The1916Cincinnati Reds season was a season in Americanbaseball. The team finished tied for seventh and last place in theNational League with theSt. Louis Cardinals. Both teams finished with a record of 60–93, 33½ games behind theBrooklyn Robins

In December, the Reds purchased shortstopLarry Kopf from thePhiladelphia Phillies. In 1915, Kopf's first season getting regular playing time at the major league level, batted .225 with one home run and 33 RBI in 118 games. Later in the month, Cincinnati purchased the contracts ofFederal League playersEarl Moseley from theNewark Peppers, and second basemanBaldy Louden from theBuffalo Blues. Moseley had a 15–15 record and a league-best 1.91 ERA with the Pepper in 1915, while Louden batted .281 with four home runs and 48 RBI, and stole 30 bases with the Blues.

In early 1916, the Reds purchased first basemanHal Chase from theBuffalo Blues of theFederal League. Chase led the league with 17 home runs in 1915, and batted .289 and also had 89 RBI in 145 games. Chase had a lot of previous experience in theAmerican League, playing for theNew York Yankees andChicago White Sox from 1905 until 1914. Cincinnati then purchased the contract of shortstopBob Fisher from theChicago Cubs. Fisher batted .287 with five home runs and 53 RBI in 147 games, and led theNational League with 42 sacrifice bunts.

On February 10, the club announced more purchased contracts from theFederal League, as Cincinnati acquired pitchersJim Bluejacket from theBrooklyn Tip-Tops andAl Schulz from theBuffalo Blues, and first basemanEmil Huhn from theNewark Peppers. Bluejacket had a record of 10–11 with a 3.15 ERA in 24 games with the Tip-Tops, while Schulz was 21–14 with a 3.08 ERA in 42 games with the Blues, striking out 168 batters, throwing 25 complete games, and he led the league with 149 walks. Huhn batted .227 with a home run and 41 RBI in 127 games with the Pepper.

Early in the season, the Reds purchased the contract of pitcherElmer Knetzer from theBoston Braves. Knetzer was acquired by Cincinnati on April 30, after he struggled in his first two games with Boston, going 0–2 with a 7.20 ERA. He would split his games with the Reds as a starting pitcher and reliever.

On July 20, with a record of 34–49 and in last place in the league, the Reds traded player-managerBuck Herzog and outfielderRed Killefer to theNew York Giants for starting pitcherChristy Mathewson, third basemanBill McKechnie and outfielderEdd Roush. Mathewson, who had struggled with the Giants in 1916, had a 3–4 record with a 2.33 ERA in 12 games. He would announce his retirement and become the Reds manager, however, Mathewson would appear in one game with Cincinnati as a starting pitcher. This would be Mathewson's first time as a manager. McKechnie had a .246 batting average with no home runs and 17 RBI at the time of the trade, while Roush was batting .188 with no home runs and five RBI in 39 games.

After a solid 5–2 start in their first seven games, in which the Reds were in first place, the club struggled badly and by the middle of May, they were under .500 and falling out of the pennant race. On July 20, with a record of 34–49, the club was involved in a deal that centered on player managerBuck Herzog being traded to theNew York Giants forChristy Mathewson. Mathewson announced his retirement from playing, and following a double header in which catcherIvey Wingo was the interim manager, Mathewson took over.

The Reds continued to struggle under Mathewson, remaining in last place, until a three-game winning streak at the end of the season moved the team into seventh place tie with theSt. Louis Cardinals. Cincinnati finished the season 60–93, which included a 25–43 record under Mathewson, and were 33.5 games behind the first placeBrooklyn Robins. This marked the seventh consecutive season that the team finished under .500.

Offensively, the team was led byHal Chase, who led the Reds with a .339 batting average, four home runs, 82 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 142 games. He led the National League in batting average, and hits with 184. OutfielderTommy Griffith had a solid year, batting .266 with two home runs and 61 RBI in 155 games, whileEdd Roush, acquired in the middle of the season, had a solid .287 average with 15 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 69 games.

On the mound,Fred Toney led the club with a 14–17 record and a team best 2.28 ERA in 41 games, pitching 300 innings, striking out 146 batters and completing 21 games. Twenty year oldPete Schneider showed much potential, despite a poor 10–19 record, he had a 2.69 ERA in 44 games.Clarence Mitchell was 11–10 with a 3.24 ERA in 29 games in his first full season with the club.

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

• 1916 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference

• Cincinnati Reds seasons
• 1916 Major League Baseball season
• 1916 in sports in Ohio

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