1916 New York Giants season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1916 New York Giants season was the franchise's 34th season. The team finished in fourth place in the National League with an 86â66 record, 7 games behind the Brooklyn Robins. This season introduced a new uniform design.[1]
| 1916 New York Giants | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Polo Grounds |
| City | New York City |
| Record | 86â66 (.566) |
| League place | 4th |
| Owners | Harry Hempstead |
| Managers | John McGraw |

Opening day games
The first game of the home season was on April 20, 1916, at the Polo Grounds. John Purroy Mitchel threw the ceremonial first pitch.[1]
Regular season
The 1916 Giants set a still-standing Major League record for the longest winning streak at 26 games between September 7 to 30.[2] Earlier in the season, the Giants had won 17 consecutive games. Despite the winning streaks, no Giants pitcher won 20 games.
For the only time in franchise history,[3] the Giants failed to score a run in a three-game series; they were shut out in all three games against St. Louis, August 20â22.[4][5]
Former Federal League star Benny Kauff led the team in runs batted in and stolen bases.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Robins | 94 | 60 | .610 | â | 50âââ27 | 44âââ33 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 62 | .595 | 2½ | 50âââ29 | 41âââ33 |
| Boston Braves | 89 | 63 | .586 | 4 | 41âââ31 | 48âââ32 |
| New York Giants | 86 | 66 | .566 | 7 | 47âââ30 | 39âââ36 |
| Chicago Cubs | 67 | 86 | .438 | 26½ | 37âââ41 | 30âââ45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65 | 89 | .422 | 29 | 37âââ40 | 28âââ49 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 60 | 93 | .392 | 33½ | 36âââ40 | 24âââ53 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 60 | 93 | .392 | 33½ | 32âââ44 | 28âââ49 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | â | 13â9 | 14â7â2 | 13â9â1 | 11â10â1 | 11â11â1 | 14â8â1 | 13â9 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 9â13 | â | 15â7â1 | 15â7â1 | 15â7 | 11â11 | 14â8 | 15â7 | |||||
| Chicago | 7â14â2 | 7â15â1 | â | 9â13 | 10â12 | 8â14 | 12â10 | 14â8 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 9â13â1 | 7â15â1 | 13â9 | â | 5â16 | 5â17 | 13â9 | 8â14 | |||||
| New York | 10â11â1 | 7â15 | 12â10 | 16â5 | â | 9â13 | 17â5â2 | 15â7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 11â11â1 | 11â11 | 14â8 | 17â5 | 13â9 | â | 13â9 | 12â9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8â14â1 | 8â14 | 10â12 | 9â13 | 5â17â2 | 9â13 | â | 16â6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 9â13 | 7â15 | 8â14 | 14â8 | 7â15 | 9â12 | 6â16 | â | |||||
Notable transactions
- August 28, 1916: Larry Doyle, Merwin Jacobson, and Herb Hunter were traded by the Giants to the Chicago Cubs for Heinie Zimmerman and Mickey Doolan.[6]
Roster
| 1916 New York Giants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager | ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bill Rariden | 120 | 351 | 78 | .222 | 1 | 29 |
| 1B | Fred Merkle | 112 | 401 | 95 | .237 | 7 | 44 |
| 2B | Larry Doyle | 113 | 441 | 118 | .268 | 2 | 47 |
| 3B | Bill McKechnie | 71 | 260 | 64 | .246 | 0 | 17 |
| SS | Art Fletcher | 133 | 500 | 143 | .286 | 3 | 66 |
| OF | Benny Kauff | 154 | 552 | 146 | .264 | 9 | 74 |
| OF | Dave Robertson | 150 | 587 | 180 | .307 | 12 | 69 |
| OF | George Burns | 155 | 623 | 174 | .279 | 5 | 41 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buck Herzog | 77 | 280 | 73 | .261 | 0 | 25 |
| Heinie Zimmerman | 40 | 151 | 41 | .272 | 0 | 19 |
| Walter Holke | 34 | 111 | 39 | .351 | 0 | 13 |
| Hans Lobert | 48 | 76 | 17 | .224 | 0 | 11 |
| George Kelly | 49 | 76 | 12 | .158 | 0 | 3 |
| Edd Roush | 39 | 69 | 13 | .188 | 0 | 5 |
| Lew McCarty | 25 | 68 | 27 | .397 | 0 | 9 |
| Brad Kocher | 34 | 65 | 7 | .108 | 0 | 1 |
| Mickey Doolan | 18 | 51 | 12 | .235 | 1 | 3 |
| Herb Hunter | 21 | 28 | 7 | .250 | 1 | 4 |
| Red Dooin | 15 | 17 | 2 | .118 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Brainard | 2 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Lew Wendell | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Red Killefer | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 |
| Heinie Stafford | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| José RodrÃguez | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
| Duke Kelleher | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Tesreau | 40 | 268.1 | 18 | 14 | 2.92 | 113 |
| Pol Perritt | 40 | 251.0 | 18 | 11 | 2.62 | 115 |
| Rube Benton | 38 | 238.2 | 16 | 8 | 2.87 | 115 |
| Fred Anderson | 38 | 188.0 | 9 | 13 | 3.40 | 98 |
| Slim Sallee | 15 | 111.2 | 9 | 4 | 1.37 | 35 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdie Schupp | 30 | 140.1 | 9 | 3 | 0.90 | 86 |
| Christy Mathewson | 12 | 65.2 | 3 | 4 | 2.33 | 16 |
| Sailor Stroud | 10 | 46.2 | 1 | 2 | 2.70 | 16 |
| Rube Schauer | 19 | 45.2 | 1 | 4 | 2.96 | 24 |
| Emilio Palmero | 4 | 15.2 | 0 | 3 | 8.04 | 8 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Smith | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.61 | 9 |
| Hank Ritter | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
- NL leader in runs scored (105)
- 4th in NL in stolen bases (37)
- 2nd in NL in stolen bases (40)
- 4th in NL in RBI (74)
- MLB leader in home runs (12)
- 3rd in NL in runs scored (88)