| 1898 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 15 – October 15, 1898 |
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Boston Beaneaters |
| NL runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| MLB seasons | |
The1898 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1898. The regular season ended on October 15, with theBoston Beaneaters as thepennant winner of theNational League. Due to lack of enthusiasm from both players and fans, theTemple Cup which had taken place in the four previous seasons was not held, nor was there any other form of a postseason.
The Chicago Colts renamed as theChicago Orphans.
The 1898 schedule consisted of 154 games for the twelve teams of theNational League. Each team was scheduled to play 14 games against the other eleven teams in the league. This format saw an increase to the previously used format, which had each team play 12 games against each other, and had resulted in a total of 132 games. The 154-game format had previously been used by the National League during in1892.
Opening Day took place on April 15 featuring six teams. The final day of the season was on October 15, featuring eight teams.[1]
The 1898 season saw the following rule changes:
TheCleveland Spiders played in 15 neutral site games in which they were treated as the home team. Meanwhile,blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams to play at ballparks in a different locality.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Games played | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms[4] | West New York,New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | Unknown | 2 | Sunday |
| Cleveland Spiders[5] | Rochester,New York | Culver Field | Unknown | 2 | Neutral site |
| Collinwood,Ohio[B] | Euclid Beach Park | Unknown | 2 | Sunday | |
| Philadelphia,Pennsylvania | Baker Bowl National League Park | 18,000 | 9 | Neutral site | |
| Charlotte,New York[C] | Ontario Beach Grounds | Unknown | 1 | Neutral site & Sunday | |
| St. Louis,Missouri | New Sportsman's Park | 14,500 | 2 | Neutral site | |
| Chicago,Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | 1 | Neutral site | |
| New York Giants[6] | West New York,New Jersey | West New York Field Club Grounds | Unknown | 1 | Sunday |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Beaneaters | 102 | 47 | .685 | — | 62–15 | 40–32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 96 | 53 | .644 | 6 | 58–15 | 38–38 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 60 | .605 | 11½ | 58–28 | 34–32 |
| Chicago Orphans | 85 | 65 | .567 | 17½ | 58–31 | 27–34 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 81 | 68 | .544 | 21 | 36–19 | 45–49 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 78 | 71 | .523 | 24 | 49–31 | 29–40 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 73 | .513 | 25½ | 45–28 | 32–45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 76 | .486 | 29½ | 39–35 | 33–41 |
| Louisville Colonels | 70 | 81 | .464 | 33 | 43–34 | 27–47 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 54 | 91 | .372 | 46 | 30–41 | 24–50 |
| Washington Senators | 51 | 101 | .336 | 52½ | 34–44 | 17–57 |
| St. Louis Browns | 39 | 111 | .260 | 63½ | 20–44 | 19–67 |
24 tie games, which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Orphans | Cap Anson | Tom Burns |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Patsy Donovan | Bill Watkins |
| St. Louis Browns | Chris von der Ahe | Tim Hurst |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Willie Keeler (BRO) | .385 |
| OPS | Billy Hamilton (BSN) | .933 |
| HR | Jimmy Collins (BSN) | 15 |
| RBI | Nap Lajoie (PHI) | 127 |
| R | John McGraw (BAL) | 143 |
| H | Willie Keeler (BRO) | 216 |
| SB | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 58 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 31 |
| L | Jack Taylor (STL) | 29 |
| ERA | Clark Griffith (CHI) | 1.88 |
| K | Cy Seymour (NYG) | 239 |
| IP | Jack Taylor (STL) | 397.1 |
| SV | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 4 |
| WHIP | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 1.034 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Orphans[17] | 85 | 44.1% | 424,352 | 29.7% | 4,768 |
| Cincinnati Reds[18] | 92 | 21.1% | 336,378 | −0.1% | 3,780 |
| New York Giants[19] | 77 | −7.2% | 265,414 | −32.0% | 3,492 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[20] | 78 | 41.8% | 265,414 | −8.5% | 3,277 |
| Boston Beaneaters[21] | 102 | 9.7% | 229,275 | −31.5% | 2,902 |
| St. Louis Browns[22] | 39 | 34.5% | 151,700 | 11.2% | 2,298 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[23] | 72 | 20.0% | 150,900 | −9.1% | 2,012 |
| Louisville Colonels[24] | 70 | 34.6% | 128,980 | −11.2% | 1,633 |
| Baltimore Orioles[25] | 96 | 6.7% | 123,416 | −54.8% | 1,624 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms[26] | 54 | −11.5% | 122,514 | −44.5% | 1,656 |
| Washington Senators[27] | 51 | −16.4% | 103,250 | −31.6% | 1,291 |
| Cleveland Spiders[28] | 81 | 17.4% | 70,496 | −38.8% | 1,237 |
TheBrooklyn Bridegrooms, leaveEastern Park (where they played for seven seasons) and move toWashington Park, where they would go on to play for 15 seasons through1912.
Regarding games that were rescheduled to Sunday, and existingblue laws:
TheCleveland Spiders played 15 of 57 home games (about26%) outside of theGreater Cleveland area.[5] Excluding the already mentionedOntario Beach Grounds Sunday game listed above, these neutral site games were played in:
