# 1896 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1896 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in third place in the National League with a record of 77–50, 12 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.

## Regular season

After a late season collapse by the Reds in 1895, in which the team won only fourteen of their last thirty-nine games to fall completely out of the pennant race to an eighth-place finish, the club began to make changes to get younger players.
Buck Ewing returned as player-manager, and the team made a big trade, as Arlie Latham, Ed McFarland, Morgan Murphy and Tom Parrott were traded from Cincinnati to the St. Louis Browns for Red Ehret and Heinie Peitz. Ehret struggled in 1895, with a 6–19 record and a 6.02 ERA. His best season came in 1890 with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association, when Ehret was 25–14 with a 2.53 ERA in 43 games. Ehret also led the National League in shutouts with four during the 1893 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Peitz hit .284 with two home runs and 65 RBI with the Browns in 1895.
The Reds also acquired Charlie Irwin from the Chicago Colts to play third base. Irwin missed most of the 1895 season, but in 1894 he batted .296 with eight home runs and 100 RBI with Chicago.
Offensively, Eddie Burke led the team with a .340 batting average and 120 runs scored, as well as hitting a homer and 52 RBI. Dummy Hoy also scored 120 runs, as he hit .298 with a team tying high four home runs and 57 RBI. Dusty Miller had a club high .321 average, 93 RBI and 76 stolen bases, as well as tying Hoy with four home runs. Bid McPhee had another solid season, as he hit .305 with a homer and 87 RBI while stealing 48 bases.
Frank Dwyer led the pitching staff with a 24–11 record and a 3.15 ERA in 36 games, 34 of them starts. Ehret went 18–14 with a 3.42 ERA in his first season with the Reds, which marked a big improvement over his horrible 1895 season with the Browns. Billy Rhines led the league with a 2.45 ERA, however, he missed some time due to injuries and finished the year with a record of 8–6 in 19 games.

### Season summary

After starting the year with a 9–7 record and in fifth place, Cincinnati posted ten wins in their next twelve games to improve to 19–9, and sit in first place in the National League. The Reds slipped out of first place with a 3–5 record in their next eight games, and continued to slump to a 27–20 record, fourth in the league. Cincinnati then rebounded, going 14–2 in their next sixteen games to push their record to 41–22, and be in a first place tie with the Baltimore Orioles. The club stayed hot, going 12–2 in their next fourteen games to push their record to 53–24, and take over first place by themselves, three games up on the Orioles. Cincinnati then went 8–2 in their next ten games, and pushed their first place lead to five games over Baltimore, and a 34–6 record in their last forty games. Despite a solid 8–5 record in their next thirteen games, Cincinnati saw their five-game lead evaporate to only a half game over the red hot Orioles. As the season was coming to a close, the Reds completely fell out of the pennant race, as they lost eleven games in a row and would eventually finish in third place with a 77–50 record, 12.5 games behind Baltimore.

### Season standings

vteNational 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1896 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | BR | CHI | CIN | CLE | LOU | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–4–2 | 10–2 | 3–8–1 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 12–0 | 9–2 | 9–3 | 10–2 |
| Boston | 7–5 | — | 10–2 | 3–9 | 5–6 | 5–7–1 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 |
| Brooklyn | 6–6 | 2–10 | — | 6–6 | 2–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–5–1 | 7–5 | 4–8–1 |
| Chicago | 4–7–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 4–6–1 | 2–9–1 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 11–1 | 9–3 | 8–4 |
| Cincinnati | 2–10 | 6–5 | 10–2 | 6–4–1 | — | 6–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 12–0 | 7–4 |
| Cleveland | 8–3–1 | 7–5–1 | 5–7 | 9–2–1 | 5–6 | — | 8–3–2 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8–1 | 10–2 | 9–3–1 |
| Louisville | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–8–2 | — | 4–8–1 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 3–9 |
| New York | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4–1 | — | 3–8 | 4–8 | 9–3–1 | 6–6 |
| Philadelphia | 0–12 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–3 | — | 6–6 | 8–3 | 8–4 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6–1 | 1–11 | 7–5 | 8–4–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–6 | — | 8–3 | 6–6 |
| St. Louis | 3–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 0–12 | 2–10 | 9–3 | 3–9–1 | 3–8 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 |
| Washington | 2–10 | 5–7 | 8–4–1 | 4–8 | 4–7 | 3–9–1 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |

