1893 Major League Baseball season
| 1893 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 27 – September 30, 1893 |
| Games | 132 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Boston Beaneaters |
| NL runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
The 1893 major league baseball season began on April 27, 1893. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League and therefore winner of the final Dauvray Cup.
The 1893 season saw no postseason championship series, unlike the split-season 1892 World's Championship Series. This would not last, as the following season would see the Temple Cup, which would be a championship series between the NL pennant winner and the runner-up.
Schedule
The 1893 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 replaced the 154-game, 14-games-each format put in place in the previous season and would be used until 1898.
Opening Day took place on April 27 featuring eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring six teams.[1]
Rule changes
The 1893 season saw the following rule changes:
- In place of a pitcher's box, a pitcher's plate at a size of 12 inches by 4 inches was instituted.[2]
- Per new Rule 27, prior to throwing a pitch, a pitcher must keep their rear foot on the plate through coming set and the windup.[2][3]
- The pitcher's plate was moved back from 50 feet from home plate to 60 feet 6 inches.[2]
- Changes were made to baseball bats, as described in new Rule 13, stating: "the bat must be made round and of hardwood and may have twine on the handle or granulated substance applied not to exceed 18 inches from the end. No bat shall exceed 42 inches in length."[3]
- The balk rule was clarified to state that motions to deceive a baserunner would be declared a balk, but "when the pitcher feigns to throw the ball to a base" he must resume his former position before delivering the ball to the plate.[3]
- On-field mingling between opposing players was prohibited.[3]
- A sacrifice hit would no longer result in hitters being charged with an at bat, though the question on whether this counted for outfield fly balls was an open question[3] (the "sacrifice hit" was not a formal rule until the following season).
Teams
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
- ^
- ^ In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Standings
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Beaneaters | 86 | 43 | .667 | — | 49–15 | 37–28 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 81 | 48 | .628 | 5 | 54–19 | 27–29 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 73 | 55 | .570 | 12½ | 47–22 | 26–33 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 72 | 57 | .558 | 14 | 43–22 | 29–35 |
| New York Giants | 68 | 64 | .515 | 19½ | 49–20 | 19–44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 65 | 63 | .508 | 20½ | 37–27 | 28–36 |
| Brooklyn Grooms | 65 | 63 | .508 | 20½ | 43–24 | 22–39 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 60 | 70 | .462 | 26½ | 36–24 | 24–46 |
| Chicago Colts | 56 | 71 | .441 | 29 | 38–34 | 18–37 |
| St. Louis Browns | 57 | 75 | .432 | 30½ | 40–30 | 17–45 |
| Louisville Colonels | 50 | 75 | .400 | 34 | 24–28 | 26–47 |
| Washington Senators | 40 | 89 | .310 | 46 | 21–27 | 19–62 |
Tie games
12 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
- Boston Beaneaters, 2
- Brooklyn Grooms, 2
- Chicago Colts, 1
- Cincinnati Reds, 3
- Cleveland Spiders, 1
- Louisville Colonels, 1
- New York Giants, 4
- Philadelphia Phillies, 4
- Pittsburgh Pirates, 2
- St. Louis Browns, 3
- Washington Senators, 1
Managerial changes
Off-season
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 | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | .380 |
| OPS | Billy Hamilton (PHI) | 1.014 |
| HR | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 19 |
| RBI | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 146 |
| R | Herman Long (BSN) | 149 |
| H | Sam Thompson (PHI) | 222 |
| SB | Tom Brown (LOU) | 66 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Frank Killen (PIT) | 36 |
| L | Duke Esper (WAS) | 28 |
| ERA | Theodore Breitenstein (STL) | 3.18 |
| K | Amos Rusie (NYG) | 208 |
| IP | Amos Rusie (NYG) | 482.0 |
| SV | Mark Baldwin (NYG/PIT) Tom Colcolough (PIT) Frank Donnelly (CHI) Frank Dwyer (CIN) Tony Mullane (BAL/CIN) Cy Young (CLE) |
2 |
| WHIP | Kid Nichols (BSN) | 1.280 |
Milestones
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Bill Hawke (BAL/STL):
- Hawke threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history as a part of the Baltimore Orioles, by defeating the Washington Senators 5–0 on August 16. Hawke walked two and struck out six.[8][9]
Other pitching accomplishments
- Pittsburgh Pirates:
- In the second inning of game 1 of a doubleheader, Charlie Ganzel and Herman Long of the Boston Beaneaters were hit by pitch by pitcher Red Ehret. After being taken out of the game and, relief pitcher Adonis Terry proceeded to hit Bobby Lowe and Tommy Tucker by pitch. The four hit by pitches by Pittsburgh pitchers said a major league record.[10]
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies[11] | 72 | −17.2% | 293,019 | 51.3% | 4,440 |
| New York Giants[12] | 68 | −4.2% | 290,000 | 122.1% | 4,085 |
| Brooklyn Grooms[13] | 65 | −31.6% | 235,000 | 27.9% | 3,507 |
| Chicago Colts[14] | 56 | −20.0% | 223,500 | 104.9% | 3,062 |
| St. Louis Browns[15] | 57 | 1.8% | 195,000 | 1.3% | 2,708 |
| Cincinnati Reds[16] | 65 | −20.7% | 194,250 | −1.1% | 2,943 |
| Boston Beaneaters[17] | 86 | −15.7% | 193,300 | 32.0% | 2,974 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[18] | 81 | 1.3% | 184,000 | 3.8% | 2,521 |
| Baltimore Orioles[19] | 60 | 30.4% | 143,000 | 52.8% | 2,383 |
| Cleveland Spiders[20] | 73 | −21.5% | 130,000 | −7.1% | 1,857 |
| Washington Senators[21] | 40 | −31.0% | 90,000 | −29.8% | 1,837 |
| Louisville Colonels[22] | 50 | −20.6% | 53,683 | −59.1% | 1,013 |
Venues
The St. Louis Browns leave Sportsman's Park (where they played for 11 seasons) and move to New Sportman's Park, where they would go on to play for 28 seasons through part of 1920.
The ballpark for the Louisville Colonels, Eclipse Park was largely destroyed in a fire towards the end of the previous season, though the team continued to play in its remains. In the 1893 season, the Colonels played only one home game on May 4 at the still destroyed ballpark. They would move one block south at a new ballpark, also named Eclipse Park, when they returned home for their next home game on May 22.[23]
When the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago opened in May, the Chicago Colts wanted to break with their no-Sundays tradition and start playing Sunday games to attract Fair visitors, but their South Side Park lease forbade Sunday ball. They sought a new location, which turned out to be West Side Park. After drawing well on their two May Sunday games, the club abandoned their three-season tenure at South Side Park after only eight games (their last being on May 24) and moved to the West Side on a full-time basis from their next home game on Sunday, June 18.[23]
See also
References
- ^ "1893 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Bauer, John. "1892 Winter Meetings: The Price of Monopoly and the Start of the Modern Game – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ^ a b Bratkovich, Steven. "The Bats … They Keep Changing! – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved January 28, 2025.
- ^ "1893 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "1893 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "1893 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ Keenan, Jimmy. "August 16, 1893: Bill Hawke's no-hitter – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ "Baltimore 5; Washington 0". The Sun (New York). August 17, 1893.
- ^ Terrick, Andy. "August 19, 1893: Unsafe passage for Beaneaters on long road trip – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "Washington Senators Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "Louisville Colonels Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ a b "1893 Season – 1-Year Park Factors — Seamheads.com Ballparks Database". seamheads.com. Retrieved February 2, 2026.