1878 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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The 1878 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1878, and saw the Boston Red Caps as the pennant winner of the third season of the National League. There was no postseason.
| 1878 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 1 â September 30, 1878 |
| Games | 60 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Boston Red Caps |
| NL runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
Over the off-season, in December 1877, two teams would fold: Brooklyn Hartfords and St. Louis Brown Stockings. They were replaced by the Indianapolis Blues and Milwaukee Grays. Later in the offseason, the Providence Grays would join on February 6, raising the number of teams to seven. On April 1 or 2, the Louisville Grays would officially resign from the league, once again lowering the number of teams to six.[1]
Schedule
The 1878 schedule consisted of 60 games for all six teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other five teams in the league. This format had been in place since the previous season, and would be the final season which saw this format, due to expansion to eight teams the following season.
Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all six teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring a game between the Boston Red Caps and Providence Grays.[2]
Rule changes
The 1878 season saw the following rule changes:
- The National League banned Sunday games for their teams, their home parks, and all NL players.[1]
- A space was made by extending straight lines of the basepaths to the backstop to form a triangle that only the catcher, umpire, and batter were permitted to occupy.[1]
- The team captain now had authority to direct a batting order during the first time through the order; this order must be maintained later in the game.[1]
- The rule giving the home team privilege of batting first was reversed, reverting to captains deciding by coin flip.[1]
- There were to be no timeouts except due to injury to a player or umpire, or due to rain.[1]
- A batter would be declared out if it took longer than a minute to reach the plate.[1]
- No substitute could run for a batter unless the player for whom he was running had been injured in that particular game. Even so, the batter had to reach first base before the substitute/pinch runner could take the batter's place. The opposing captain selected the substitute runner.[1]
- To tag out a runner, a fielder must now keep hold of the baseball.[1]
- The point on the body of a pitcher in which a ball had to pass while pitching was changed from below the hip to below the waist.[1]
- NL teams were no longer able to play outside clubs on their home grounds before or during the season.[1]
- Home Base must be made only of white marble or stone.[3]
Teams
| League | Team | City | Ballpark | Capacity | Manager[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League | Boston Red Caps | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | Harry Wright |
| Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | Lakefront Park | 5,000 | Bob Ferguson | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Avenue Grounds | Unknown | Cal McVey | |
| Indianapolis Blues | Indianapolis, Indiana | South Street Park | 5,000 | John Clapp | |
| Milwaukee Grays | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Eclipse Park | Unknown | Jack Chapman | |
| Providence Grays | Providence, Rhode Island | Messer Street Grounds | 6,000 | Tom York |
Neutral site games
Two teams hosted games at neutral sites, the Indianapolis Blues and Providence Grays.[5]
| Team | City | Ballpark | Capacity | Games played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Blues | St. Louis, Missouri | Grand Avenue Park | Unknown | 3 |
| Allegheny, Pennsylvania[A] | Union Park | 2,500 | 3 | |
| Providence Grays | Brooklyn, New York[B] | Union Grounds | 1,500 | 1 |
- ^ In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- ^
Standings
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Caps | 41 | 19 | .683 | â | 23âââ7 | 18âââ12 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 37 | 23 | .617 | 4 | 25âââ8 | 12âââ15 |
| Providence Grays | 33 | 27 | .550 | 8 | 17âââ13 | 16âââ14 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 30 | 30 | .500 | 11 | 17âââ18 | 13âââ12 |
| Indianapolis Blues | 24 | 36 | .400 | 17 | 10âââ17 | 14âââ19 |
| Milwaukee Grays | 15 | 45 | .250 | 26 | 7âââ18 | 8âââ27 |
Tie games
Four tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind occurred throughout the season (though standings were determined by total wins, not winning percentage).[6]
The Indianapolis Blues had three tie games. The Providence Grays had two tie games. The Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Reds, and Milwaukee Grays had one tie game each.
- May 7, Milwaukee Grays vs. Indianapolis Blues, tied at 2.[7]
- July 2, Indianapolis Blues vs. Cincinnati Reds, tied at 7.[8]
- August 8, Indianapolis Blues vs. Providence Grays, tied at 8.[9]
- August 13, Chicago White Stockings vs. Providence Grays, tied at 4.[9]
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Hartfords | Bob Ferguson | Team folded |
| Chicago White Stockings | Albert Spalding | Bob Ferguson |
| Cincinnati Reds | Jack Manning | Cal McVey |
| Louisville Grays | Jack Chapman | Team folded |
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | George McManus | Team folded |
League leaders
Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Paul Hines1 (PRO) | .358 |
| OPS | Paul Hines (PRO) | .849 |
| HR | Paul Hines1 (PRO) | 4 |
| RBI | Paul Hines1 (PRO) | 50 |
| R | Dick Higham (PRO) | 60 |
| H | Joe Start (CHI) | 100 |
1 National League Triple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Tommy Bond (BSN) | 40 |
| L | Sam Weaver (MIL) | 31 |
| ERA | John Ward (PRO) | 1.51 |
| K | Tommy Bond (BSN) | 182 |
| IP | Tommy Bond (BSN) | 532.2 |
| SV | Tom Healey (IND/PRO) | 1 |
| WHIP | Sam Weaver (MIL) | 1.023 |
Venues
Three teams joined the National League, playing at three different venues:
- The Indianapolis Blues played at South Street Park.
- The Milwaukee Grays played at Eclipse Park.
- The Providence Grays played at Messer Street Grounds.
The Chicago White Stockings leave the 23rd Street Grounds (where they played for four seasons since their National Association days from 1874) and move to Lakefront Park where they would play for seven seasons through 1884.
Two teams hosted neutral site games at alternate locations:
- The Indianapolis Blues played two three-game series, the first of which was against the Boston Red Caps on July 9, 11, and 13 in St. Louis, Missouri at the former 1875â1877 home of the St. Louis Brown Stockings at Grand Avenue Park. The second was against the Providence Grays on August 22â24 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania at Union Park, the home of the International Association's Pittsburgh Allegheny.[12][13]
- The Providence Grays played one game (specifically, game 2 of a three-game series) against the Milwaukee Grays on July 26, specifically due to rain, playing at the Union Grounds in Brooklyn, New York at the former 1877 home of the Brooklyn Hartfords.[14]