The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team that played in Cleveland, Ohio. They played in the American Association when it was considered a major league from 1887 through 1888 and in the National League from 1889 through 1899. [1] From 1887 through 1888 the team was named the Cleveland Blues. [1] During their time as a Major League team, the Spiders employed 7 managers. [2] The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field. [3] [4]
The Spiders' first manager was Jimmy Williams, who managed the team as the Cleveland Blues in 1887 and the beginning of the 1888 season. [2] Williams managed a total of 197 games for the team, winning just 59 against 136 losses for a winning percentage of .303. [5] This low winning percentage would prove one of the best in team history.
After Tom Loftus, Gus Schmelz and Robert Leadley handled the managerial duties from the middle of the 1888 season through the middle of the 1891 season, first baseman Patsy Tebeau became the Spiders' player-manager 69 games into the 1891 season. [2] Tebeau would manage the Spiders through the end of the 1898 season. [2] Tebeau holds the Spiders' records for most games managed, with 1040, most wins as manager, with 579, most losses as manager, with 436, and highest winning percentage, with .570. [2] Tebeau is in fact the only Spiders' manager to have won more games than he lost. [2] In 1894 and 1895, Tebeau had the distinction of managing his brother George Tebeau, who played outfield and first base for the team. [6] [7] [8]
In 1899, third baseman Lave Cross became the Spiders' player-manager. [2] The Spiders won just 8 of 38 games under Cross, for a winning percentage of just .211, before Cross was replaced as player-manager by second baseman Joe Quinn. [2] [9] The Spiders performed even more poorly under Quinn, winning just 12 games and losing 104, for a winning percentage of .103. [2] [10] The Spiders' 1899 record of 20 wins and 134 losses under Cross and Quinn is the worst in professional baseball history, and the team was dropped from the Major Leagues after the season. [11] [12]
# | A running total of the number of Spiders managers. Any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once. |
G | Number of regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games |
W | Number of regular season wins in games managed |
L | Number of regular season losses in games managed |
WPct | Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed |
PA | Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the playoffs |
PW | Playoff wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the playoffs |
PL | Playoff losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the playoffs |
LC | League Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager |
WS | World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
† | Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
# | Image | Manager | Seasons | G | W | L | WPct | PA | PW | PL | LC | WS | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Jimmy Williams | 1887–1888 | 197 | 59 | 136 | .303 | — | — | — | — | — | [5] |
2 | ![]() | Tom Loftus | 1888–1889 | 207 | 91 | 110 | .453 | — | — | — | — | — | [13] |
3 | ![]() | Gus Schmelz | 1890 | 78 | 21 | 55 | .276 | — | — | — | — | — | [14] |
4 | ![]() | Robert Leadley | 1890–1891 | 126 | 57 | 67 | .460 | — | — | — | — | — | [15] |
5 | ![]() | Patsy Tebeau | 1891–1898 | 1040 | 579 | 436 | .570 | — | — | — | — | — | [6] |
6 | ![]() | Lave Cross | 1899 | 38 | 8 | 30 | .211 | — | — | — | — | — | [9] |
7 | ![]() | Joe Quinn | 1899 | 116 | 12 | 104 | .103 | — | — | — | — | — | [10] |
The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed by eleven seasons in the National League (NL). Early names for the team included the Forest Citys and Blues. The name Spiders itself emerged early in the team's inaugural NL season of 1889, owing to new black-and-gray uniforms and the skinny, long-limbed look of many players. National League Park served as the team's home for its first four seasons until the opening of League Park in 1891.
William Joseph Bradley was an American third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He recognized as one of the best third basemen in baseball prior to 1950, along with Jimmy Collins and Pie Traynor.
Kenneth Joseph Aspromonte is an American retired professional baseball player and manager. During his active career, Aspromonte spent all or parts of seven seasons (1957–63) in the Major Leagues, mostly as a second baseman, for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League, and the Milwaukee Braves and Chicago Cubs of the National League. He spent three years (1964–66) playing in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons and Taiyo Whales. He also managed in the Major Leagues for three full seasons as skipper of the 1972–74 Indians.
Joseph James Quinn was an Australian second baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was the only Australian-born player to reach the major leagues until Craig Shipley in 1986.
Gustavus Heinrich Schmelz was an American manager in Major League Baseball for the Columbus Buckeyes (1884), Cincinnati Red Stockings (1887–89), and Columbus Solons (1890–91) of the American Association. He was also the manager for the St. Louis Maroons (1886), Cleveland Spiders (1890), and Washington Senators (1894–97) of the National League.
Oliver Wendell"Patsy"Tebeau was an American first baseman, third baseman, and manager in Major League Baseball.
Lorenzo Edward Gremminger, nicknamed "Battleship", was an American baseball infielder.
The 1891 Cleveland Spiders season was a season in American baseball. They finished with a 65–74 record and a fifth-place finish in the National League.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders season was the team's 13th and final season in Major League Baseball (MLB), and their 11th season in the National League (NL).
Robert H. Leadley was an American professional baseball manager, administrator, and team owner whose career spanned from 1884 to 1897. He was a manager in Major League Baseball for the last portion of the 1888 season with the Detroit Wolverines and for parts of the 1890 and 1891 seasons with the Cleveland Spiders. Over those three seasons, Leadley compiled a record of 76–86 and a winning percentage of .469.