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1898 Major League Baseball season


FieldValue
title1898 MLB season
leagueNational League (NL)
sportBaseball
durationApril 15 – October 15, 1898
no_of_games154
no_of_teams12
playoffsPennant winner
conf1NL
conf1_champ[Boston Beaneaters](1898-boston-beaneaters-season)
conf1_runner-up[Baltimore Orioles](1898-baltimore-orioles-season)
seasonslistList of Major League Baseball seasons
seasonslistnamesMLB
prevseason_link1897 Major League Baseball season
prevseason_year1897
nextseason_link1899 Major League Baseball season
nextseason_year1899

| conf1_runner-up = Baltimore Orioles | finals_runner-up = The 1898 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1898. The regular season ended on October 15, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League. Due to lack of enthusiasm from both players and fans, the Temple Cup which had taken place in the four previous seasons was not held, nor was there any other form of a postseason.

The Chicago Colts renamed as the Chicago Orphans.

Schedule

The 1898 schedule consisted of 154 games for the twelve teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 14 games against the other eleven teams in the league. This format saw an increase to the previously used format, which had each team play 12 games against each other, and had resulted in a total of 132 games. The 154-game format had previously been used by the National League during in .

Opening Day took place on April 15 featuring six teams. The final day of the season was on October 15, featuring eight teams.

Rule changes

The 1898 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Umpires are now allowed to suspend a player for up to three games (including the one which he was ejected) for "kicking."
  • Uniformed players who were not in-game could not sit with spectators.

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManagerNational League}};"Baltimore OriolesBoston BeaneatersBrooklyn BridegroomsChicago OrphansCincinnati RedsCleveland SpidersLouisville ColonelsNew York GiantsPhiladelphia PhilliesPittsburgh PiratesSt. Louis BrownsWashington Senators
Baltimore, MarylandUnion Park6,500
Boston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds6,600
New York, New YorkWashington Park12,000
Chicago, IllinoisWest Side Park13,000
Cincinnati, OhioLeague Park (Cincinnati)9,000
Cleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000
Louisville, KentuckyEclipse Park6,400
New York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000
Allegheny, PennsylvaniaExposition Park6,500
St. Louis, MissouriNew Sportsman's Park14,500
Washington, D.C.Boundary Field6,500

Neutral site and Sunday games

The Cleveland Spiders played in 15 neutral site games in which they were treated as the home team. Meanwhile, blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams to play at ballparks in a different locality.

TeamCityStadiumCapacityGames playedTypeBrooklyn BridegroomsCleveland SpidersNew York Giants
West New York, New JerseyWest New York Field Club Grounds*Unknown*2Sunday
Rochester, New YorkCulver Field*Unknown*2Neutral site
Collinwood, OhioEuclid Beach Park*Unknown*2Sunday
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaBaker Bowl National League Park18,0009Neutral site
Charlotte, New YorkOntario Beach Grounds*Unknown*1Neutral site & Sunday
St. Louis, MissouriNew Sportsman's Park14,5002Neutral site
Chicago, IllinoisWest Side Park13,0001Neutral site
West New York, New JerseyWest New York Field Club Grounds*Unknown*1Sunday

Standings

National League

Tie games

24 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

  • Baltimore Orioles, 5
  • Boston Beaneaters, 3
  • Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 4
  • Chicago Orphans, 2
  • Cincinnati Reds, 5
  • Cleveland Spiders, 7
  • Louisville Colonels, 3
  • New York Giants, 7
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 4
  • St. Louis Browns, 4
  • Washington Senators, 3

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew ManagerChicago OrphansPittsburgh PiratesSt. Louis Browns
Cap AnsonTom Burns
Patsy DonovanBill Watkins
Chris von der AheTim Hurst

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew ManagerBrooklyn BridegroomsNew York GiantsPhiladelphia PhilliesWashington Senators
Billy BarnieMike Griffin
Mike GriffinCharles Ebbets
Bill JoyceCap Anson
George StallingsBill Shettsline
Tom BrownJack Doyle
Jack DoyleDeacon McGuire
Deacon McGuireArthur Irwin

League leaders

National League

StatPlayerTotal
AVGWillie Keeler (BRO).385
OPSBilly Hamilton (BSN).933
HRJimmy Collins (BSN)15
RBINap Lajoie (PHI)127
RJohn McGraw (BAL)143
HWillie Keeler (BRO)216
SBEd Delahanty (PHI)58
StatPlayerTotal
WKid Nichols (BSN)31
LJack Taylor (STL)29
ERAClark Griffith (CHI)1.88
KCy Seymour (NYG)239
IPJack Taylor (STL)397.1
SVKid Nichols (BSN)4
WHIPKid Nichols (BSN)1.034

Milestones

Batters

  • Bill Duggleby (PHI):
    • Hits a grand slam in his first major league at-bat, a feat not accomplished again until Jeremy Hermida in .

