1878 Cincinnati Reds
LeagueNational League
BallparkAvenue Grounds
CityCincinnati
ManagerCal McVey
← 1877 Seasons 1879 →

The 1878 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the National League with a record of 37–23, four games behind the Boston Red Caps.

Regular season

After finishing their first two seasons in the National League in last place, the Reds were hoping for some improvement in the 1878 season. Cincinnati signed Cal McVey of the Chicago White Stockings to become the team's new third baseman, and new manager. Catcher Deacon White of the Boston Red Caps signed with Cincinnati. White led the National League with a .387 batting average, 103 hits, eleven triples, 49 RBI, and a .545 slugging percentage with the Red Caps in 1877. White also led the National League with 60 RBI while playing for the White Stockings in 1876. On the mound, 23-year-old Will White was signed by the Reds. White appeared in three games with the Boston Red Caps in 1877, going 2–1 with a 3.00 ERA.

Charley Jones had another very solid season with the Reds, as he had a .310 batting average, along with a team high three home runs and 39 RBI. White saw his production slip, however, he still hit .314 with 29 RBI. Player-manager McVey was solid with a .306 average and two home runs along with 28 RBI. Rookie King Kelly hit .283 with 27 RBI. White had a spectacular season, going 30–21 with a 1.79 ERA in 468 innings pitched.

Season summary

The Reds opened the season with a six-game winning streak, and stayed hot in their first twenty games, going 15–5, and were sitting in first place in the National League. Cincinnati then went on a six-game losing streak, falling to 15–11, and out of first place. The Reds never reclaimed first place; however, they finished the season strong, including a nine-game winning streak late in the year, to finish in second place with a 37–23 record, five games behind the first place Boston Red Caps.

Season standings

National League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Caps 41 19 0.683 — 23–7 18–12
Cincinnati Reds 37 23 0.617 4 25–8 12–15
Providence Grays 33 27 0.550 8 17–13 16–14
Chicago White Stockings 30 30 0.500 11 17–18 13–12
Indianapolis Blues 24 36 0.400 17 10–17 14–19
Milwaukee Grays 15 45 0.250 26 7–18 8–27

Record vs. opponents

1878 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Team BOS CHI CIN IND MIL PRV
Boston — 8–4 6–6 10–2 11–1 6–6
Chicago 4–8 — 2–10 8–4 10–2 6–6–1
Cincinnati 6–6 10–2 — 4–8–1 8–4 9–3
Indianapolis 2–10 4–8 8–4–1 — 8–4–1 2–10–1
Milwaukee 1–11 2–10 4–8 4–8–1 — 4–8
Providence 6–6 6–6–1 3–9 10–2–1 8–4 —