### Game log

Legend :
| Reds Win | Reds Loss | Game Tied/Postponed |
1896 Game Log: 77–50 (Home: 51–15; Away: 26–35) :
April: 6–4 (Home: 6–4; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1April 16Pirates1–9League Park14,4190-1L1
2April 17Pirates7–10League Park2,4120-2L2
3April 18Pirates11–9League Park3,4521-2W1
4April 19Colonels12–3League Park16,5262-2W2
5April 21Spiders10–11League Park3,8522-3L1
6April 22Spiders7–4League Park2,5563-3W1
-April 23SpidersPostponed (rain); Makeup: April 24
7April 24Spiders8–4League Park2,9204-3W2
8April 25Colts3–5League Park5,2964-4L1
9April 26Colts11–3League Park10,7525-4W1
10April 27Colts9–3League Park2,2606-4W2
-April 30@ SpidersPostponed (rain, site change); Makeup: July 26 :
May: 16–10 (Home: 13–6; Away: 3–4)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
11May 2@ Spiders1–4League Park2,8006-5L1
12May 3@ Colonels5–3Eclipse Park8,5007-5W1
13May 4Beaneaters8–2League Park3,3088-5W2
14May 5Beaneaters3–8League Park3,3768-6L1
15May 6Beaneaters6–0League Park2,4129-6W1
16May 7Orioles1–6League Park3,5689-7L1
17May 8Orioles9–5League Park2,89210-7W1
18May 9Orioles5–6League Park6,08010-8L1
19May 10Senators18–11League Park8,08211-8W1
20May 11Senators10–2League Park1,18212-8W2
21May 12Senators4–6League Park1,42812-9L1
22May 14Bridegrooms13–2League Park1,78713-9W2
23May 16Bridegrooms2–1League Park4,37214-9W3
24May 17Bridegrooms16–10League Park11,40015-9W4
25May 18Phillies9–5League Park2,57216-9W5
26May 19Phillies8–2League Park3,56017-9W6
27May 20Phillies4–0League Park2,12818-9W7
28May 21Giants4–2League Park5,25619-9W8
29May 22Giants1–4League Park2,26819-10L1
30May 23Giants2–4League Park5,39219-11L2
31May 24Colonels6–0League Park9,71620-11W1
32May 26@ Senators18–5Boundary Field8,71721-11W2
33May 27@ Senators10–6Boundary Field2,38922-11W3
34May 29@ Orioles1–4Union Park2,01322-12L1
35May 30 1@ Orioles5–6Union Park3,84522-13L2
36May 30 2@ Orioles6–9Union Park10,51022-14L3 :
June: 18–8 (Home: 4–0; Away: 14–8)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
37June 1@ Phillies8–4National League Park7,99623-14W1
38June 2@ Phillies14–3National League Park5,27524-14W2
39June 3@ Phillies3–7National League Park4,13624-15L1
40June 4@ Bridegrooms6–0Eastern Park3,50025-15W1
41June 5@ Bridegrooms1–10Eastern Park2,50025-16L1
42June 6@ Bridegrooms13–0Eastern Park7,00026-16W1
43June 8@ Giants6–3Polo Grounds1,70027-16W2
44June 9@ Giants4–7Polo Grounds3,80027-17L1
45June 10@ Giants6–10Polo Grounds2,50027-18L2
46June 11@ Beaneaters1–9South End Grounds3,14727-19L3
47June 12@ Beaneaters3–15South End Grounds2,45527-20L4
48June 13@ Beaneaters6–1South End Grounds8,30028-20W1
49June 15Browns7–1League Park3,56029-20W2
50June 16Browns3–2League Park3,34430-20W3
51June 17Browns6–1League Park2,81231-20W4
52June 20Colonels13–7League Park5,05232-20W5
53June 21@ Colts6–1West Side Park10,00033-20W6
54June 22@ Colts1–3West Side Park2,00033-21L1
55June 23@ Colts5–7West Side Park1,80033-22L2
56June 24@ Colts4–2West Side Park2,50034-22W1
57June 25@ Browns5–3New Sportsman's Park1,50035-22W2
58June 26@ Browns16–4New Sportsman's Park60036-22W3
59June 27@ Browns5–2New Sportsman's Park1,80037-22W4
60June 28@ Browns12–1New Sportsman's Park3,50038-22W5
61June 29@ Colonels20–8Eclipse Park1,90839-22W6
62June 30@ Colonels9–2Eclipse Park70040-22W7 :
July: 21–7 (Home: 19–6; Away: 2–1)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
63July 2Browns7–5League Park5,22041-22W8
64July 3@ Pirates3–6Exposition ParkN/A41-23L1
65July 4 1@ Pirates3–1Exposition Park7,00042-23W1
66July 4 2@ Pirates3–4Exposition Park6,50042-24L1
67July 5Browns7–0League Park7,86843-24W1
68July 6Phillies10–6League Park3,93244-24W2
69July 7Phillies14–4League Park5,32245-24W3
70July 8Phillies3–2League Park3,71246-24W4
-July 9SenatorsPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 10
