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1899 Major League Baseball season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1899 MLB season |
| league | National League (NL) |
| sport | Baseball |
| duration | April 14 – October 15, 1899 |
| no_of_games | 154 |
| no_of_teams | 12 |
| playoffs | Pennant winner |
| conf1 | NL |
| conf1_champ | [Brooklyn Superbas](1899-brooklyn-superbas-season) |
| conf1_runner-up | [Boston Beaneaters](1899-boston-beaneaters-season) |
| seasonslist | List of Major League Baseball seasons |
| seasonslistnames | MLB |
| prevseason_link | 1898 Major League Baseball season |
| prevseason_year | 1898 |
| nextseason_link | 1900 Major League Baseball season |
| nextseason_year | 1900 |
| conf1_runner-up = Boston Beaneaters | finals_runner-up = The 1899 major league baseball season was contested from April 14 through October 15, 1899, and saw the Brooklyn Superbas as the pennant winner of the National League. There was no postseason.
The 1899 was the final season of a stable 12-team, eight-season run which saw no expansion or contraction of teams. Following the end of the season, the National League contracted from 12 to 8 teams, eliminating the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Washington Senators. The elimination of major-league baseball from these cities prompted the minor league Western League to position themselves as a major league in , by beginning a transition from a Midwest-focused league to the nationwide focused American League.
The 1899 season is famous for the Cleveland Spiders finishing with the worst single-season record of all time (minimum 120 games), finishing at a dismal (), largely due to the fact that the Spiders-owning Robison family bought the St. Louis Perfectos prior to the 1899 season, then proceeded to move all Cleveland talent to St. Louis, leaving the Spiders a talent-depleted team. The only other major-league team of the 19th century with a worse record was the 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps, who entered the unstable single-season Union Association as a late-season replacement for the Philadelphia Keystones and played only 18 games, with a record of ().
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms and St. Louis Browns renamed as the Brooklyn Superbas and St. Louis Perfectos, respectively.
Schedule
The 1899 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 had previously been used by the National League in and the previous season. This would be the final season which saw this format, due to the reduction of teams the following season.
Opening Day took place on April 14 featuring four teams. The final day of the season on October 15, featuring five teams play in four games (Chicago hosted Louisville and St. Louis hosted Chicago, while Cincinnati hosted Cleveland in a doubleheader).
Rule changes
The 1899 season saw the following rule changes:
- Home plate is required to be a 12 x square, positioned such that opposite corners point towards the pitcher and catcher.
- As a result of catcher's interference, a batter is now awarded first base.
- Catchers must remain within the catcher's box until a pitch was released from the pitcher's hand (Rule 1).7).
- A player in a uniform different from his teammates will not be allowed on the field (Rule 19).
- A foul tip caught by a catcher in the catcher's box is a strike (Rule 43).
- Restrictions on coaches in the coaching boxes were implemented, forbidding them from bench jockeying, arguing umpire calls, and interacting with spectators (Rule 52).
- The number of players that each team could place its reserved list to was reduced to 18.