Pitchers

No-hitters

  • Ted Breitenstein (CIN):
    • Breitenstein threw his second career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11–0 on April 22. Breitenstein walked one and struck out two.
  • Jay Hughes (BAL):
    • Hughes threw his first career no-hitter and the third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Beaneaters 8–0 on April 22. Hughes walked three and struck out three.
  • Red Donahue (PHI):
    • Donahue threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Beaneaters 5–0 on July 8. Donahue walked two and struck out one.
  • Walter Thornton (CHI):
    • Thornton threw his first career no-hitter and the fifth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Bridegrooms 2–0 in game 2 of a doubleheader on August 21. Thornton walked three and struck out three.

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
Chicago Orphans8544.1%424,35229.7%4,768
Cincinnati Reds9221.1%336,378−0.1%3,780
New York Giants77−7.2%265,414−32.0%3,492
Philadelphia Phillies7841.8%265,414−8.5%3,277
Boston Beaneaters1029.7%229,275−31.5%2,902
St. Louis Browns3934.5%151,70011.2%2,298
Pittsburgh Pirates7220.0%150,900−9.1%2,012
Louisville Colonels7034.6%128,980−11.2%1,633
Baltimore Orioles966.7%123,416−54.8%1,624
Brooklyn Bridegrooms54−11.5%122,514−44.5%1,656
Washington Senators51−16.4%103,250−31.6%1,291
Cleveland Spiders8117.4%70,496−38.8%1,237

Venues

The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, leave Eastern Park (where they played for seven seasons) and move to Washington Park, where they would go on to play for 15 seasons through .

Regarding games that were rescheduled to Sunday, and existing blue laws:

  • Both the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and New York Giants would play at the West New York Field Club Grounds in West New York, New Jersey. The Bridegrooms played two games, on September 18 and October 10, while the Giants played one game on September 11.
  • The Cleveland Spiders played at two venues for Sunday games. The team played two games at Euclid Beach Park in Collinwood, Ohio (today in Cleveland) on June 12 and 19, and one game at the Ontario Beach Grounds in Charlotte, New York (today in Rochester) on August 28.

The Cleveland Spiders played 15 of 57 home games (about ) outside of the Greater Cleveland area. Excluding the already mentioned Ontario Beach Grounds Sunday game listed above, these neutral site games were played in:

  • Culver Field in Rochester, New York, home of the minor league Eastern League Rochester Bronchos (two games, played on August 27 and 29).
  • National League Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the Philadelphia Phillies (nine games, including four games on July 29 and 30, and five games between August 5 and 11).
  • New Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Browns (two games, played on September 28 and 29).
  • West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Orphans (one game, played on October 8).

References

References

  1. "1898 Major Leagues Schedule".
  2. Talbot, Jamie. "1897 Winter Meetings: A Period of Good Feeling – Society for American Baseball Research".
  3. "1898 Major League Baseball Managers".
  4. "Brooklyn Dodgers – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database".
  5. "Cleveland Spiders – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database".
  6. "New York Giants – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database".
  7. "1898 National League Batting Leaders".
  8. "1898 National League Pitching Leaders".
  9. "Joe Harrington Statistics and History". Sports Reference LLC.
  10. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Cincinnati Reds 11, Pittsburgh Pirates 0".
  11. (April 23, 1898). "Two Remarkable Games". St. Paul Globe.
  12. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Baltimore Orioles 8, Boston Beaneaters 0".
  13. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Philadelphia Phillies 5, Boston Beaneaters 0".
  14. (July 9, 1898). "National League". St. Paul Globe.
  15. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago Orphans 2, Brooklyn Bridegrooms 0 (2)".
  16. (August 22, 1898). "National League". St. Paul Globe.
  17. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  18. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  19. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  20. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  21. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  22. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  23. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  24. "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  25. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  26. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  27. "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  28. "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
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