1898 Cincinnati Reds
LeagueNational League
BallparkLeague Park
CityCincinnati
OwnersJohn T. Brush[1]
ManagersBuck Ewing
← 1897 Seasons 1899 →

The 1898 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in third place in the National League with a record of 92–60, 11.5 games behind the Boston Beaneaters.

Regular season

The Cincinnati Reds came into the 1898 season with high hopes, and hoping not to have a late season collapse, which had happened the previous three seasons.

The club retained manager Buck Ewing for a fourth season, and made a few player changes in the off-season. Cincinnati was involved in a seven player trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Reds sent Bill Gray, Jack McCarthy, Billy Rhines, Pop Schriver and Ace Stewart to the Pirates for Pink Hawley, Mike Smith and $1,500. Hawley had a record of 18–18 with Pittsburgh in 1897, posting an ERA of 4.80. His best season was in 1895 with the Pirates, as he was 31–22 with a 3.18 ERA in a National League high 56 games pitched. Smith batted .310 with six home runs and 54 RBI with the Pirates in 1897. He also previously played for the Reds when they were members of the American Association, as he saw limited playing time in Cincinnati from 1886 to 1889. The Reds also acquired Algie McBride, who spent the 1897 season with the St. Paul Saints of the Western League, hitting .381 there. McBride had previous major league experience, appearing in nine games with the Chicago Colts in 1896.

Jake Beckley led the offense, as he hit a solid .294 with a team high four home runs, while earning 72 RBI. Tommy Corcoran led the club with 87 RBI, while Mike Smith hit a team best .342, as well as hitting one home run and driving in 66 runners.

On the mound, Hawley was very solid, going 27–11 with a 3.37 ERA in 43 games pitched. Ted Breitenstein cracked the 20 win plateau, as he was 20–14 with a 3.42 ERA. Frank Dwyer and Bill Dammann each went 16–10.

Season summary

The Reds got off to a great start, as they posted a record of 18–4 in their first twenty-two games, three games ahead of the second place Cleveland Spiders. Cincinnati remained hot, as their record improved to 27–7, and took a four-game lead over the Spiders, however, a 7–12 slump in their next nineteen games saw their lead dwindle down to one game over the second place Boston Beaneaters.

The Reds held on to first place, as they got hot once again, and took a five-game lead over the Beaneaters with a 65–32 record during the first week of August. The team then fell into a 2–8 slump over their next ten games and found themselves in second place, 3.5 games behind Boston. Cincinnati regained first place, and hung on to it going into the start of September, with a 78–44 record, but a 2–9 mark during their next eleven games saw the Reds fall out of first place for good, as they fell into third, 6.5 games behind the Beaneaters. Cincinnati finished out the season in third place with a 92–60 record, 11.5 games behind Boston.

Season standings

National League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Beaneaters 102 47 0.685 — 62–15 40–32
Baltimore Orioles 96 53 0.644 6 58–15 38–38
Cincinnati Reds 92 60 0.605 11½ 58–28 34–32
Chicago Orphans 85 65 0.567 17½ 58–31 27–34
Cleveland Spiders 81 68 0.544 21 36–19 45–49
Philadelphia Phillies 78 71 0.523 24 49–31 29–40
New York Giants 77 73 0.513 25½ 45–28 32–45
Pittsburgh Pirates 72 76 0.486 29½ 39–35 33–41
Louisville Colonels 70 81 0.464 33 43–34 27–47
Brooklyn Bridegrooms 54 91 0.372 46 30–41 24–50
Washington Senators 51 101 0.336 52½ 34–44 17–57
St. Louis Browns 39 111 0.260 63½ 20–44 19–67

Record vs. opponents

1898 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team BLN BSN BRO CHC CIN CLV LOU NYG PHI PIT STL WHS
Baltimore — 5–7 8–5–1 9–5 8–6–1 8–6–1 9–5 10–3–1 10–3–1 10–4 12–2 7–7
Boston 7–5 — 11–2 9–5 9–4–1 6–7–1 8–6–1 10–4 10–4 9–5 12–2 11–3
Brooklyn 5–8–1 2–11 — 4–10 3–11 6–7 2–10–1 3–11 6–6 9–5–1 7–6–1 7–6
Chicago 5–9 5–9 10–4 — 6–8 7–7 9–5 9–5–1 6–7 7–4–1 10–4 11–3
Cincinnati 6–8–1 4–9–1 11–3 8–6 — 8–5–2 9–5 6–8–1 7–7 12–2 12–2 9–5
Cleveland 6–8–1 7–6–1 7–6 7–7 5–8–2 — 9–5 6–8 7–7 5–8 10–3–1 12–2–2
Louisville 5–9 6–8–1 10–2–1 5–9 5–9 5–9 — 6–8 4–10 4–9–1 10–4 10–4
New York 3–10–1 4–10 11–3 5–9–1 8–6–1 8–6 8–6 — 6–7 5–9–1 10–3–2 9–4–1
Philadelphia 3–10–1 4–10 6–6 7–6 7–7 7–7 10–4 7–6 — 6–8 9–5 12–2
Pittsburgh 4–10 5–9 5–9–1 4–7–1 2–12 8–5 9–4–1 9–5–1 8–6 — 9–4 9–5
St. Louis 2–12 2–12 6–7–1 4–10 2–12 3–10–1 4–10 3–10–2 5–9 4–9 — 4–10
Washington 7–7 3–11 6–7 3–11 5–9 2–12–2 4–10 4–9–1 2–12 5–9 10–4 —


Roster

1898 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 Heinie Peitz 105 330 90 .273 1 43
1B Jake Beckley 118 459 135 .294 4 72
2B Bid McPhee 133 486 121 .249 1 60
SS Tommy Corcoran 153 619 155 .250 2 87
3B Charlie Irwin 136 501 120 .240 3 55
OF Algie McBride 120 486 147 .302 2 43
OF Dusty Miller 152 586 175 .299 3 90
OF Mike Smith 123 486 166 .342 1 66

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
Harry Steinfeldt 88 308 91 .295 0 43
Farmer Vaughn 78 275 84 .305 1 46
Bob Wood 39 109 30 .275 0 16
Bug Holliday 30 106 25 .236 0 7
Herm McFarland 19 64 18 .281 0 11

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
Pink Hawley 43 331.0 27 11 3.37 69
Ted Breitenstein 39 315.2 20 14 3.42 68
Bill Hill 33 262.0 13 14 3.98 75
Frank Dwyer 31 240.0 16 10 3.04 29
Percy Coleman 1 9.0 0 1 3.00 2

Other 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
Bill Dammann 35 224.2 16 10 3.61 51

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Jot Goar 1 0 0 0 9.00 0
Mike Smith 1 0 0 0 18.00 0

References

  1. ^ "Reds owners". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 3, 2005. p. 20. Retrieved September 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.

External links

1898 MLB season by team
Cincinnati Reds
Categories