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1894 Major League Baseball season


FieldValue
title1894 MLB season
leagueNational League (NL)
sportBaseball
durationRegular season:{{Bulleted list
no_of_games132
no_of_teams12
playoffsPennant winner
conf1NL
conf1_champBaltimore Orioles
conf1_runner-upNew York Giants
finalsTemple Cup
finals_link1894 Temple Cup
finals_champNew York Giants
finals_runner-upBaltimore Orioles
seasonslistList of Major League Baseball seasons
seasonslistnamesMLB
prevseason_link1893 Major League Baseball season
prevseason_year1893
nextseason_link1895 Major League Baseball season
nextseason_year1895

| April 19 – September 30, 1894}}Temple Cup:{{Bulleted list | October 4–8, 1894}} | conf1_runner-up = New York Giants | finals_runner-up = Baltimore Orioles The 1894 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1894. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Baltimore Orioles as the pennant winner of the National League and the New York Giants as runner-up. The postseason began with Game 1 of the first Temple Cup on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Giants swept the Orioles, capturing their first Temple Cup.

The 1894 season saw the return of a postseason championship series, the Temple Cup, following the end of the World's Championship Series with the demise of the American Association in and the one-off, split-season 1892 World's Championship Series.

Schedule

The 1894 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 in the previous season and would be used until .

Opening Day took place on April 19 featuring eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, also featuring eight teams. The Temple Cup took place between October 4 and October 8.

Rule changes

The 1894 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Foul bunts are now classified as strikes.
  • The sacrifice hit rule, which is when a batter deliberately gets out in an effort to advance a baserunner to another base, is implemented.
    • Sacrifice hits, which exempt a batter from a time at bat (including sacrifice bunts), is implemented.
  • A precursor to the Infield fly rule is implemented, stating "the batsman is out if he hits a fly ball that can be handled by an infielder while first base is occupied, with only one out."

Teams

An asterisk () denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at. Ballparks listed in backwards chronological order.*

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManagerNational League}};"Baltimore OriolesBoston BeaneatersBrooklyn GroomsChicago ColtsCincinnati RedsCleveland SpidersLouisville ColonelsNew York GiantsPhiladelphia PhilliesPittsburgh PiratesSt. Louis BrownsWashington Senators
Baltimore, MarylandUnion Park6,500
Boston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds (II)*8,500*
Congress Street Grounds*14,000*
South End Grounds (III)5,000
Brooklyn, New YorkEastern Park12,000
Chicago, IllinoisWest Side Park13,000
Cincinnati, OhioLeague Park (Cincinnati)9,000
Cleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000
Louisville, KentuckyEclipse Park6,400
New York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia Base Ball Grounds12,500
University of Pennsylvania Athletic Field*Unknown
Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds**Unknown**
Allegheny, PennsylvaniaExposition Park6,500
St. Louis, MissouriNew Sportsman's Park14,500
Washington, D.C.Boundary Field6,500

Standings

National League

Tie games

16 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

  • Baltimore Orioles, 1
  • Boston Beaneaters, 1
  • Brooklyn Grooms, 4
  • Chicago Colts, 5
  • Cincinnati Reds, 4
  • Cleveland Spiders, 1
  • Louisville Colonels, 1
  • New York Giants, 7
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 4
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 3
  • St. Louis Browns, 1

Postseason

Bracket

| RD1-seed1=NL1 | RD1-team1=Baltimore Orioles | RD1-score1-1=1 | RD1-score1-2=6 | RD1-score1-3=1 | RD1-score1-4=1 | RD1-seed2=NL2 | RD1-team2=New York Giants | RD1-score2-1=4 | RD1-score2-2=9 | RD1-score2-3=4 | RD1-score2-4=7

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew ManagerPhiladelphia PhilliesSt. Louis BrownsWashington Senators
Harry WrightArthur Irwin
Bill WatkinsGeorge Miller
Jim O'RourkeGus Schmelz

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew ManagerPittsburgh Pirates
Al BuckenbergerConnie Mack