Game log

Legend
Reds Win Reds Loss Game Tied/Postponed
1878 Game Log: 37–23 (Home: 25–8; Away: 12–15)
May: 11–3 (Home: 7–1; Away: 4–2)
# Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak
1 May 1 Milwaukee Grays 6–4 Avenue Grounds N/A 1–0 W1
2 May 2 Milwaukee Grays 6–2 Avenue Grounds N/A 2–0 W2
3 May 4 Milwaukee Grays 4–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 3–0 W3
4 May 7 White Stockings 4–3 Avenue Grounds N/A 4–0 W4
5 May 9 White Stockings 9–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 5–0 W5
6 May 11 White Stockings 4–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 6–0 W6
7 May 14 @ Milwaukee Grays 5–8 Eclipse Park N/A 6–1 L1
8 May 16 @ Milwaukee Grays 8–12 Eclipse Park N/A 6–2 L2
9 May 18 @ Milwaukee Grays 10–2 Eclipse Park N/A 7–2 W1
10 May 21 @ White Stockings 13–2 Lakefront Park 2,100 8–2 W2
11 May 23 @ White Stockings 7–3 Lakefront Park 2,500 9–2 W3
12 May 25 @ White Stockings 10–8 Lakefront Park 3,000 10–2 W4
13 May 28 Blues 3–11 Avenue Grounds N/A 10–3 L1
14 May 30 Blues 4–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 11–3 W1
June: 4–8 (Home: 0–1; Away: 4–7)
# Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak
15 June 1 Blues 5–6 Avenue Grounds N/A 11–4 L1
16 June 4 @ Blues 3–9 South Street Park N/A 11–5 L2
17 June 6 @ Blues 11–4 South Stret Park N/A 12–5 W1
– June 8 @ Blues Postponed (rain); Makeup: June 26
– June 11 @ Providence Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: June 14
18 June 13 @ Providence Grays 2–0 Messer Street Grounds N/A 13–5 W2
19 June 14 @ Providence Grays 4–3 Messer Street Grounds N/A 14–5 W3
20 June 15 @ Providence Grays 11–3 Messer Street Grounds N/A 15–5 W4
21 June 17 @ Red Caps 2–4 South End Grounds N/A 15–6 L1
22 June 20 @ Red Caps 0–5 South End Grounds N/A 15–7 L2
– June 22 @ Red Caps Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 22
– June 25 @ Blues Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: June 28
23 June 26 @ Blues 1–5 South Stret Park N/A 15–8 L3
24 June 27 @ Blues 3–7 South Stret Park N/A 15–9 L4
25 June 28 @ Blues 5–9 South Stret Park N/A 15–10 L5
26 June 29 @ Blues 2–10 South Stret Park N/A 15–11 L6
July: 7–7 (Home: 6–3; Away: 1–4)
# Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak
27 July 2 Blues 7–7 Avenue Grounds N/A 15-11 L6
28 July 4 Blues 5–3 Avenue Grounds N/A 16–11 W1
29 July 5 Blues 4–3 Avenue Grounds N/A 17–11 W2
30 July 6 Blues 5–6 Avenue Grounds N/A 17–12 L1
31 July 9 Providence Grays 12–4 Avenue Grounds N/A 18–12 W1
32 July 11 Providence Grays 2–13 Avenue Grounds N/A 18–13 L1
– July 13 Providence Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: July 15
33 July 15 Providence Grays 13–9 Avenue Grounds N/A 19–13 W1
34 July 16 Red Caps 5–3 Avenue Grounds N/A 20–13 W2
35 July 18 Red Caps 4–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 21–13 W3
36 July 20 Red Caps 0–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 21–14 L1
37 July 22 @ Red Caps 7–8 South End Grounds N/A 21–15 L2
38 July 23 @ Red Caps 4–11 South End Grounds N/A 21–16 L3
39 July 25 @ Red Caps 9–10 South End Grounds N/A 21–17 L4
40 July 27 @ Red Caps 3–2 South End Grounds N/A 22–17 W1
– July 30 @ Providence Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: July 31
41 July 31 @ Providence Grays 3–9 Messer Street Grounds N/A 22–18 L1
August: 9–4 (Home: 8–3; Away: 1–1)
# Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak
– August 1 @ Providence Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: August 2
42 August 2 @ Providence Grays 3–6 Messer Street Grounds N/A 22–19 L2
43 August 3 @ Providence Grays 4–0 Messer Street Grounds N/A 23–19 W1
– August 6 @ Milwaukee Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: August 12 (site change)
– August 8 @ Milwaukee Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: August 14 (site change)
44 August 10 Milwaukee Grays 9–0 Avenue Grounds N/A 24–19 W2
45 August 12 Milwaukee Grays 6–5 Avenue Grounds N/A 25–19 W3
46 August 13 Milwaukee Grays 7–10 Avenue Grounds N/A 25–20 L1
47 August 14 Milwaukee Grays 5–6 Avenue Grounds N/A 25–21 L2
48 August 15 Milwaukee Grays 13–2 Avenue Grounds N/A 26–21 W1
49 August 17 Milwaukee Grays 5–2 Avenue Grounds N/A 27–21 W2
– August 20 White Stockings Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: August 21
50 August 21 White Stockings 4–7 Avenue Grounds N/A 27–22 L1
51 August 22 White Stockings 5–3 Avenue Grounds N/A 28–22 W1
52 August 24 White Stockings 7–5 Avenue Grounds N/A 29–22 W2
53 August 27 Providence Grays 5–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 30–22 W3
54 August 29 Providence Grays 2–0 Avenue Grounds N/A 31–22 W4
– August 31 Providence Grays Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: September 2
September: 6–1 (Home: 4–0; Away: 2–1)
# Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak
55 September 2 Providence Grays 6–2 Avenue Grounds N/A 32–22 W5
56 September 3 Red Caps 3–0 Avenue Grounds N/A 33–22 W6
57 September 5 Red Caps 5–2 Avenue Grounds N/A 34–22 W7
58 September 7 Red Caps 6–1 Avenue Grounds N/A 35–22 W8
– September 10 @ White Stockings Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: September 11
59 September 11 @ White Stockings 2–0 Lakefront Park N/A 36–22 W9
60 September 12 @ White Stockings 2–9 Lakefront Park N/A 36–23 L1
61 September 14 @ White Stockings 9–6 Lakefront Park N/A 37–23 W1

Roster

Lip Pike
1878 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Deacon White 61 258 81 .314 0 29
1B Chub Sullivan 61 244 63 .258 0 20
2B Joe Gerhardt 60 259 77 .297 0 28
3B Cal McVey 61 271 83 .306 2 28
SS Billy Geer 61 237 52 .219 0 20
OF Charley Jones 61 261 81 .310 3 39
OF King Kelly 60 237 67 .283 0 27
OF Lip Pike 31 145 47 .324 0 11

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Buttercup Dickerson 29 123 38 .309 0 9

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Will White 52 468.0 30 21 1.79 169
Bobby Mitchell 9 80.0 7 2 2.14 51

External links

1878 MLB season by team
Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879)
Categories