# 1889 Major League Baseball season

The 1889 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1889. The regular season ended on October 15, with the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms as regular season champions of the National League and American Association, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the sixth World's Championship Series on October 18 and ended with Game 9 on October 29, in what was a best-of-eleven-playoff. The Giants defeated the Dodgers, six games to three, capturing their second consecutive World's Championship Series.
Over the offseason, the National League's Detroit Wolverines folded, and saw them replaced by the American Association's Cleveland Blues, renamed to the Cleveland Spiders. In Cleveland's AA place, the Columbus Solons were enfranchised. This was the final season of the NL's Indianapolis Hoosiers & Washington Nationals, and the AA's Kansas City Cowboys.

## Schedule

The 1889 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American Association since the 1886 season and by the National League since the previous season. This format would last until 1892.
American Association Opening Day took place on April 17 featuring four teams, while National League Opening Day took place on April 24, featuring all eight teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 15 with four teams playing, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 5, featuring all eight teams. The 1889 World's Championship Series took place between October 18 and October 29.

## Rule changes

The 1889 season saw the following rule changes:
* The sacrifice hit is now statistically recognized.
* Four balls is now considered a base on balls (BB); previously, a five balls were considered base on balls.
* One predesignated substitute may be used at the end of any complete inning.

## Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American Association | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park | 7,000 | Billy Barnie |
| American Association | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Brooklyn, New York | Washington Park II | 3,000 | Bill McGunnigle |
| American Association | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Brooklyn, New York | Washington Park I | 3,000 | Bill McGunnigle |
| American Association | Cincinnati Red Stockings | Cincinnati, Ohio | American Park | 3,000 | Gus Schmelz |
| American Association | Columbus Solons | Columbus, Ohio | Recreation Park (Columbus) | 6,500 | Al Buckenberger |
| American Association | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | Exposition Park | 4,000 | Bill Watkins |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Dude Esterbrook |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Jimmy Wolf |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Dan Shannon |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Jack Chapman |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Bill Sharsig |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 12,000 | Charles Comiskey |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,800 | Jim Hart |
| National League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 6,000 | Cap Anson |
| National League | Cleveland Spiders | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | Tom Loftus |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Frank Bancroft |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Jack Glasscock |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 15,000 | Jim Mutrie |
| National League | New York Giants | St. George, New York* | St. George Cricket Grounds* | Unknown* | Jim Mutrie |
| National League | New York Giants | Jersey City, New Jersey* | Oakland Park* | Unknown* | Jim Mutrie |
| National League | Philadelphia Quakers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds | 12,500 | Harry Wright |
| National League | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Pittsburgh) | 17,000 | Horace Phillips |
| National League | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Pittsburgh) | 17,000 | Fred Dunlap |
| National League | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Pittsburgh) | 17,000 | Ned Hanlon |
| National League | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | John Morrill |
| National League | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | Arthur Irwin |
* ^ Initial stadium of the season burned in a fire in mid-May.

### Sunday games

Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams of the American Association (which was informally referred to as the "Beer & Whiskey League" due to its openness on alcohol, compared to the National League) to play at ballparks in a different locality.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Games played |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Ridgewood, New York | Ridgewood Park | 10,000 | 14 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Gloucester City, New Jersey | Gloucester Point Grounds | Unknown | 14 |

## Standings
### American Association

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 93 | 44 | .679 | — | 50‍–‍19 | 43‍–‍25 |
| St. Louis Browns | 90 | 45 | .667 | 2 | 51‍–‍18 | 39‍–‍27 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 75 | 58 | .564 | 16 | 46‍–‍22 | 29‍–‍36 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 76 | 63 | .547 | 18 | 47‍–‍26 | 29‍–‍37 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 70 | 65 | .519 | 22 | 40‍–‍24 | 30‍–‍41 |
| Columbus Solons | 60 | 78 | .435 | 33½ | 36‍–‍33 | 24‍–‍45 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 55 | 82 | .401 | 38 | 35‍–‍35 | 20‍–‍47 |
| Louisville Colonels | 27 | 111 | .196 | 66½ | 18‍–‍46 | 9‍–‍65 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Giants | 83 | 43 | .659 | — | 47‍–‍15 | 36‍–‍28 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 83 | 45 | .648 | 1 | 48‍–‍17 | 35‍–‍28 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 67 | 65 | .508 | 19 | 37‍–‍30 | 30‍–‍35 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 63 | 64 | .496 | 20½ | 43‍–‍24 | 20‍–‍40 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 61 | 71 | .462 | 25 | 40‍–‍28 | 21‍–‍43 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 61 | 72 | .459 | 25½ | 33‍–‍35 | 28‍–‍37 |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | 59 | 75 | .440 | 28 | 32‍–‍36 | 27‍–‍39 |
| Washington Nationals | 41 | 83 | .331 | 41 | 24‍–‍29 | 17‍–‍54 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series | World's Championship Series |
| AA | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 12 | 2 | 8$^8$ | 10$^6$ | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| NL | New York Giants | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 2$^{11}$ | 11 | 16 | 3 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Beaneaters | John Morrill | Jim Hart |
| Detroit Wolverines | Robert Leadley | Team folded |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Harry Spence | Jack Glasscock |
| Louisville Colonels | John Kerins | Dude Esterbrook |
| Washington Nationals | Ted Sullivan | John Morrill |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Jack Glasscock | Frank Bancroft |
| Louisville Colonels | Dude Esterbrook | Jimmy Wolf |
| Louisville Colonels | Jimmy Wolf | Dan Shannon |
| Louisville Colonels | Dan Shannon | Jack Chapman |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Horrace Phillips | Fred Dunlap |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred Dunlap | Ned Hanlon |
| Washington Statesmen | John Morrill | Arthur Irwin |

## League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

### American Association

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Tommy Tucker (BAL) | .372 |
| OPS | Tommy Tucker (BAL) | .934 |
| HR | Bug Holliday (CIN) Harry Stovey (PHA) | 19 |
| RBI | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 119 |
| R | Mike Griffin (BAL) Harry Stovey (PHA) | 152 |
| H | Tommy Tucker (BAL) | 196 |
| SB | Billy Hamilton (KC) | 111 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Bob Caruthers (BKN) | 40 |
| L | Mark Baldwin (COL) | 34 |
| ERA | Jack Stivetts (STL) | 2.25 |
| K | Mark Baldwin (COL) | 368 |
| IP | Mark Baldwin (COL) | 513.2 |
| SV | Tony Mullane (CIN) | 5 |
| WHIP | Jack Stivetts (STL) | 1.153 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Dan Brouthers (BOS) | .373 |
| OPS | Fred Carroll (PIT) | .970 |
| HR | Sam Thompson (PHQ) | 20 |
| RBI | Roger Connor (NY) | 130 |
| R | Mike Tiernan (NY) | 147 |
| H | Jack Glasscock (IND) | 205 |
| SB | Jim Fogarty (PHQ) | 99 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | John Clarkson$^1$ (BOS) | 49 |
| L | Harry Staley (PIT) | 26 |
| ERA | John Clarkson$^1$ (BOS) | 2.73 |
| K | John Clarkson$^1$ (BOS) | 284 |
| IP | John Clarkson (BOS) | 620.0 |
| SV | Bill Sowders (PIT/BOS) | 3 |
| WHIP | John Clarkson (BOS) | 1.277 |
$^1$ National League Triple Crown pitching winner