stay within a three-foot space demarcated by the baseline and a parallel line that ran halfway from home plate to first base.
Teams
An asterisk () denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at*
A dagger (†) denotes a team that folded mid-season
A double dagger (‡) denotes a team joined mid-season
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager | American League}};" | Baltimore Orioles | Boston Reds | Cincinnati Kelly's Killers† | Columbus Solons | Louisville Colonels | Milwaukee Brewers‡ | Philadelphia Athletics | St. Louis Browns | Washington Statesmen | National League}};" | Boston Beaneaters | Brooklyn Grooms | Chicago Colts | Cincinnati Reds | Cleveland Spiders | New York Giants | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Pirates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, Maryland | Union Park | 6,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oriole Park* | 7,000* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston, Massachusetts | Congress Street Grounds | 14,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati, Ohio | Pendleton Park | 5,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbus, Ohio | Recreation Park | 6,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Brewer Field | 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Forepaugh Park | 5,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 12,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brooklyn, New York | Eastern Park | 12,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park* | 6,000* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Side Park | 6,450 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 3,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds | 12,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 6,500 |
Standings
American Association
National League
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Boston Reds | Brooklyn Grooms | Brooklyn Ward's Wonders | Buffalo Bisons | Chicago Pirates | Cleveland Infants | Columbus Solons | New York Giants (PL) | Philadelphia Athletics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (original AA team) | Philadelphia Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||
| (formerly PL team) | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Burghers | Pittsburgh Pirates | Rochester Broncos | St. Louis Browns | Syracuse Stars | Toledo Maumees | ||||||||||||
| King Kelly | Arthur Irwin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bill McGunnigle | John Ward | ||||||||||||||||||
| John Ward | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jay Faatz | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Charles Comiskey | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Patsy Tebeau | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pat Sullivan | Gus Schmelz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Buck Ewing | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bill Sharsig | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie Buffinton | Bill Sharsig | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bob Allen | Harry Wright | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ned Hanlon | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Guy Hecker | Ned Hanlon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Patrick Powers | *Team transferred to minor league Western League* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Joe Gerhardt | Charles Comiskey | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wallace Fessenden | *Team folded* | ||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie Morton | *Team folded* |
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Cincinnati Kelly's Killers | Cleveland Spiders | Milwaukee Brewers | Philadelphia Athletics | Pittsburgh Pirates | Washington Statesmen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Kelly | *Team folded* | |||||||
| Robert Leadley | Patsy Tebeau | |||||||
| *Team transferred from minor league Western Association* | Charlie Cushman | |||||||
| Bill Sharsig | George Wood | |||||||
| Ned Hanlon | Bill McGunnigle | |||||||
| Sam Trott | Pop Snyder | |||||||
| Pop Snyder | Dan Shannon | |||||||
| Dan Shannon | Sandy Griffin |
League leaders
Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
Any team shown in italics indicates a team a player was on from a different league. Any stat from said different league is not calculated to determine the league leader.
American Association
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Dan Brouthers (BSR) | .350 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (BSR) | .983 |
| HR | Duke Farrell (BSR) | 12 |
| RBI | Hugh Duffy (BSR) | |
| Duke Farrell (BSR) | 110 | |
| R | Tom Brown (BSR) | 177 |
| H | Tom Brown (BSR) | 189 |
| SB | Tom Brown (BSR) | 106 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Sadie McMahon (BAL) | 35 |
| L | Kid Carsey (WAS) | 37 |
| ERA | Ed Crane (*CIN*/CKE) | 2.45 |
| K | Jack Stivetts (STL) | 259 |
| IP | Sadie McMahon (BAL) | 503.0 |
| SV | Joe Neale (STL) | 3 |
| WHIP | Charlie Buffinton (BSR) | 1.163 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | .340 |
| OPS | Mike Tiernan (NYG) | .882 |
| HR | Harry Stovey (BSN) | |
| Mike Tiernan (NYG) | 16 | |
| RBI | Cap Anson (CHI) | 120 |
| R | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | 141 |
| H | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | 179 |
| SB | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | 111 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bill Hutchinson (CHI) | 44 |
| L | Silver King (PIT) | 29 |
| ERA | John Ewing (NYG) | 2.27 |
| K | Amos Rusie (NYG) | 337 |
| IP | Bill Hutchinson (CHI) | 561.0 |
| SV | John Clarkson (BSN) | |
| Kid Nichols (BSN) | 3 | |
| WHIP | Harry Staley (BSN/PIT) | 1.213 |
Home field attendance
Only records for National League teams are available.
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 68 | −12.8% | 217,282 | 46.4% | 3,149 |
| New York Giants | 71 | 12.7% | 210,568 | 247.1% | 3,052 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 87 | 14.5% | 184,472 | 25.0% | 2,527 |
| Brooklyn Grooms | 61 | −29.1% | 181,477 | 49.5% | 2,521 |
| Chicago Colts | 82 | −1.2% | 181,431 | 76.9% | 2,708 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 65 | 47.7% | 132,000 | 178.0% | 1,913 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 55 | 139.1% | 128,000 | 696.8% | 1,939 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 56 | −27.3% | 97,500 | −26.1% | 1,455 |
References
References
- "1891 Major Leagues Schedule".
- "MLB Rule Changes {{!}} Baseball Almanac".
- Bauer, John. "1890 Winter Meetings: Three Divides Into Two – Society for American Baseball Research".
- "1891 Major League Managers".
- "1891 American Association Batting Leaders".
- "1891 American Association Pitching Leaders".
- "1891 National League Batting Leaders".
- "1891 National League Pitching Leaders".
- "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
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