1896 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1896 MLB season
League National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 16 – September 26, 1896
Temple Cup:
  • October 2–8, 1896
Number of games132
Number of teams12
Pennant winner
NL champions Baltimore Orioles
  NL runners-up Cleveland Spiders
Temple Cup
Champions Baltimore Orioles
  Runners-up Cleveland Spiders
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1896–1897 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1896 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1896. The regular season ended on September 26, with the Baltimore Orioles as the pennant winner of the National League and the Cleveland Spiders as runner-up. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the third Temple Cup on October 2 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Orioles swept the Spiders, capturing their first Temple Cup.

Contents

The 1896 Temple Cup was the only one of four Temple Cups which saw the NL pennant winner win the championship series.

Schedule

The 1896 schedule consisted of 132 games for the twelve teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other eleven teams in the league. This continued the format put in place since 1893 and would be used until 1898.

Opening Day took place on April 16 featuring all twelve teams. The final day of the season was on September 26, featuring ten teams. [1] The Temple Cup took place between October 2 and October 8.

Rule changes

The 1896 season saw the following rule changes:

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [3]
National League Baltimore Orioles Baltimore, Maryland Union Park 6,500 Ned Hanlon
Boston Beaneaters Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 6,600 Frank Selee
Brooklyn Bridegrooms Brooklyn, New York Eastern Park 12,000 Dave Foutz
Chicago Colts Chicago, Illinois West Side Park 13,000 Cap Anson
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio League Park (Cincinnati) 9,000 Buck Ewing
Cleveland Spiders Cleveland, Ohio League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Patsy Tebeau
Louisville Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Eclipse Park 6,400 John McCloskey
Bill McGunnigle
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 Arthur Irwin
Bill Joyce
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Billy Nash
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania Exposition Park 6,500 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri New Sportsman's Park 14,500 Harry Diddlebock
Arlie Latham
Chris von der Ahe
Roger Connor
Tommy Dowd
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Boundary Field 6,500 Gus Schmelz

Standings

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 9039.698—49‍–‍1641‍–‍23
Cleveland Spiders 8048.6259½43‍–‍1937‍–‍29
Cincinnati Reds 7750.6061251‍–‍1526‍–‍35
Boston Beaneaters 7457.5651742‍–‍2432‍–‍33
Chicago Colts 7157.55518½42‍–‍2429‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates 6663.5122435‍–‍3131‍–‍32
New York Giants 6467.4892739‍–‍2625‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies 6268.47728½42‍–‍2720‍–‍41
Washington Senators 5873.4433338‍–‍2920‍–‍44
Brooklyn Bridegrooms 5873.4433335‍–‍2823‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 4090.30850½27‍–‍3413‍–‍56
Louisville Colonels 3893.2905325‍–‍3713‍–‍56

Postseason

Bracket

Temple Cup
      
NL1 Baltimore Orioles 7765
NL2 Cleveland Spiders 1 2 2 0

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
New York Giants Harvey Watkins Arthur Irwin
Philadelphia Phillies Arthur Irwin Billy Nash
St. Louis Browns Lou Phelan Harry Diddlebock

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Louisville Colonels John McCloskey Bill McGunnigle
New York Giants Arthur Irwin Bill Joyce
St. Louis Browns Harry Diddlebock Arlie Latham
Arlie Latham Chris von der Ahe
Chris von der Ahe Roger Connor
Roger Connor Tommy Dowd

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

National League

Hitting leaders [4]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Jesse Burkett (CLE).410
OPS Ed Delahanty (PHI)1.103
HR Ed Delahanty (PHI)
Bill Joyce (NY/ WSH )		11
RBI Ed Delahanty (PHI)126
R Jesse Burkett (CLE)160
H Jesse Burkett (CLE)240
SB Joe Kelley (BAL)87
Pitching leaders [5]
StatPlayerTotal
W Frank Killen (PIT)
Kid Nichols (BOS)		30
L Bill Hart (STL)29
ERA Billy Rhines (CIN)2.45
K Cy Young (CLE)140
IP Frank Killen (PIT)432.1
SV Cy Young (CLE)3
WHIP Billy Rhines (CIN)1.231

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Cincinnati Reds [6] 7716.7%373,00032.7%5,652
Philadelphia Phillies [7] 62−20.5%357,025−24.8%5,174
Chicago Colts [8] 71−1.4%317,500−17.0%4,669
New York Giants [9] 64−3.0%274,00014.2%4,152
Baltimore Orioles [10] 903.4%249,448−14.9%3,723
Boston Beaneaters [11] 744.2%240,000−0.8%3,582
Washington Senators [12] 5834.9%223,00045.8%3,279
Brooklyn Bridegrooms [13] 58−18.3%201,000−12.6%3,092
Pittsburgh Pirates [14] 66−7.0%197,0004.8%2,985
St. Louis Browns [15] 402.6%184,0008.2%2,968
Cleveland Spiders [16] 80−4.8%152,0006.3%2,375
Louisville Colonels [17] 388.6%133,00044.6%2,078

References

  1. ↑ "1896 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Johnson, Bill. "1895 Winter Meetings: The Magnates Expand Their Control – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1896 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1896 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1896 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
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