| 1883 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Association (AA) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 1 – September 30, 1883 (AA) May 1 – September 29, 1883 (NL) |
| Games | 98 |
| Teams | 16 (8 in each league) |
| Pennant winner | |
| AA champions | Philadelphia Athletics |
| AA runners-up | St. Louis Browns |
| NL champions | Boston Beaneaters |
| NL runners-up | Chicago White Stockings |
| MLB seasons | |
The1883 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1883. It was the second season for theAmerican Association (AA) and eighth season for theNational League (NL). ThePhiladelphia Athletics won theAA pennant, while theBoston Beaneaters won theNL pennant. There was no postseason, although there was a canceled exhibition series between the two pennant winners.
Prior to the season, theTroy Trojans andWorcester Worcesters of the National League folded. In its place, the league enfranchised two teams: theNew York Gothams andPhiladelphia Quakers (today'sSan Francisco Giants andPhiladelphia Phillies). It was decided that the six-team American Association would expand to eight teams and saw the minor leagueNew York Metropolitans join and the enfranchisement of theColumbus Buckeyes.
Prior to the season, the Boston Red Caps and St. Louis Brown Stockings renamed as theBoston Beaneaters andSt. Louis Browns, respectively.
TheAmerican Association and theNational League, along with theNorthwestern League, sign the Tripartite Agreement (also known as the National Agreement). This agreement binds the leagues to respect each other's valid player contracts as well as increasing the size of the reserve list from 6 to 11 players.
The 1883 schedule consisted of 98 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 14 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This format was unique to the 1883 season.Previously, the National League had played an 84-game schedule, with 12 games against each team being played, while a pre-expansion six-team American Association had played an 80-game schedule, with 16 games against each team being played. Thefollowing season would see the National League play a 112-game schedule (increase of 14 to 16 games each), while the American Association would expanded again, this time to twelve teams, for a 110-game schedule (of 10 games against each of the other eleven teams).
Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all sixteen teams. American Association would see its final day of the regular season on September 30 featuring four teams, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 29, featuring all eight teams.
The 1883 season saw the following rule changes:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | 66 | 32 | .673 | — | 37–14 | 29–18 |
| St. Louis Browns | 65 | 33 | .663 | 1 | 35–14 | 30–19 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 61 | 37 | .622 | 5 | 38–13 | 23–24 |
| New York Metropolitans | 54 | 42 | .562 | 11 | 29–17 | 25–25 |
| Louisville Eclipse | 52 | 45 | .536 | 13½ | 29–18 | 23–27 |
| Columbus Buckeyes | 32 | 65 | .330 | 33½ | 18–29 | 14–36 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 31 | 67 | .316 | 35 | 18–31 | 13–36 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 28 | 68 | .292 | 37 | 18–31 | 10–37 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Beaneaters | 63 | 35 | .643 | — | 41–8 | 22–27 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 59 | 39 | .602 | 4 | 36–13 | 23–26 |
| Providence Grays | 58 | 40 | .592 | 5 | 34–15 | 24–25 |
| Cleveland Blues | 55 | 42 | .567 | 7½ | 31–18 | 24–24 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 49 | 45 | .521 | 12 | 36–13 | 13–32 |
| New York Gothams | 46 | 50 | .479 | 16 | 28–19 | 18–31 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 40 | 58 | .408 | 23 | 23–26 | 17–32 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 17 | 81 | .173 | 46 | 9–40 | 8–41 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | .357 |
| OPS | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | .869 |
| HR | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 14 |
| RBI | Charley Jones (CIN) | 80 |
| R | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 110 |
| H | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | 147 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .374 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .969 |
| HR | Buck Ewing (NYG) | 10 |
| RBI | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 97 |
| R | Joe Hornung (BSN) | 107 |
| H | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 159 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Charles Radbourn (PRO) | 48 |
| L | John Coleman1 (PHI) | 48 |
| ERA | Jim McCormick (CLE) | 1.84 |
| K | Jim Whitney (BSN) | 345 |
| IP | Pud Galvin (BUF) | 656.1 |
| SV | George Weidman (DET) Jim Whitney (BSN) | 2 |
| WHIP | Charles Radbourn (PRO) | 0.979 |
1 All-time single-seasonlosses record
