| 1896 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 132 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| NL runners-up | Cleveland Spiders |
| Temple Cup | |
| Champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| Runners-up | Cleveland Spiders |
| MLB seasons | |
The1896 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1896. The regular season ended on September 26, with theBaltimore Orioles as thepennant winner of theNational League and theCleveland Spiders as runner-up. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of thethird Temple Cup on October 2 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Orioles swept the Spiders, capturing their first Temple Cup.
The 1896 Temple Cup was the only one of four Temple Cups which saw the NL pennant winner win the championship series.
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 since1893 and would be used until1898.
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] TheTemple Cup took place between October 2 and October 8.
The 1896 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 39 | .698 | — | 49–16 | 41–23 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 80 | 48 | .625 | 9½ | 43–19 | 37–29 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 50 | .606 | 12 | 51–15 | 26–35 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 74 | 57 | .565 | 17 | 42–24 | 32–33 |
| Chicago Colts | 71 | 57 | .555 | 18½ | 42–24 | 29–33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 63 | .512 | 24 | 35–31 | 31–32 |
| New York Giants | 64 | 67 | .489 | 27 | 39–26 | 25–41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 68 | .477 | 28½ | 42–27 | 20–41 |
| Washington Senators | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 38–29 | 20–44 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 35–28 | 23–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 40 | 90 | .308 | 50½ | 27–34 | 13–56 |
| Louisville Colonels | 38 | 93 | .290 | 53 | 25–37 | 13–56 |
14 tie games, which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
| Temple Cup | |||||||
| NL1 | Baltimore Orioles | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | ||
| NL2 | Cleveland Spiders | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | Harvey Watkins | Arthur Irwin |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Arthur Irwin | Billy Nash |
| St. Louis Browns | Lou Phelan | Harry Diddlebock |
Any team shown insmall text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | .410 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 1.103 |
| HR | Ed Delahanty (PHI) Bill Joyce (NYG/WAS) | 11 |
| RBI | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 126 |
| R | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | 160 |
| H | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | 240 |
| SB | Joe Kelley (BAL) | 87 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Frank Killen (PIT) Kid Nichols (BSN) | 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 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds[9] | 77 | 16.7% | 373,000 | 32.7% | 5,652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[10] | 62 | −20.5% | 357,025 | −24.8% | 5,174 |
| Chicago Colts[11] | 71 | −1.4% | 317,500 | −17.0% | 4,669 |
| New York Giants[12] | 64 | −3.0% | 274,000 | 14.2% | 4,152 |
| Baltimore Orioles[13] | 90 | 3.4% | 249,448 | −14.9% | 3,723 |
| Boston Beaneaters[14] | 74 | 4.2% | 240,000 | −0.8% | 3,582 |
| Washington Senators[15] | 58 | 34.9% | 223,000 | 45.8% | 3,279 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms[16] | 58 | −18.3% | 201,000 | −12.6% | 3,092 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[17] | 66 | −7.0% | 197,000 | 4.8% | 2,985 |
| St. Louis Browns[18] | 40 | 2.6% | 184,000 | 8.2% | 2,968 |
| Cleveland Spiders[19] | 80 | −4.8% | 152,000 | 6.3% | 2,375 |
| Louisville Colonels[20] | 38 | 8.6% | 133,000 | 44.6% | 2,078 |
