The 1896 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1896. The regular season ended on September 26, with the Baltimore Orioles as the pennant winner of the National League and the Cleveland Spiders as runner-up. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the third Temple Cup on October 2 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Orioles swept the Spiders, capturing their first Temple Cup.
| 1896 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 132 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| NL runners-up | Cleveland Spiders |
| Temple Cup | |
| Champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| Runners-up | Cleveland Spiders |
The 1896 Temple Cup was the only one of four Temple Cups which saw the NL pennant winner win the championship series.
Schedule
The 1896 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 1893 and would be used until 1898.
Opening Day took place on April 16 featuring all twelve teams. The final day of the season was on September 26, featuring ten teams. The Temple Cup took place between October 2 and October 8.
Rule changes
The 1896 season saw the following rule changes:
- A player ejection was mandatory after the third violation of minor in-game discretions.
- Umpires must "give corners of the plate" to the pitcher, meaning that if a ball passed over any part of the plate while in the zone between shoulders and knees, the pitch must be called a strike.
Teams
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Union Park | 6,500 | Ned Hanlon |
| Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | Frank Selee | |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Brooklyn, New York | Eastern Park | 12,000 | Dave Foutz | |
| Chicago Colts | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | Cap Anson | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 9,000 | Buck Ewing | |
| Cleveland Spiders | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | Patsy Tebeau | |
| Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 6,400 | John McCloskey | |
| Bill McGunnigle | |||||
| New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | Arthur Irwin | |
| Bill Joyce | |||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Billy Nash | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 6,500 | Connie Mack | |
| St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | New Sportsman's Park | 14,500 | Harry Diddlebock | |
| Arlie Latham | |||||
| Chris von der Ahe | |||||
| Roger Connor | |||||
| Tommy Dowd | |||||
| Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | Gus Schmelz |
Standings
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 39 | .698 | — | 49–16 | 41–23 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 80 | 48 | .625 | 9½ | 43–19 | 37–29 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 50 | .606 | 12 | 51–15 | 26–35 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 74 | 57 | .565 | 17 | 42–24 | 32–33 |
| Chicago Colts | 71 | 57 | .555 | 18½ | 42–24 | 29–33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 63 | .512 | 24 | 35–31 | 31–32 |
| New York Giants | 64 | 67 | .489 | 27 | 39–26 | 25–41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 68 | .477 | 28½ | 42–27 | 20–41 |
| Washington Senators | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 38–29 | 20–44 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 35–28 | 23–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 40 | 90 | .308 | 50½ | 27–34 | 13–56 |
| Louisville Colonels | 38 | 93 | .290 | 53 | 25–37 | 13–56 |
Postseason
Bracket
| Temple Cup | |||||||
| NL1 | Baltimore Orioles | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | ||
| NL2 | Cleveland Spiders | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
Managerial changes
Off-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | Harvey Watkins | Arthur Irwin |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Arthur Irwin | Billy Nash |
| St. Louis Browns | Lou Phelan | Harry Diddlebock |
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville Colonels | John McCloskey | Bill McGunnigle |
| New York Giants | Arthur Irwin | Bill Joyce |
| St. Louis Browns | Harry Diddlebock | Arlie Latham |
| Arlie Latham | Chris von der Ahe | |
| Chris von der Ahe | Roger Connor | |
| Roger Connor | Tommy Dowd |
League leaders
Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | .410 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 1.103 |
| HR | Ed Delahanty (PHI) Bill Joyce (NYG/WAS) | 11 |
| RBI | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 126 |
| R | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | 160 |
| H | Jesse Burkett (CLE) | 240 |
| SB | Joe Kelley (BAL) | 87 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Frank Killen (PIT) Kid Nichols (BSN) | 30 |
| L | Bill Hart (STL) | 29 |
| ERA | Billy Rhines (CIN) | 2.45 |
| K | Cy Young (CLE) | 140 |
| IP | Frank Killen (PIT) | 432.1 |
| SV | Cy Young (CLE) | 3 |
| WHIP | Billy Rhines (CIN) | 1.231 |
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 16.7% | 373,000 | 32.7% | 5,652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | −20.5% | 357,025 | −24.8% | 5,174 |
| Chicago Colts | 71 | −1.4% | 317,500 | −17.0% | 4,669 |
| New York Giants | 64 | −3.0% | 274,000 | 14.2% | 4,152 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 3.4% | 249,448 | −14.9% | 3,723 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 74 | 4.2% | 240,000 | −0.8% | 3,582 |
| Washington Senators | 58 | 34.9% | 223,000 | 45.8% | 3,279 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 58 | −18.3% | 201,000 | −12.6% | 3,092 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | −7.0% | 197,000 | 4.8% | 2,985 |
| St. Louis Browns | 40 | 2.6% | 184,000 | 8.2% | 2,968 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 80 | −4.8% | 152,000 | 6.3% | 2,375 |
| Louisville Colonels | 38 | 8.6% | 133,000 | 44.6% | 2,078 |
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