# 1879 Major League Baseball season

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.

## 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.

## Rule changes

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".
* Any pitcher who hit a batter, "unless it was clearly an accident", would be fined between $10 and $50 (between $337 and $1,687 in 2024), in an effort to reduce intentional hit by pitches.
* 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.
* 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
* The Player reserve clause was for the first time put into a contract.
* The pitcher had to face a batsman before pitching to him.

## Teams

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

## Standings
### National League

vteNational 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
### Off-season

| 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

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

## League leaders
### National League

Hitting leaders :
| 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 :
| 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$^1$ (CIN) | 680.0 |
| SV | Bobby Mathews (PRO) John Ward (PRO) | 1 |
| WHIP | Tommy Bond (BOS) | 1.021 |
$^1$ All-time single-season innings pitched record