| Jim Mutrie | |
|---|---|
 Mutrie in 1888 | |
| Manager | |
| Born:(1851-06-13)June 13, 1851 Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Died: January 24, 1938(1938-01-24) (aged 86) New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 1, 1883, for the New York Metropolitans | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1891, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Managerial record | 658–419–37 |
| Winning % | .611 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James J. Mutrie (June 13, 1851 – January 24, 1938) was an Americanbaseball pioneer who was the co-founder and firstmanager of both the originalNew York Metropolitans and theNew York Giants. He had a winning percentage of .611, the highest for the 19th century for managers. It remains the third highest by any major league manager with at least 600 wins, trailing onlyJoe McCarthy's mark of .615 and Dave Roberts.
Mutrie, nicknamed "Smilin' Jeems" and "Truthful Jim", was born inChelsea, Massachusetts, and grew up playingcricket, first playing baseball at age 16. He played in the minor leagues from 1877 to 1879.[1] In 1880 he moved from New England to New York, where he obtained financial backing fromAugust Belmont andJohn B. Day to start the independent New York Metropolitans. At the end of the 1882 season, Day and Mutrie accepted offers from both theAmerican Association and theNational League to enter a New York team; they met their double commitment by entering the Mets in the American Association, and acquiring most of the players from theTroy Trojans to form the New York Gothams for the National League.
Mutrie managed the New York Metropolitans from 1880-1882 in the Eastern Championship Association andLeague Alliance, and winning both of those leagues in 1881 and 1882 respectively.[2] The Metropolitans' record in 1882 was 101-57-3 and they easily won the League Alliance pennant.[2] From 1880-1882, Mutrie managed the New York Metropolitans to a 201-136-7 record.[2] Mutrie managed the Metropolitans in 1883 and 1884, leading them to the1884 World Series the latter year. In the 1884 World Series, Mutrie faced off against his former manager Frank Bancroft. Bancroft was the manager of the New Bedford Whalers of the New England League in 1878 when Mutrie played for the Whalers. The Whalers won the New England League pennant in 1878.[2]
In 1885, Mutrie switched to managing the Gothams, and is credited with giving them their nickname, the Giants. With star players such asBuck Ewing,Tim Keefe andRoger Connor, the Giants won National League pennants and World Series titles under Mutrie in 1888 and 1889. Ewing, Keefe and many other players defected to thePlayers' League's New York Giants in 1890, and the National League Giants under Mutrie slumped to sixth and then third place. When the Giants were reorganized after the 1891 season under new ownership, Mutrie was not retained as manager.
After leaving baseball, Mutrie operated a hotel inElmira, New York and a newsstand onStaten Island. He died ofcancer onRoosevelt Island in New York City at age 86. He was buried at theMoravian Cemetery on Staten Island.
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| NYM | 1883 | 97[a] | 54 | 42 | .563 | 4th in AA | – | – | – | – |
| NYM | 1884 | 112[b] | 75 | 32 | .701 | 1st in AA | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost in1884 World Series |
| NYG | 1885 | 112 | 85 | 27 | .759 | 2nd in NL | - | - | - | - |
| NYG | 1886 | 124[c] | 75 | 44 | .630 | 3rd in NL | - | - | - | - |
| NYG | 1887 | 129[d] | 68 | 55 | .553 | 4th in NL | - | - | - | - |
| NYG | 1888 | 138[e] | 84 | 47 | .641 | 1st in NL | 6 | 4 | .600 | WonWorld Series (STL) |
| NYG | 1889 | 131[f] | 83 | 43 | .659 | 1st in NL | 6 | 3 | .667 | WonWorld Series (BKN) |
| NYG | 1890 | 135[g] | 63 | 68 | .481 | 6th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| NYG | 1891 | 136[h] | 71 | 61 | .538 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 1,114[i] | 658 | 419 | .611 | 12 | 10 | .545 | |||
