1897 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1897 MLB season
League National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 19 – October 3, 1897
Temple Cup:
  • October 4–11, 1897
Number of games132
Number of teams12
Pennant winner
NL champions Boston Beaneaters
  NL runners-up Baltimore Orioles
Temple Cup
Champions Baltimore Orioles
  Runners-up Boston Beaneaters
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1896–1897 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1897 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1897. The regular season ended on October 3, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League and the Baltimore Orioles as runner-up. The postseason began with Game 1 of the fourth Temple Cup on October 4 and ended with Game 5 on October 11. The Orioles defeated the Beaneaters, four games to one, capturing their second consecutive Temple Cup.

Contents

Due to lack of enthusiasm from both players and fans, and the perception that the Temple Cup was more of an exhibition contest than a true championship contest, the 1897 Temple Cup would be the final version of the championship series. [1] Aside from the 1900 Chronicle-Telegraph Cup, this would be the last championship series until the birth of the modern World Series in 1903.

Schedule

The 1897 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 was the last season to use the format, which saw an extension of the schedule to 154 games the following season.

Opening Day took place on April 19 featuring a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters. The final day of the season was on October 3, featuring four teams. [2] The Temple Cup took place between October 4 and October 11, with two exhibition games breaking up the series played on October 7–8 between Games 3 and 4.

Rule changes

The 1897 season saw the following rule changes:

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [4]
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 Billy Barnie
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 Jim Rogers
Fred Clarke
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 Bill Joyce
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 George Stallings
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania Exposition Park 6,500 Patsy Donovan
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri New Sportsman's Park 14,500 Tommy Dowd
Hugh Nicol
Bill Hallman
Chris von der Ahe
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Boundary Field 6,500 Gus Schmelz
Tom Brown

Standings

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Beaneaters 9339.705—54‍–‍1239‍–‍27
Baltimore Orioles 9040.692251‍–‍1539‍–‍25
New York Giants 8348.6349½51‍–‍1932‍–‍29
Cincinnati Reds 7656.5761749‍–‍1827‍–‍38
Cleveland Spiders 6962.52723½49‍–‍1620‍–‍46
Washington Senators 6171.4623240‍–‍2621‍–‍45
Brooklyn Bridegrooms 6171.4623238‍–‍2923‍–‍42
Pittsburgh Pirates 6071.45832½38‍–‍2722‍–‍44
Chicago Colts 5973.4473436‍–‍3023‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 5577.4173832‍–‍3423‍–‍43
Louisville Colonels 5278.4004034‍–‍3118‍–‍47
St. Louis Browns 29102.22163½18‍–‍4111‍–‍61

Postseason

Bracket

Temple Cup
       
NL1 Boston Beaneaters 1311 3 11 3
NL2 Baltimore Orioles 12 1387129

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Bridegrooms Dave Foutz Billy Barnie
Louisville Colonels Bill McGunnigle Jim Rogers
Philadelphia Phillies Billy Nash George Stallings
Pittsburgh Pirates Connie Mack Patsy Donovan

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Louisville Colonels Jim Rogers Fred Clarke
St. Louis Browns Tommy Dowd Hugh Nicol
Hugh Nicol Bill Hallman
Bill Hallman Chris von der Ahe
Washington Senators Gus Schmelz Tom Brown

League leaders

National League

Hitting leaders [5]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Willie Keeler (BAL).424
OPS Willie Keeler (BAL)1.003
HR Hugh Duffy (BOS)11
RBI George Davis (NY)135
R Billy Hamilton (BOS)152
H Willie Keeler (BAL)239
SB Bill Lange (CHI)73
Pitching leaders [6]
StatPlayerTotal
W Kid Nichols (BOS)31
L Red Donahue (STL)35
ERA Amos Rusie (NY)2.54
K Doc McJames (WSH)
Cy Seymour (NY)		156
IP Kid Nichols (BOS)368.0
SV Win Mercer (WSH)
Kid Nichols (BOS)		3
WHIP Kid Nichols (BOS)1.168

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Giants [7] 8329.7%390,34042.5%5,136
Cincinnati Reds [8] 76−1.3%336,800−9.7%4,953
Boston Beaneaters [9] 9325.7%334,80039.5%4,997
Chicago Colts [10] 59−16.9%327,1603.0%4,883
Philadelphia Phillies [11] 55−11.3%290,027−18.8%4,329
Baltimore Orioles [12] 900.0%273,0469.5%3,957
Brooklyn Bridegrooms [13] 615.2%220,8319.9%3,155
Pittsburgh Pirates [14] 60−9.1%165,950−15.8%2,553
Washington Senators [15] 615.2%151,028−32.3%2,221
Louisville Colonels [16] 5236.8%145,2109.2%2,135
St. Louis Browns [17] 29−27.5%136,400−25.9%2,236
Cleveland Spiders [18] 69−13.8%115,250−24.2%1,773

References

  1. ↑ Best, Jason. "1897: Last Gasp of the Temple Cup – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  2. ↑ "1897 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Talbot, Jamie. "1896 Winter Meetings: The Height of Factionalism – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1897 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1897 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1897 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles 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. ↑ "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  17. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
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