71July 10 1Senators9–6League ParkN/A47-24W5
72July 10 2Senators12–4League Park10,06848-24W6
73July 11Senators9–5League Park5,70049-24W7
74July 12Bridegrooms9–5League Park11,18850-24W8
75July 13Bridegrooms7–5League Park2,70051-24W9
76July 14Bridegrooms5–4League Park2,70452-24W10
77July 16Orioles5–0League Park8,40053-24W11
78July 18Orioles3–10League Park15,89653-25L1
79July 19Orioles6–14League Park24,94453-26L2
-July 20GiantsPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 21
80July 21 1Giants4–0League ParkN/A54-26W1
81July 21 2Giants4–2League Park4,04255-26W2
82July 22Giants9–8League Park1,83756-26W3
-July 23BeaneatersPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 25
83July 25 1Beaneaters10–5League ParkN/A57-26W4
84July 25 2Beaneaters3–2League Park11,43658-26W5
85July 26Spiders10–1League Park17,84459-26W6
86July 27Spiders3–1League Park5,06060-26W7
87July 28Spiders9–8League Park7,38061-26W8
88July 29Spiders1–6League Park5,49261-27L1
89July 30Pirates4–8League Park1,85561-28L2
90July 31Pirates7–9League Park4,78661-29L3 :
August: 8–12 (Home: 6–0; Away: 2–12)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
-August 1PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 6
91August 2Browns2–1League Park6,88862-29W1
-August 3BrownsPostponed (schedule change); Makeup: July 2
92August 6Pirates4–2League Park4,56463-29W2
93August 8Colonels5–2League Park2,69664-29W3
94August 9Colonels5–4League Park5,28165-29W4
95August 11@ Colts0–6West Side Park6,00065-30L1
96August 12@ Colts3–3West Side Park7,00065-30L1
97August 13@ Colts7–0West Side Park9,00066-30W1
-August 15@ BrownsPostponed (site change); Makeup: August 15
98August 15Browns7–3League Park6,01267-30W2
-August 16@ BrownsPostponed (site change); Makeup: August 16
99August 16Browns10–5League Park6,84468-30W3
-August 17@ BrownsPostponed (schedule change); Makeup: June 26
100August 19@ Beaneaters9–7South End Grounds3,00069-30W4
101August 20@ Beaneaters6–8South End Grounds4,00069-31L1
102August 21@ Beaneaters9–10South End Grounds4,17469-32L2
103August 22@ Senators2–9Boundary Field2,31069-33L3
-August 24@ SenatorsPostponed (wet grounds); Makeup: August 25
104August 25 1@ Senators3–4Boundary FieldN/A69-34L4
105August 25 2@ Senators1–3Boundary Field4,79169-35L5
106August 26@ Orioles3–14Union Park4,40569-36L6
107August 27@ Orioles3–9Union Park4,36669-37L7
108August 28@ Orioles6–8Union Park4,21769-38L8
109August 29@ Phillies4–5National League Park9,21469-39L9
110August 31@ Phillies4–6National League Park3,92769-40L10 :
September: 8–10 (Home: 2–0; Away: 6–10)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
111September 1@ Phillies6–9National League Park4,30969-41L11
112September 2@ Giants4–0Polo Grounds2,50070-41W1
113September 3@ Giants5–10Polo Grounds2,40070-42L1
114September 4@ Giants5–15Polo Grounds2,40070-43L2
115September 5@ Bridegrooms5–3Eastern Park1,50071-43W1
116September 7 1@ Bridegrooms1–6Eastern Park2,50071-44L1
117September 7 2@ Bridegrooms3–1Eastern Park5,00072-44W1
-September 9@ ColonelsPostponed (late arrival, both teams); Makeup: September 11
118September 10@ Colonels2–3Eclipse Park1,50072-45L1
119September 11@ Colonels2–3Eclipse Park1,40072-46L2
120September 12@ Colonels5–6Eclipse Park1,80072-47L3
121September 13Colts7–3League Park4,17873-47W1
122September 14@ Pirates2–3Exposition Park1,50073-48L1
-September 15@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 16
123September 16 1@ Pirates11–0Exposition ParkN/A74-48W1
124September 16 2@ Pirates4–0Exposition Park2,50075-48W2
125September 19@ Spiders2–21League Park40075-49L1
126September 20Colonels4–3League Park2,57876-49W1
127September 21@ Spiders1–4League Park2,00076-50L1
128September 22@ Spiders7–3League Park2,00077-50W1
-September 26@ ColtsPostponed (schedule change, site change); Makeup: June 24 :

