# 1877 Major League Baseball season

The 1877 major league baseball season was contested from April 30 through October 6, 1877, and saw the Boston Red Caps as the pennant winner of the second season of the National League. There was no postseason.
Over the off-season, in December 1876, two teams were formally kicked out of the league for failing to fulfill their schedules: New York Mutuals and Philadelphia Athletics, contracting the league from eight to six teams.
The Hartford Dark Blue would relocate from Hartford, Connecticut to Brooklyn, New York, as the Brooklyn Hartfords.

## Schedule

The 1877 schedule consisted of 60 games for all six teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other five teams in the league. This was the first season that the National League adopted the format. The format would last only through the following season.
Opening Day took place on April 30 featuring a game between the Boston Red Caps and Brooklyn Hartfords. The final day of the season was on October 6, featuring four teams.

## Rule changes

The 1877 season saw the following rule changes:
* New rules reemphasizing the need to fulfill team schedules are implemented.
* New scheduling rules were implemented. If the league has:
** six or seven teams, each team must play twelve games against other teams,
** eight or nine teams, each team must play ten games against other teams,
** ten teams, each team must play eight games against other teams.
* Each team is entitled to play half of their games at home.
* Any team refusing to play a scheduled game will be immediately expelled.
* The batter's box waws moved forward by one foot so that it was equidistant forward and aft from the center of home plate.
* A fair ball is now defined as one "batted directly to the ground that bound or roll within the foul lines between home and first or home and third base, without first touching the person of a player … [and designated as foul] all balls batted directly to the ground that bound or roll outside the foul lines between home and first or home and third bases, without first touching the person of a player … In either of these cases the first point of contact between the batted ball and the ground shall not be regarded." Previously, the first point of contact between the batted ball and the ground determined whether a ball was fair or foul.
* The National League adopted an official ball.
* For the 1877 season only, a rule forcing home teams to bat first was implemented, a change from the coin-toss by team captains procedure.
* Baserunners were instructed to run, not walk, back to the base where they began whenever required to do so.
* Baserunners are now required to run behind a fielder in the basepath who was legally attempting to field a ball.
* If the baserunner is hit by a ball, they are out.
* The basepath was defined as extending from the foul line to three feet to tis right, and any baserunner who ran outside this area from the batter's box to first base would be declared out.
* Canvas bases 15 inches square were introduced.
* Home plate was placed in the angle formed by the intersection of the first and third base lines, moving entire into fair territory.
* Player reserve clause was written into the contracts for the first time.
* The hitter was exempted from a time at bat if he walked.

## 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 | Brooklyn Hartfords | Brooklyn, New York | Union Grounds | 1,500 | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Brooklyn Hartfords | New Haven, Connecticut | Howard Avenue Grounds* | Unknown* | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | 23rd Street Grounds | 7,000 | Albert Spalding |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Avenue Grounds | Unknown | Lip Pike |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Avenue Grounds | Unknown | Bob Addy |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Avenue Grounds | Unknown | Jack Manning |
| National League | Louisville Grays | Louisville, Kentucky | Louisville Baseball Park | 4,500 | Jack Chapman |
| National League | St. Louis Brown Stockings | St. Louis, Missouri | Grand Avenue Ball Grounds | Unknown | George McManus |

## Standings
### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Caps | 42 | 18 | .700 | — | 27‍–‍5 | 15‍–‍13 |
| Louisville Grays | 35 | 25 | .583 | 7 | 20‍–‍9 | 15‍–‍16 |
| Brooklyn Hartfords | 31 | 27 | .534 | 10 | 19‍–‍8 | 12‍–‍19 |
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | 28 | 32 | .467 | 14 | 20‍–‍10 | 8‍–‍22 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 26 | 33 | .441 | 15½ | 17‍–‍12 | 9‍–‍21 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 15 | 42 | .263 | 25½ | 12‍–‍18 | 3‍–‍24 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cincinnati Reds | Charlie Gould | Lip Pike |
| New York Mutuals | Bill Craver | Team folded |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Al Wright | Team folded |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cincinnati Reds | Lip Pike | Bob Addy |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bob Addy | Jack Manning |

## League leaders
### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Deacon White (BOS) | .387 |
| OPS | Deacon White (BOS) | .950 |
| HR | Lip Pike (CIN) | 4 |
| RBI | Deacon White (BOS) | 49 |
| R | Jim O'Rourke (BOS) | 68 |
| H | Deacon White (BOS) | 103 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Tommy Bond (BOS) | 40 |
| L | Jim Devlin (LOU) Terry Larkin (BKN) | 25 |
| ERA | Tommy Bond (BOS) | 2.11 |
| K | Tommy Bond (BOS) | 170 |
| IP | Jim Devlin (LOU) | 559.0 |
| SV | Cal McVey (CHI) | 2 |
| WHIP | Tommy Bond (BOS) | 1.086 |