# 1883 Major League Baseball season

The 1883 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1883. It was the second season for the American Association (AA) and eighth season for the National League (NL). The Philadelphia Athletics won the AA pennant, while the Boston Beaneaters won the NL pennant. There was no postseason, although there was a canceled exhibition series between the two pennant winners.
Prior to the season, the Troy Trojans and Worcester Worcesters of the National League folded. In its place, the league enfranchised two teams: the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Quakers (today's San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies). It was decided that the six-team American Association would expand to eight teams and saw the minor league New York Metropolitans join and the enfranchisement of the Columbus Buckeyes.
Prior to the season, the Boston Red Caps and St. Louis Brown Stockings renamed as the Boston Beaneaters and St. Louis Browns, respectively.
The American Association and the National League, along with the Northwestern League, sign the Tripartite Agreement (also known as the National Agreement). This agreement binds the leagues to respect each other's valid player contracts as well as increasing the size of the reserve list from 6 to 11 players.

## Schedule

The 1883 schedule consisted of 98 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 14 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This format was unique to the 1883 season. Previously, the National League had played an 84-game schedule, with 12 games against each team being played, while a pre-expansion six-team American Association had played an 80-game schedule, with 16 games against each team being played. The following season would see the National League play a 112-game schedule (increase of 14 to 16 games each), while the American Association would expanded again, this time to twelve teams, for a 110-game schedule (of 10 games against each of the other eleven teams).
Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all sixteen teams. American Association would see its final day of the regular season on September 30 featuring four teams, while the National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 29, featuring all eight teams.

## Rule changes

The 1883 season saw the following rule changes:
* Championships were to be decided on a percentage basis.
* All throws except for overhand throws are legal. The American Association further specified this rule, and considered all overhand throws a balk, which resulted in both any runner on base and batter to be awarded an extra base (balks today do not advance the batter).
* The National League abolishes the "foul bound catch" rule, which was when a fielder caught a foul ball on its first bounce. The American Association would follow this abolition in 1885.

## 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 | Oxford, Maryland | Oriole Park | 5,000 | Billy Barnie |
| American Association | Cincinnati Red Stockings | Cincinnati, Ohio | Bank Street Grounds | 3,000 | Will White |
| American Association | Columbus Buckeyes | Columbus, Ohio | Recreation Park (Columbus) | Unknown | Horace Phillips |
| American Association | Louisville Eclipse | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 3,000 | Joe Gerhardt |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | New York, New York | Polo Grounds (Southeast Diamond) | 20,709 | Jim Mutrie |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | New York, New York | Polo Grounds (Southwest Diamond)* | Unknown* | Jim Mutrie |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 5,200 | Lon Knight |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park II* | Unknown* | Al Pratt |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park I | Unknown | Al Pratt |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park I | Unknown | Ormond Butler |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park I | Unknown | Joe Battin |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 6,000 | Jimmy Williams |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 6,000 | Charles Comiskey |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | Jack Burdock |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | John Morrill |
| National League | Buffalo Bisons | Buffalo, New York | Riverside Park | 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 | Frank Bancroft |
| National League | Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | Recreation Park (Detroit) | Unknown | Jack Chapman |
| National League | New York Gothams | New York, New York | Polo Grounds (Southeast Diamond) | 20,709 | John Clapp |
| National League | Philadelphia Quakers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Philadelphia) | 6,500 | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Philadelphia Quakers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Philadelphia) | 6,500 | Blondie Purcell |
| National League | Providence Grays | Providence, Rhode Island | Messer Street Grounds | 6,000 | Harry Wright |
* ^ In today's Barclay, Baltimore.

## Standings
### American Association

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 66 | 32 | .673 | — | 37‍–‍14 | 29‍–‍18 |
| St. Louis Browns | 65 | 33 | .663 | 1 | 35‍–‍14 | 30‍–‍19 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 61 | 37 | .622 | 5 | 38‍–‍13 | 23‍–‍24 |
| New York Metropolitans | 54 | 42 | .562 | 11 | 29‍–‍17 | 25‍–‍25 |
| Louisville Eclipse | 52 | 45 | .536 | 13½ | 29‍–‍18 | 23‍–‍27 |
| Columbus Buckeyes | 32 | 65 | .330 | 33½ | 18‍–‍29 | 14‍–‍36 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 31 | 67 | .316 | 35 | 18‍–‍31 | 13‍–‍36 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 28 | 68 | .292 | 37 | 18‍–‍31 | 10‍–‍37 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Beaneaters | 63 | 35 | .643 | — | 41‍–‍8 | 22‍–‍27 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 59 | 39 | .602 | 4 | 36‍–‍13 | 23‍–‍26 |
| Providence Grays | 58 | 40 | .592 | 5 | 34‍–‍15 | 24‍–‍25 |
| Cleveland Blues | 55 | 42 | .567 | 7½ | 31‍–‍18 | 24‍–‍24 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 49 | 45 | .521 | 12 | 36‍–‍13 | 13‍–‍32 |
| New York Gothams | 46 | 50 | .479 | 16 | 28‍–‍19 | 18‍–‍31 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 40 | 58 | .408 | 23 | 23‍–‍26 | 17‍–‍32 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 17 | 81 | .173 | 46 | 9‍–‍40 | 8‍–‍41 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | Henry Myers | Billy Barnie |
| Cleveland Blues | John Morrill | Jack Burdock |
| Columbus Buckeyes | Fred Dunlap | Frank Bancroft |
| Louisville Eclipse | Frank Bancroft | Jack Chapman |
| New York Gothams | Denny Mack | Joe Gerhardt |
| Philadelphia Quakers | Juice Latham | Lon Knight |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Ned Cuthbert | Ted Sullivan |
| Providence Grays | Bob Ferguson | Team folded |
| St. Louis Browns | Jack Chapman | Team folded |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Beaneaters | Jack Burdock | John Morrill |
| Philadelphia Quakers | Bob Ferguson | Blondie Purcell |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Al Pratt | Ormond Butler |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Ormond Butler | Joe Battin |
| St. Louis Browns | Ted Sullivan | Charles Comiskey |

## League leaders
### American Association

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | .357 |
| OPS | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | .869 |
| HR | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 14 |
| RBI | Charley Jones (CIN) | 80 |
| R | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 110 |
| H | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | 147 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Will White (CIN) | 43 |
| L | Frank Mountain (COL) | 33 |
| ERA | Will White (CIN) | 2.09 |
| K | Tim Keefe (NYM) | 359 |
| IP | Tim Keefe (NYM) | 619.0 |
| SV | Bob Barr (PIT) Tony Mullane (STL) | 1 |
| WHIP | Tim Keefe (NYM) | 0.963 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .374 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .969 |
| HR | Buck Ewing (NYG) | 10 |
| RBI | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 97 |
| R | Joe Hornung (BOS) | 107 |
| H | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 159 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Charles Radbourn (PRO) | 48 |
| L | John Coleman$^1$ (PHQ) | 48 |
| ERA | Jim McCormick (CLE) | 1.84 |
| K | Jim Whitney (BOS) | 345 |
| IP | Pud Galvin (BUF) | 656.1 |
| SV | George Weidman (DET) Jim Whitney (BOS) | 2 |
| WHIP | Charles Radbourn (PRO) | 0.979 |
$^1$ All-time single-season losses record