Teams
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager | National League}};" | Baltimore Orioles | Boston Beaneaters | Brooklyn Superbas | Chicago Orphans | Cincinnati Reds | Cleveland Spiders | Louisville Colonels | New York Giants | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Perfectos | Washington Senators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, Maryland | Union Park | 11,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | |||||||||||||||||
| New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 9,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 6,400 | |||||||||||||||||
| New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 6,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis, Missouri | League Park (St. Louis) | 14,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 |
Sunday games
Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams to play at ballparks in a different locality.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Games played | Cleveland Spiders | New York Giants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis, Missouri | League Park (St. Louis) | 14,500 | 1 | |||
| West New York, New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | *Unknown* | 4 |
Standings
National League
Tie games
20 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
- Baltimore Orioles, 4
- Boston Beaneaters, 1
- Brooklyn Superbas, 2
- Chicago Orphans, 4
- Cincinnati Reds, 7
- Louisville Colonels, 4
- New York Giants, 3
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 6
- St. Louis Perfectos, 4
- Washington Senators, 3
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Baltimore Orioles | Brooklyn Superbas | Cleveland Spiders | New York Giants | St. Louis Perfectos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ned Hanlon | John McGraw | ||||||
| Charles Ebbets | Ned Hanlon | ||||||
| Patsy Tebeau | Lave Cross | ||||||
| Cap Anson | John Day | ||||||
| Tim Hurst | Patsy Tebeau |
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Cleveland Spiders | New York Giants | Pittsburgh Pirates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lave Cross | Joe Quinn | ||||
| John Day | Fred Hoey | ||||
| Bill Watkins | Patsy Donovan |
League leaders
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | .410 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 1.046 |
| HR | Buck Freeman (WAS) | 25 |
| RBI | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 137 |
| R | Willie Keeler (BRO) | |
| John McGraw (BAL) | 140 | |
| H | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 238 |
| SB | Jimmy Sheckard (BAL) | 77 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Jay Hughes (BRO) | |
| Joe McGinnity (BAL) | 28 | |
| L | Jim Hughey (CLE) | 30 |
| ERA | Vic Willis (BSN) | 2.50 |
| K | Noodles Hahn (CIN) | 145 |
| IP | Sam Leever (PIT) | 379.0 |
| SV | Sam Leever (PIT) | 3 |
| WHIP | Cy Young (STL) | 1.116 |
Milestones
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Deacon Phillippe (LOU):
- Phillippe threw his first career no-hitter and the fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Giants 7–0 on May 25. Phillippe walked three struck out one.
- Vic Willis (BSN):
- Willis threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Washington Senators 7–1 on August 7. Willis walked three, hit two by pitch, and struck out five.
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 94 | 20.5% | 388,933 | 46.5% | 4,686 |
| St. Louis Perfectos | 84 | 115.4% | 373,909 | 146.5% | 4,298 |
| Chicago Orphans | 75 | −11.8% | 352,130 | −17.0% | 4,143 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 101 | 87.0% | 269,641 | 120.1% | 3,457 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 83 | −9.8% | 259,536 | −22.8% | 2,949 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 76 | 5.6% | 251,834 | 66.9% | 2,963 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 95 | −6.9% | 200,384 | −12.6% | 2,505 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 86 | −1.2% | 121,935 | −2.5% | 1,584 |
| New York Giants | 60 | −22.1% | 121,384 | −54.3% | 1,597 |
| Louisville Colonels | 75 | −15.2% | 109,319 | 6.2% | 1,735 |
| Washington Senators | 54 | −16.3% | 86,392 | −15.3% | 1,094 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 20 | −91.4% | 6,088 | −88.3% | 145 |
Venues
The home of the St. Louis Perfectos, New Sportsman's Park, is renamed League Park.
The home of the Louisville Colonels, Eclipse Park, was destroyed in a fire on August 12, while the team was on a road trip. Following their return home, they would have a 12-game homestand from August 22 through September 2 in a partially rebuilt park, before spending the rest of the season on the road.
Regarding games that were rescheduled to Sunday, and existing blue laws:
- The Cleveland Spiders host the Louisville Colonels at the home of the St. Louis Perfectos at League Park on Sunday September 24, as part of Louisville's game 2 of their split doubleheader (both against St. Louis and Cleveland). Both Cleveland and St. Louis were owned by Frank and Stanley Robison.
- The New York Giants played four home games at the West New York Field Club Grounds in West New York, New Jersey on June 4, July 16, August 13, September 17.
References
References
- "1899 Major Leagues Schedule".
- "Why is home plate shaped different than other bases?".
- "MLB Rule Changes {{!}} Baseball Almanac".
- Talbot, Jamie. "1898 Winter Meetings: Little of Substance Accomplished – Society for American Baseball Research".
- "1899 Major League Managers".
- "Cleveland Spiders – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database".
- "New York Giants – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database".
- "1899 National League Batting Leaders".
- "1899 National League Pitching Leaders".
- "Retrosheet Boxscore: Louisville Colonels 7, New York Giants 0".
- (May 26, 1899). "National League". St. Paul Globe.
- "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Beaneaters 7, Washington Nationals 1".
- (August 8, 1899). "National League". St. Paul Globe.
- "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "1899 Cleveland Spiders Schedule".
- "1899 New York Giants Schedule".
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