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1897 Major League Baseball season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1897 MLB season |
| league | National League (NL) |
| sport | Baseball |
| duration | Regular season:{{Bulleted list |
| no_of_games | 132 |
| no_of_teams | 12 |
| playoffs | Pennant winner |
| conf1 | NL |
| conf1_champ | Boston Beaneaters |
| conf1_runner-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| finals | Temple Cup |
| finals_link | 1897 Temple Cup |
| finals_champ | Baltimore Orioles |
| finals_runner-up | Boston Beaneaters |
| seasonslist | List of Major League Baseball seasons |
| seasonslistnames | MLB |
| prevseason_link | 1896 Major League Baseball season |
| prevseason_year | 1896 |
| nextseason_link | 1898 Major League Baseball season |
| nextseason_year | 1898 |
| April 19 – October 3, 1897}}Temple Cup:{{Bulleted list | October 4–11, 1897}} | conf1_runner-up = Baltimore Orioles | finals_runner-up = Boston Beaneaters The 1897 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1897. The regular season ended on October 3, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League and the Baltimore Orioles as runner-up. The postseason began with Game 1 of the fourth Temple Cup on October 4 and ended with Game 5 on October 11. The Orioles defeated the Beaneaters, four games to one, capturing their second consecutive Temple Cup.
Due to lack of enthusiasm from both players and fans, and the perception that the Temple Cup was more of an exhibition contest than a true championship contest, the 1897 Temple Cup would be the final version of the championship series. Aside from the 1900 Chronicle-Telegraph Cup, this would be the last championship series until the birth of the modern World Series in .
Schedule
The 1897 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 since and was the last season to use the format, which saw an extension of the schedule to 154 games the following season.
Opening Day took place on April 19 featuring a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters. The final day of the season was on October 3, featuring four teams. The Temple Cup took place between October 4 and October 11, with two exhibition games breaking up the series played on October 7–8 between Games 3 and 4.
Rule changes
The 1897 season saw the following rule changes:
- A new rule eliminating on-field coaches when the bases were empty was implemented. If a runner got on, one base coach was permitted. With two or more runners on base, both coaching boxes could be filled.
- Team captains were now prohibited from leaving his position on the field in order to dispute an umpire’s ruling (this included outfielders).
- If a stolen base figured in the scoring of a run, that run would be considered unearned.
- The power to appoint official game scorers was conferred upon the league president, a move designed to eliminate hometown favoritism in base-hit and error rulings.
Teams
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager | National League}};" | Baltimore Orioles | Boston Beaneaters | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Chicago Colts | Cincinnati Reds | Cleveland Spiders | Louisville Colonels | New York Giants | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Browns | Washington Senators | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, Maryland | Union Park | 6,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brooklyn, New York | Eastern Park | 12,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 9,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 6,400 | |||||||||||||||||
| New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 6,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis, Missouri | New Sportsman's Park | 14,500 | |||||||||||||||||
| Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 |
Standings
National League
Tie games
23 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
- Baltimore Orioles, 6
- Boston Beaneaters, 3
- Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 4
- Chicago Colts, 6
- Cincinnati Reds, 2
- Cleveland Spiders, 1
- Louisville Colonels, 6
- New York Giants, 7
- Philadelphia Phillies, 2
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 4
- St. Louis Browns, 2
- Washington Senators, 3
Postseason
Bracket
| RD1-seed1=NL1 | RD1-team1=Boston Beaneaters | RD1-score1-1=13 | RD1-score1-2=11 | RD1-score1-3=3 | RD1-score1-4=11 | RD1-score1-5=3 | RD1-seed2=NL2 | RD1-team2=Baltimore Orioles | RD1-score2-1=12 | RD1-score2-2=13 | RD1-score2-3=87 | RD1-score2-4=12 | RD1-score2-5=9
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Louisville Colonels | Philadelphia Phillies | Pittsburgh Pirates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Foutz | Billy Barnie | |||||
| Bill McGunnigle | Jim Rogers | |||||
| Billy Nash | George Stallings | |||||
| Connie Mack | Patsy Donovan |
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager | Louisville Colonels | St. Louis Browns | Washington Senators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Rogers | Fred Clarke | ||||
| Tommy Dowd | Hugh Nicol | ||||
| Hugh Nicol | Bill Hallman | ||||
| Bill Hallman | Chris von der Ahe | ||||
| Gus Schmelz | Tom Brown |
League leaders
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Willie Keeler (BAL) | .424 |
| OPS | Willie Keeler (BAL) | 1.003 |
| HR | Hugh Duffy (BSN) | 11 |
| RBI | George Davis (NYG) | 135 |
| R | Billy Hamilton (BSN) | 152 |
| H | Willie Keeler (BAL) | 239 |
| SB | Bill Lange (CHI) | 73 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 31 |
| L | Red Donahue (STL) | 35 |
| ERA | Amos Rusie (NYG) | 2.54 |
| K | Doc McJames (WAS) | |
| Cy Seymour (NYG) | 156 | |
| IP | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 368.0 |
| SV | Win Mercer (WAS) | |
| Kid Nichols (BSN) | 3 | |
| WHIP | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 1.168 |
Milestones
Batters
- Cap Anson (CHI):
- Recorded his 3,000th career hit with a single in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on July 18. He became the first player to reach this mark.
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Cy Young (CLE):
- Young threw his first career no-hitter and the first no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Cincinnati Reds 6–0 in game 1 of a doubleheader on September 18. Young walked none, hit one by pitch, and struck out three, though three batters reached due to fielding errors.
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 83 | 29.7% | 390,340 | 42.5% | 5,136 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | −1.3% | 336,800 | −9.7% | 4,953 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 93 | 25.7% | 334,800 | 39.5% | 4,997 |
| Chicago Colts | 59 | −16.9% | 327,160 | 3.0% | 4,883 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | −11.3% | 290,027 | −18.8% | 4,329 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 0.0% | 273,046 | 9.5% | 3,957 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 61 | 5.2% | 220,831 | 9.9% | 3,155 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | −9.1% | 165,950 | −15.8% | 2,553 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 5.2% | 151,028 | −32.3% | 2,221 |
| Louisville Colonels | 52 | 36.8% | 145,210 | 9.2% | 2,135 |
| St. Louis Browns | 29 | −27.5% | 136,400 | −25.9% | 2,236 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 69 | −13.8% | 115,250 | −24.2% | 1,773 |
References
References
- Best, Jason. "1897: Last Gasp of the Temple Cup – Society for American Baseball Research".
- "1897 Major Leagues Schedule".
- Talbot, Jamie. "1896 Winter Meetings: The Height of Factionalism – Society for American Baseball Research".
- "1897 Major League Managers".
- "1897 National League Batting Leaders".
- "1897 National League Pitching Leaders".
- "The Chicago Chronicle (1895-1907) 19 July 1897 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections".
- "Every member of the 3,000-hit club".
- "Pete Rose Statistics and History". Sports Reference.
- "Appendix 1: Corrected box score and play-by-play for Cy Young’s first no-hitter – Society for American Baseball Research".
- (September 19, 1897). "The National League". The Houston daily post.
- "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
- "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". [[Baseball-Reference.com]].
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