1898 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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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.
| 1898 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 15 â October 15, 1898 |
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Boston Beaneaters |
| NL runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
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 1892.
Opening Day took place on April 15 featuring six teams. The final day of the season was on October 15, featuring eight teams.[1]
Rule changes
Teams
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.
| Team | City | Ballpark | Capacity | Games played | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms[4] | West New York, New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | Unknown | 2 | Sunday |
| Cleveland Spiders[5] | Rochester, New York | Culver Field | Unknown | 2 | Neutral site |
| Collinwood, Ohio[B] | Euclid Beach Park | Unknown | 2 | Sunday | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Baker Bowl National League Park | 18,000 | 9 | Neutral site | |
| Charlotte, New York[C] | Ontario Beach Grounds | Unknown | 1 | Neutral site & Sunday | |
| St. Louis, Missouri | New Sportsman's Park | 14,500 | 2 | Neutral site | |
| Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | 1 | Neutral site | |
| New York Giants[6] | West New York, New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | Unknown | 1 | Sunday |
- ^ In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- ^
- ^
Standings
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Beaneaters | 102 | 47 | .685 | â | 62âââ15 | 40âââ32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 96 | 53 | .644 | 6 | 58âââ15 | 38âââ38 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 60 | .605 | 11½ | 58âââ28 | 34âââ32 |
| Chicago Orphans | 85 | 65 | .567 | 17½ | 58âââ31 | 27âââ34 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 81 | 68 | .544 | 21 | 36âââ19 | 45âââ49 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 78 | 71 | .523 | 24 | 49âââ31 | 29âââ40 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 73 | .513 | 25½ | 45âââ28 | 32âââ45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 76 | .486 | 29½ | 39âââ35 | 33âââ41 |
| Louisville Colonels | 70 | 81 | .464 | 33 | 43âââ34 | 27âââ47 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 54 | 91 | .372 | 46 | 30âââ41 | 24âââ50 |
| Washington Senators | 51 | 101 | .336 | 52½ | 34âââ44 | 17âââ57 |
| St. Louis Browns | 39 | 111 | .260 | 63½ | 20âââ44 | 19âââ67 |
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
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Orphans | Cap Anson | Tom Burns |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Patsy Donovan | Bill Watkins |
| St. Louis Browns | Chris von der Ahe | Tim Hurst |
In-season
League leaders
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Willie Keeler (BRO) | .385 |
| OPS | Billy Hamilton (BSN) | .933 |
| HR | Jimmy Collins (BSN) | 15 |
| RBI | Nap Lajoie (PHI) | 127 |
| R | John McGraw (BAL) | 143 |
| H | Willie Keeler (BRO) | 216 |
| SB | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 58 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 31 |
| L | Jack Taylor (STL) | 29 |
| ERA | Clark Griffith (CHI) | 1.88 |
| K | Cy Seymour (NYG) | 239 |
| IP | Jack Taylor (STL) | 397.1 |
| SV | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 4 |
| WHIP | Kid 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 2005.[9]
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 11â0 on April 22. Breitenstein walked one and struck out two.[10][11]
- Jay Hughes (BAL):
- Hughes threw his first career no-hitter and the third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Beaneaters 8â0 on April 22. Hughes walked three and struck out three.[12][11]
- Red Donahue (PHI):
- Donahue threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Beaneaters 5â0 on July 8. Donahue walked two and struck out one.[13][14]
- Walter Thornton (CHI):
- Thornton threw his first career no-hitter and the fifth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Bridegrooms 2â0 in game 2 of a doubleheader on August 21. Thornton walked three and struck out three.[15][16]
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Orphans[17] | 85 | 44.1% | 424,352 | 29.7% | 4,768 |
| Cincinnati Reds[18] | 92 | 21.1% | 336,378 | â0.1% | 3,780 |
| New York Giants[19] | 77 | â7.2% | 265,414 | â32.0% | 3,492 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[20] | 78 | 41.8% | 265,414 | â8.5% | 3,277 |
| Boston Beaneaters[21] | 102 | 9.7% | 229,275 | â31.5% | 2,902 |
| St. Louis Browns[22] | 39 | 34.5% | 151,700 | 11.2% | 2,298 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[23] | 72 | 20.0% | 150,900 | â9.1% | 2,012 |
| Louisville Colonels[24] | 70 | 34.6% | 128,980 | â11.2% | 1,633 |
| Baltimore Orioles[25] | 96 | 6.7% | 123,416 | â54.8% | 1,624 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms[26] | 54 | â11.5% | 122,514 | â44.5% | 1,656 |
| Washington Senators[27] | 51 | â16.4% | 103,250 | â31.6% | 1,291 |
| Cleveland Spiders[28] | 81 | 17.4% | 70,496 | â38.8% | 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 1912.
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.[4][6]
- 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.[5]
The Cleveland Spiders played 15 of 57 home games (about 26%) outside of the Greater Cleveland area.[5] 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).