# 1881 Major League Baseball season

The 1881 major league baseball season was contested from April 30 through September 30, 1881, and saw the Chicago White Stockings as the pennant winner of the sixth season of the National League. There was no postseason.
The 1881 season is most known for featuring the first major league grand slam. Roger Connor of the Troy Trojans hit the walk-off home run at Riverside Park (Greenbush) against the Worcester Worcesters on September 10, leading to an 8–7 victory.
Over the off-season, the National League dropped the Cincinnati Stars due to the team refusing to sign a league pledge that banned alcohol in league parks and forbidding clubs from renting their parks out on Sundays. The team was replaced by the Detroit Wolverines.
1881 would be the final season of the first National League monopoly-era, as the American Association would be established in 1882.

## Schedule

The 1881 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 continued the format put in place since 1879 and would be used until 1883.
Opening Day took place on April 30 featuring four teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring all eight teams.

## Rule changes

The 1881 season saw the following rule changes:
* The pitching distance from the front of the pitcher's box to the center of home base from 45 feet to 50 feet.
* The number of "fair balls" the batter could choose to take without lowering the number of "unfair balls" in a base on balls was reduced from four to three.
* Temporary substitute runners were prohibited.
* Runners were now required to return to their occupied base or risk being putout:
** Before the umpire called time on any play.
** When a foul ball was not ruled an out and returned to the pitcher.
* Umpires must now use their best judgement on the legitimacy of a catch by a fielder, whereas previously, an umpire could take the testimony of bystanders nearest the player attempting the catch to make his decision.

## Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| 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 | Jim O'Rourke |
| National League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | Lakefront Park | 5,000 | Cap Anson |
| National League | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | Mike McGeary |
| National League | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | John Clapp |
| National League | Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | Recreation Park | Unknown | Frank Bancroft |
| National League | Providence Grays | Providence, Rhode Island | Messer Street Grounds | 6,000 | Jack Farrell |
| National League | Providence Grays | Providence, Rhode Island | Messer Street Grounds | 6,000 | Tom York |
| National League | Troy Trojans | Lansingburgh, New York | Haymakers' Grounds | Unknown | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Troy Trojans | Greenbush, New York | Riverside Park (Greenbush)* | Unknown* | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Worcester Worcesters | Worcester, Massachusetts | Agricultural County Fair Grounds | Unknown | Mike Dorgan |
| National League | Worcester Worcesters | Worcester, Massachusetts | Agricultural County Fair Grounds | Unknown | Harry Stovey |
* ^ In today's Rensselaer.

## Standings
### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Stockings | 56 | 28 | .667 | — | 32‍–‍10 | 24‍–‍18 |
| Providence Grays | 47 | 37 | .560 | 9 | 23‍–‍20 | 24‍–‍17 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 45 | 38 | .542 | 10½ | 25‍–‍16 | 20‍–‍22 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 41 | 43 | .488 | 15 | 23‍–‍19 | 18‍–‍24 |
| Troy Trojans | 39 | 45 | .464 | 17 | 24‍–‍18 | 15‍–‍27 |
| Boston Red Caps | 38 | 45 | .458 | 17½ | 19‍–‍22 | 19‍–‍23 |
| Cleveland Blues | 36 | 48 | .429 | 20 | 20‍–‍22 | 16‍–‍26 |
| Worcester Worcesters | 32 | 50 | .390 | 23 | 19‍–‍22 | 13‍–‍28 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Buffalo Bisons | Sam Crane | Jim O'Rourke |
| Cincinnati Stars | John Clapp | Team folded |
| Cleveland Blues | Jim McCormick | Mike McGeary |
| Providence Grays | Mike Dorgan | Jack Farrell |
| Worcester Worcesters | Frank Bancroft | Mike Dorgan |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cleveland Blues | Mike McGeary | John Clapp |
| Providence Grays | Jack Farrell | Tom York |
| Worcester Worcesters | Mike Dorgan | Harry Stovey |

## League leaders

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

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Cap Anson (CHI) | .399 |
| OPS | Cap Anson (CHI) | .952 |
| HR | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 8 |
| RBI | Cap Anson (CHI) | 82 |
| R | George Gore (CHI) | 86 |
| H | Cap Anson (CHI) | 137 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Larry Corcoran (CHI) Jim Whitney (BOS) | 31 |
| L | Jim Whitney (BOS) | 33 |
| ERA | George Weidman (DET) | 1.80 |
| K | George Derby (DET) | 212 |
| IP | Jim Whitney (BOS) | 552.1 |
| SV | Bobby Mathews (BOS/PRO) | 2 |
| WHIP | George Weidman (DET) | 1.043 |