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

National League

StatPlayerTotal
AVGHugh Duffy (BSN).440
OPSHugh Duffy (BSN)1.196
HRHugh Duffy (BSN)18
RBISam Thompson (PHI)149
RBilly Hamilton1 (PHI)198
HHugh Duffy (BSN)237
SBBilly Hamilton (PHI)100

1 All-time single-season runs record

StatPlayerTotal
WAmos Rusie1 (NYG)36
LPink Hawley (PIT)27
ERAAmos Rusie1 (NYG)2.78
KAmos Rusie1 (NYG)195
IPTheodore Breitenstein (STL)447.1
SVTony Mullane (CLE/BAL)4
WHIPAmos Rusie (NYG)1.410

1 National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Milestones

Batters

Four home runs in one game

  • Bobby Lowe (BSN):
    • Became the first player to hit four home runs in one game against the Cincinnati Reds on May 30.

Cycles

  • Lave Cross (PHI):
    • Cross hit for his first cycle and first in franchise history, on April 24 against the Brooklyn Grooms
  • Bill Hassamaer (WAS):
    • Hassamaer hit for his first cycle and fifth in franchise history, on June 13 against the St. Louis Browns.
  • Sam Thompson (PHI):
    • Thompson hit for his first cycle and second in franchise history, on August 17 against the Louisville Colonels.
  • Tom Parrott (CIN):
    • Parrott hit for his first cycle and fifth in franchise history, on September 28 against the New York Giants.

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
New York Giants8829.4%387,00033.4%5,451
Philadelphia Phillies71−1.4%352,77320.4%4,969
Baltimore Orioles8948.3%328,000129.4%4,896
Chicago Colts571.8%239,0006.9%3,515
Brooklyn Grooms707.7%214,000−8.9%3,101
Pittsburgh Pirates65−19.8%159,000−13.6%2,120
Cincinnati Reds55−15.4%158,000−18.7%2,394
St. Louis Browns56−1.8%155,000−20.5%2,348
Boston Beaneaters83−3.5%152,800−21.0%2,425
Washington Senators4512.5%125,00038.9%2,016
Cleveland Spiders68−6.8%82,000−36.9%1,390
Louisville Colonels36−28.0%75,00039.7%1,210

Venues

There were two instances of conflagration causing the temporary relocation of teams before returning to a rebuilt ballpark:

  • In what was only the fifth home game of the Boston Beaneaters' season, their home of the South End Grounds burned down during the third inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 15, forcing the team to play at the Congress Street Grounds, the former home of the Players' League/American Association Boston Reds from May 16 until the South End Grounds could be rebuilt. The team would play 27 home games at the Congress Street Grounds through June 20, before going on a month-long road trip and returning to a rebuilt South End Grounds on July 20, where they would go on to play another 31 home games for the rest of the season.
  • During a practice session on August 6, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds burned down. The Phillies would play six games from August 11 through August 17 at University of Pennsylvania Athletic Field before returning to the Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds the following day, where temporary bleachers had been installed.

Prior to the start of the season, the Cincinnati Reds' home as League Park saw major changes. A new grandstand in what was left field was built, as well as an ampitheater. The baseball diamond was shifted from the southeast corner of the lot to the southwest corner, with the original seating retained as right field seating.

References

References

  1. "1894 Major Leagues Schedule".
  2. "MLB Rule Changes {{!}} Baseball Almanac".
  3. Bauer, John. "1893 Winter Meetings: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bunt – Society for American Baseball Research".
  4. "1894 Major League Managers".
  5. "1894 National League Batting Leaders".
  6. "1894 National League Pitching Leaders".
  7. "Bobby Lowe Statistics and History". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  8. "Bobby Lowe Career Home Runs".
  9. "Cycles". Retrosheet.org.
  10. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  11. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  12. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  13. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  14. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  15. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  16. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  17. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  18. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  19. "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  20. "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  21. "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
  22. Gottschall, Terry. "May 15, 1894: “It Was a Hot Game, Sure Enough!” – Society for American Baseball Research".
  23. "1894 Boston Schedule".
  24. (August 13, 1894). "Destruction of the Ball Park". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  25. "League Park I & League Park II & East End Park aka Pendelton Park - Cincinnati Redlegs - Cincinnati Reds - Cincinnati Ohio".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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