### Roster
## 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 | 68 | 211 | 63 | .299 | 2 | 34 |
| 1B | Buck Ewing | 69 | 263 | 73 | .278 | 1 | 38 |
| 2B | Bid McPhee | 117 | 433 | 132 | .305 | 1 | 87 |
| SS | Germany Smith | 120 | 456 | 131 | .287 | 3 | 71 |
| 3B | Charlie Irwin | 127 | 476 | 141 | .296 | 1 | 67 |
| OF | Eddie Burke | 122 | 521 | 177 | .340 | 1 | 52 |
| OF | Dusty Miller | 125 | 504 | 162 | .321 | 4 | 93 |
| OF | Dummy Hoy | 121 | 443 | 132 | .298 | 4 | 57 |

#### 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 |
| Farmer Vaughn | 114 | 433 | 127 | .293 | 2 | 66 |
| Bill Gray | 46 | 121 | 25 | .207 | 0 | 17 |
| Bug Holliday | 29 | 84 | 27 | .321 | 0 | 8 |

### 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 |
| Frank Dwyer | 36 | 288.2 | 24 | 11 | 3.15 | 57 |
| Red Ehret | 34 | 276.2 | 18 | 14 | 3.42 | 60 |
| Frank Foreman | 27 | 185.2 | 14 | 7 | 3.97 | 33 |
| Billy Rhines | 19 | 143.0 | 8 | 6 | 2.45 | 32 |
| Brownie Foreman | 4 | 23.0 | 1 | 3 | 11.35 | 9 |
| Bert Inks | 3 | 20.0 | 1 | 1 | 4.50 | 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 |
| Chauncey Fisher | 27 | 159.2 | 10 | 7 | 4.45 | 25 |

#### 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 |
| Wiley Davis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.31 | 1 |
| Hank Gastright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Bug Holliday | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |