# 1886 Detroit Wolverines season

The 1886 Detroit Wolverines had the best winning percentage of any major league baseball team to play in Detroit. They compiled a record of 87–36 for a .707 winning percentage. Nevertheless, the Wolverines finished in second place, 2½ games behind the Chicago White Stockings.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Stockings | 90 | 34 | .726 | — | 52‍–‍10 | 38‍–‍24 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 87 | 36 | .707 | 2½ | 49‍–‍13 | 38‍–‍23 |
| New York Giants | 75 | 44 | .630 | 12½ | 47‍–‍12 | 28‍–‍32 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 71 | 43 | .623 | 14 | 45‍–‍14 | 26‍–‍29 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 56 | 61 | .479 | 30½ | 32‍–‍26 | 24‍–‍35 |
| St. Louis Maroons | 43 | 79 | .352 | 46 | 27‍–‍34 | 16‍–‍45 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 30 | 91 | .248 | 58½ | 17‍–‍40 | 13‍–‍51 |
| Washington Nationals | 28 | 92 | .233 | 60 | 19‍–‍43 | 9‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1886 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | KC | NYG | PHI | STL | WSH |
| Boston | — | 6–12 | 6–11 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 3–10 | 11–6–1 | 13–5 |
| Chicago | 12–6 | — | 11–7 | 17–1 | 10–8–1 | 10–7–1 | 13–4 | 17–1 |
| Detroit | 11–6 | 7–11 | — | 16–2 | 11–7 | 10–7–1 | 15–2–1 | 17–1–1 |
| Kansas City | 6–11 | 1–17 | 2–16 | — | 3–15–1 | 2–14–1 | 5–12–2 | 11–6–1 |
| New York | 11–6 | 8–10–1 | 7–11 | 15–3–1 | — | 8–8–1 | 15–3 | 11–3–2 |
| Philadelphia | 10–3 | 7–10–1 | 7–10–1 | 14–2–1 | 8–8–1 | — | 12–6 | 13–4–1 |
| St. Louis | 6–11–1 | 4–13 | 2–15–1 | 12–5–2 | 3–15 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 |
| Washington | 5–13 | 1–17 | 1–17–1 | 6–11–1 | 3–11–2 | 4–13–1 | 8–10 | — |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; Slg. = Slugging percentage; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | Slg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Charlie Bennett | 72 | 235 | 37 | 57 | .243 | .391 | 4 | 34 |
| 1B | Dan Brouthers | 121 | 489 | 139 | 181 | .370 | .581 | 11 | 72 |
| 2B | Fred Dunlap | 51 | 196 | 32 | 56 | .286 | .418 | 4 | 37 |
| 3B | Deacon White | 124 | 491 | 65 | 142 | .289 | .354 | 1 | 76 |
| SS | Jack Rowe | 111 | 468 | 97 | 142 | .303 | .425 | 6 | 87 |
| OF | Sam Thompson | 122 | 503 | 101 | 156 | .310 | .445 | 8 | 89 |
| OF | Ned Hanlon | 126 | 494 | 105 | 116 | .235 | .296 | 4 | 60 |
| OF | Hardy Richardson | 125 | 538 | 125 | 189 | .351 | .504 | 11 | 61 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; Slg. = Slugging percentage; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | Slg. | HR | RBI |
| Charlie Ganzel | 57 | 213 | 28 | 58 | .272 | .338 | 0 | 51 |
| Sam Crane | 47 | 185 | 24 | 26 | .141 | .189 | 1 | 12 |
| Jim Manning | 26 | 97 | 14 | 18 | .186 | .268 | 0 | 7 |
| Harry Decker | 14 | 54 | 2 | 12 | .222 | .250 | 0 | 5 |
| Jack McGeachey | 6 | 27 | 3 | 9 | .333 | .333 | 0 | 4 |
| Billy Shindle | 7 | 26 | 4 | 7 | .269 | .269 | 0 | 4 |
| Tom Gillen | 2 | 10 | 2 | 4 | .400 | .400 | 0 | 4 |
Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Lady Baldwin | 56 | 487.0 | 42 | 13 | 2.24 | 323 |
| Pretzels Getzien | 43 | 386.2 | 30 | 11 | 3.03 | 172 |
| Pete Conway | 11 | 91.0 | 6 | 5 | 3.36 | 35 |
| Billy Smith | 9 | 77.0 | 5 | 4 | 4.09 | 36 |
| Phenomenal Smith | 3 | 25.0 | 1 | 1 | 2.16 | 15 |
| Larry Twitchell | 4 | 25.0 | 0 | 2 | 6.48 | 6 |

#### 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 |
| Hardy Richardson | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 5 |

## Awards and honors
### League top ten finishers

Lady Baldwin
* NL leader in wins (42)
* NL leader in strikeouts (323)
* NL leader in shutouts (7)
* NL leader in walks plus hits per 9 innings pitched (WHIP) (0.967)
* NL leader in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (6.86)
* #3 in NL in ERA (2.24)
* #3 in NL in win percentage (.764)
* #2 in NL in strikeouts to walks (3.23)
* #3 in NL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (5.97)
* #4 in NL in games (56)
* #4 in NL in innings pitched (487)
* #4 in NL in games started (56)
* #4 in NL in complete games (55)
* #5 in NL in walks per 9 innings pitched (1.85)
* #5 in NL in Adjusted ERA+ (147)
Dan Brouthers
* NL leader in slugging percentage (.581)
* NL leader in OPS (1.026)
* NL leader in total bases (284)
* NL leader in doubles (40)
* NL leader in home runs (11) (tied with Richardson)
* NL leader in runs created (126)
* NL leader in extra base hits (66)
* NL leader in at bats per home run (44.5)
* #2 in NL in on-base percentage (.445)
* #2 in NL in triples (15)
* #2 in NL in times on base (247)
* #3 in NL in Power/Speed Number (14.4)
* #3 in NL in at bats per strikeout (30.6)
* #3 in NL in batting average (.370)
* #3 in NL in plate appearances (555)
* #3 in NL in runs scored (139)
* #3 in NL in hits (181)
* #4 in NL in runs scored (125)
* #4 in NL in bases on balls (66)
Pretzels Getzien
* #5 in NL in win percentage (.732)
Ned Hanlon
* NL leader in games played (126)
* #2 in NL in outs (378)
* #3 in NL in stolen bases (50)
* #4 in NL in plate appearances (551)
* #5 in NL in at bats (494)
Hardy Richardson
* NL leader in at bats (538)
* NL leader in plate appearances (584)
* NL leader in hits (189)
* NL leader in home runs (11) (tied with Brouthers)
* NL leader in singles (140)
* NL leader in Power/Speed Number (17.4)
* #2 in NL in at bats per home run (48.9)
* #2 in NL in games finished (pitcher) (4)
* #3 in NL in games played (125)
* #3 in NL in total bases (271)
* #3 in NL in stolen bases (42)
* #4 in NL in runs created (109)
* #4 in NL in extra base hits (49)
* #5 in NL in times on base (235)
* #5 in NL in batting average (.351)
* #5 in NL in slugging percentage (.504)
* #5 in NL in OPS (.906)
Jack Rowe
* #4 in NL in RBIs (87)
Sam Thompson
* NL leader in double plays by an outfielder (11)
* #3 in NL in at bats (503)
* #3 in NL in RBIs (89)
* #4 in NL in singles (117)
Deacon White
* #4 in NL in singles (117)
* 3rd oldest player in NL (38)

### Players Ranking Among Top 100 of All Time at Position

The following members of the 1886 Detroit Wolverines are among the Top 100 of all time at their positions, as ranked by The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
* Charlie Bennett: 49th best catcher of all time
* Dan Brouthers: 18th best first baseman of all time
* Fred Dunlap: 89th best second baseman of all time
* Hardy Richardson: 39th best second baseman of all time
* Deacon White: 76th best third baseman of all time
* Billy Shindle: 95th best third baseman of all time (played only 7 games for the 1886 Wolverines)
* Sam Thompson: 37th best right fielder of all time