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1879 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1879 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1879 in baseball.
1879 MLB season
LeagueNational League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationMay 1 – September 30, 1879
Number of games84
Number of teams8
Pennant winner
NL championsChicago White Stockings
  NL runners-upBoston Red Caps
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1879 National League season
National League

The 1879 Major League baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1879, and saw the Chicago White Stockings as the pennant winner of the fourth season of the National League. There was no postseason.

Over the off-season, the National League was set on expanding from a six-team league to an eight-team league. The Indianapolis Blues and Milwaukee Grays folded, and in its place, the league admitted the Cleveland Blues, the International Association's Buffalo Bisons and Syracuse Stars, and finally (with confirmation Milwaukee was not returning) the Troy Trojans.[1]

Schedule

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See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1879 schedule consisted of 84 games for all eight teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other seven teams in the league. This format was an adjustment to the 12-games-each format that had been in place since 1877, as the National League expanded from six to eight teams, adding 24 games to each team's schedule.

Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring six teams.[2]

Rule changes

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The 1879 season saw the following rule changes:

  • The number of balls called that would award a base on balls remained nine, but the rule was reworded, so that there simply needed to be nine balls to walk a batter. Previously, three balls were required, but one ball was the same as three "unfair pitches".[1]
  • Any pitcher who hit a batter, "unless it was clearly an accident", would be fined between $10 and $50 (between $327 and $1,635 in 2023), in an effort to reduce intentional hit by pitches.[1]
  • The first batter of any inning of a game will be the batter who followed the last batter of the previous inning. Previously, if a runner was putout on a base, the batter after the runner called out would lead off the next inning.[1]
  • The pitcher's box was changed from a six feet square to an area four feet wide and six feet long, by moving the back line forwards two feet[1][3]
  • The Player reserve clause was for the first time put into a contract.[4]
  • The pitcher had to face a batsman before pitching to him.[4]

Teams

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League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[5]
National League Boston Red Caps Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 3,000 Harry Wright
Buffalo Bisons Buffalo, New York Riverside Park (Buffalo) Unknown John Clapp
Chicago White Stockings Chicago, Illinois Lakefront Park 5,000 Cap Anson
Silver Flint
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Avenue Grounds Unknown Deacon White
Cal McVey
Cleveland Blues Cleveland, Ohio National League Park Unknown Jim McCormick
Providence Grays Providence, Rhode Island Messer Street Grounds 6,000 George Wright
Syracuse Stars Syracuse, New York Newell Park Unknown Mike Dorgan
Bill Holbert
Jimmy Macullar
Troy Trojans Troy, New York Putnam Grounds Unknown Horace Phillips
Bob Ferguson

Standings

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National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Providence Grays 59 25 .702 — 34‍–‍8 25‍–‍17
Boston Red Caps 54 30 .643 5 29‍–‍13 25‍–‍17
Buffalo Bisons 46 32 .590 10 23‍–‍16 23‍–‍16
Chicago White Stockings 46 33 .582 10½ 29‍–‍13 17‍–‍20
Cincinnati Reds 43 37 .537 14 21‍–‍16 22‍–‍21
Cleveland Blues 27 55 .329 31 15‍–‍27 12‍–‍28
Syracuse Stars 22 48 .314 30 11‍–‍22 11‍–‍26
Troy Trojans 19 56 .253 35½ 12‍–‍27 7‍–‍29

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago White Stockings Bob Ferguson Cap Anson
Cincinnati Reds Cal McVey Deacon White
Indianapolis Blues John Clapp Team folded
Milwaukee Grays Jack Chapman Team folded
Providence Grays Tom York George Wright

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago White Stockings Cap Anson Silver Flint
Cincinnati Reds Deacon White Cal McVey
Syracuse Stars Mike Dorgan Bill Holbert
Bill Holbert Jimmy Macullar
Troy Trojans Horace Phillips Bob Ferguson

League leaders

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National League

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Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Paul Hines (PRO) .357
OPS Jim O'Rourke (BOS) .877
HR Charley Jones (BOS) 9
RBI Charley Jones (BOS)
Jim O'Rourke (BOS) 		62
R Charley Jones (BOS) 85
H Paul Hines (PRO) 146
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W John Ward (PRO) 47
L George Bradley (TRO)
Jim McCormick (CLE) 		40
ERA Tommy Bond (BOS) 1.96
K John Ward (PRO) 239
IP Will White (CIN) 680.0
SV Bobby Mathews (PRO)
John Ward (PRO) 		1
WHIP Tommy Bond (BOS) 1.021

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Pajot, Dennis. "1878 Winter Meetings: The National League Is Back to Eight Clubs – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  2. ^ "1879 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  3. ^ "Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball: The Field: The Pitcher's Area". www.19cbaseball.com. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  5. ^ "1879 Major League Baseball Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1879 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "1879 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
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