1879 Major League Baseball season

The 1879 schedule consisted of 84 games for all eight teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other seven teams in the league. This format was an adjustment to the 12-games-each format that had been in place since 1877, as the National League expanded from six to eight teams, adding 24 games to each team's schedule.

Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring six teams.^[7]

The 1879 season saw the following rule changes:

• The number of balls called that would award a base on balls remained nine, but the rule was reworded, so that there simply needed to be nine balls to walk a batter. Previously, three balls were required, but one ball was the same as three "unfair pitches".^[1]
• Any pitcher who hit a batter, "unless it was clearly an accident", would be fined between $10 and $50 (between $346 and $1,728 in 2025), in an effort to reduce intentional hit by pitches.^[1]
• The first batter of any inning of a game will be the batter who followed the last batter of the previous inning. Previously, if a runner was putout on a base, the batter after the runner called out would lead off the next inning.^[1]
• The pitcher's box was changed from a six feet square to an area four feet wide and six feet long, by moving the back line forwards two feet^[1][8]
• The Player reserve clause was for the first time put into a contract.^[9]
• The pitcher had to face a batsman before pitching to him.^[9]

Four teams joined the National League, playing at four venues:

• The Buffalo Bisons played at Riverside Park.
• The Cleveland Blues played at National League Park.
• The Syracuse Stars played at Newell Park.
• The Troy Trojans played at the Putnam Grounds.

The Troy Trojans would play their final game at the Putnam Grounds on September 20 against the Chicago White Stockings, moving to Haymakers' Grounds for the start of the 1880 season.

• 1879 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)