1899 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
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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.
| 1899 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 14 â October 15, 1899 |
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Brooklyn Superbas |
| NL runners-up | Boston Beaneaters |
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 1901, 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 20â134 (.130), 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 2â16 (.111).
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 1892 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).[1]
Rule changes
The 1899 season saw the following rule changes:
- Home plate is required to be a 12 in à 12 in (30 cm à 30 cm) square, positioned such that opposite corners point towards the pitcher and catcher.[2]
- As a result of catcher's interference, a batter is now awarded first base.[3]
- Catchers must remain within the catcher's box until a pitch was released from the pitcher's hand (Rule 17).[4]
- A player in a uniform different from his teammates will not be allowed on the field (Rule 19).[4]
- A foul tip caught by a catcher in the catcher's box is a strike (Rule 43).[4]
- Restrictions on coaches in the coaching boxes were implemented, forbidding them from bench jockeying, arguing umpire calls, and interacting with spectators (Rule 52).[4]
- The number of players that each team could place its reserved list to was reduced to 18.[4]
Teams
- ^ In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sunday games
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Spiders[6] | St. Louis, Missouri | League Park (St. Louis) | 14,500 | 1 |
| New York Giants[7] | West New York, New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | Unknown | 4 |
Standings
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Superbas | 101 | 47 | .682 | â | 61âââ16 | 40âââ31 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 95 | 57 | .625 | 8 | 53âââ26 | 42âââ31 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 94 | 58 | .618 | 9 | 58âââ25 | 36âââ33 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 86 | 62 | .581 | 15 | 51âââ24 | 35âââ38 |
| St. Louis Perfectos | 84 | 67 | .556 | 18½ | 50âââ33 | 34âââ34 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 83 | 67 | .553 | 19 | 57âââ29 | 26âââ38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 76 | 73 | .510 | 25½ | 49âââ34 | 27âââ39 |
| Chicago Orphans | 75 | 73 | .507 | 26 | 44âââ39 | 31âââ34 |
| Louisville Colonels | 75 | 77 | .493 | 28 | 33âââ28 | 42âââ49 |
| New York Giants | 60 | 90 | .400 | 42 | 35âââ38 | 25âââ52 |
| Washington Senators | 54 | 98 | .355 | 49 | 35âââ43 | 19âââ55 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 20 | 134 | .130 | 84 | 9âââ33 | 11âââ101 |
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
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Spiders | Lave Cross | Joe Quinn |
| New York Giants | John Day | Fred Hoey |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 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 7â0 on May 25. Phillippe walked three struck out one.[10][11]
- Vic Willis (BSN):
- Willis threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Washington Senators 7â1 on August 7. Willis walked three, hit two by pitch, and struck out five.[12][13]
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies[14] | 94 | 20.5% | 388,933 | 46.5% | 4,686 |
| St. Louis Perfectos[15] | 84 | 115.4% | 373,909 | 146.5% | 4,298 |
| Chicago Orphans[16] | 75 | â11.8% | 352,130 | â17.0% | 4,143 |
| Brooklyn Superbas[17] | 101 | 87.0% | 269,641 | 120.1% | 3,457 |
| Cincinnati Reds[18] | 83 | â9.8% | 259,536 | â22.8% | 2,949 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[19] | 76 | 5.6% | 251,834 | 66.9% | 2,963 |
| Boston Beaneaters[20] | 95 | â6.9% | 200,384 | â12.6% | 2,505 |
| Baltimore Orioles[21] | 86 | â1.2% | 121,935 | â2.5% | 1,584 |
| New York Giants[22] | 60 | â22.1% | 121,384 | â54.3% | 1,597 |
| Louisville Colonels[23] | 75 | â15.2% | 109,319 | 6.2% | 1,735 |
| Washington Senators[24] | 54 | â16.3% | 86,392 | â15.3% | 1,094 |
| Cleveland Spiders[25] | 20 | â91.4% | 6,088 | â88.3% | 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).[6][26] 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.[7][27]