# 1887 Major League Baseball season

The 1887 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1887. The regular season ended on October 10, with the Detroit Wolverines and the St. Louis Browns as regular season champions of the National League and American Association, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the fourth World's Championship Series on October 10 and ended with Game 15 on October 26, in what was a best-of-fifteen-playoff, played across 10 cities. The Wolverines defeated the Browns, ten games to five (and clinching on Game 11), capturing their first World's Championship Series.
The Louisville Colonels set a Major League record which still stands for the most base on balls for a team in a game, with 19 against the Cleveland Blues on 21 September.
Over the offseason, the National League's Kansas City Cowboys folded, and saw them replaced by the American Association's Pittsburgh Alleghenys. In place of the Alleghenys leaving the AA for the NL, the Cleveland Blues were enfranchised. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Maroons relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana as the Indianapolis Hoosiers.

## Schedule

The 1887 schedule consisted of 140 games for all American Association teams and 126 games for all National League, each of which had eight teams. Each AA team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams, while each NL team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other seven teams. Both the AA's 140-game format and NL's 126-game format were continued from their implementation the previous season. The NL would adopt the AA's format the following season, and each league would use this 140-game format until 1892.
American Association Opening Day took place on April 16 featuring all eight teams, while National League Opening Day took place on April 27, featuring four teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 10 with four teams, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 8, featuring all eight teams. The 1887 World's Championship Series took place between October 10 and October 26.

## Rule changes

The 1887 season saw many radical changes which affected the game, as well as unity on rules by the American Association and National League. The following rule changes were made:
* The pitcher's box was reduced to 4 feet by 5+1⁄2 feet.
* The ability for batters to call for high and low pitches was abolished. In lieu of this, the strike zone was doubled in size, and established to be between the shoulders and knees.
* The choice of who hits and pitches in each half of the inning is given to home team captain.
* Five balls became a base on balls, down from six in the AA and seven in the NL.
* Four "called strikes" were adopted for this season only, up from three.
* Bases on balls were recorded as hits for this season only (a change which would dramatically increase players' batting averages). The batting average as calculated in 1887 is very similar to the modern on-base percentage (OBP) (the difference being that OBP uses total plate appearances as the denominator, which includes hit by pitches and sacrifice flies, the latter of which was not recorded and was implemented in 1894).
* In the National League the batter was awarded first base when hit by a pitch. The change was already implemented by the American Association in 1884.
* Home plate was to be made of rubber only - dropping the marble type and was to be 12 inches square.
* The pitcher must now keep his back foot on the rear line of the pitcher's box (55+1⁄2 feet from middle of home plate).
* Coaches were recognized by the rules for the first time ever.
* First and third base were repositioned to be entirely in fair territory.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American Association | Baltimore Orioles | Oxford, Maryland | Oriole Park | 5,000 | Billy Barnie |
| American Association | Brooklyn Grays | Brooklyn, New York | Washington Park | 3,000 | Charlie Byrne |
| American Association | Cincinnati Red Stockings | Cincinnati, Ohio | American Park | 3,000 | Gus Schmelz |
| American Association | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | Jimmy Williams |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Kick Kelly |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | St. George, New York | St. George Grounds | Unknown | Bob Ferguson |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | St. George, New York | St. George Grounds | Unknown | Dave Orr |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | St. George, New York | St. George Grounds | Unknown | Ollie Caylor |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Frank Bancroft |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Charlie Mason |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 3,000 | Charles Comiskey |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | King Kelly |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | John Morrill |
| National League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 6,000 | Cap Anson |
| National League | Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | Recreation Park (Detroit) | Unknown | Bill Watkins |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Watch Burnham |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Fred Thomas |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Horace Fogel |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 20,709 | 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 | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | John Gaffney |

### 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 Grays | Ridgewood, New York | Ridgewood Park | 10,000 | 15 |
| Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | Cedar Avenue Driving Park | Unknown | 1 |
| New York Metropolitans | Weehawken, New Jersey | Monitor Grounds | Unknown | 1 |
* ^ In today's Barclay, Baltimore.
* ^ In today's Staten Island, New York.

## Standings
### American Association

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Browns | 95 | 40 | .704 | — | 58‍–‍15 | 37‍–‍25 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 81 | 54 | .600 | 14 | 46‍–‍27 | 35‍–‍27 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 77 | 58 | .570 | 18 | 42‍–‍21 | 35‍–‍37 |
| Louisville Colonels | 76 | 60 | .559 | 19½ | 45‍–‍23 | 31‍–‍37 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 64 | 69 | .481 | 30 | 41‍–‍28 | 23‍–‍41 |
| Brooklyn Grays | 60 | 74 | .448 | 34½ | 36‍–‍37 | 24‍–‍37 |
| New York Metropolitans | 44 | 89 | .331 | 50 | 26‍–‍33 | 18‍–‍56 |
| Cleveland Blues | 39 | 92 | .298 | 54 | 22‍–‍36 | 17‍–‍56 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Detroit Wolverines | 79 | 45 | .637 | — | 44‍–‍17 | 35‍–‍28 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 75 | 48 | .610 | 3½ | 38‍–‍23 | 37‍–‍25 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 71 | 50 | .587 | 6½ | 44‍–‍18 | 27‍–‍32 |
| New York Giants | 68 | 55 | .553 | 10½ | 36‍–‍26 | 32‍–‍29 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 61 | 60 | .504 | 16½ | 38‍–‍22 | 23‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 55 | 69 | .444 | 24 | 31‍–‍33 | 24‍–‍36 |
| Washington Nationals | 46 | 76 | .377 | 32 | 26‍–‍33 | 20‍–‍43 |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | 37 | 89 | .294 | 43 | 24‍–‍39 | 13‍–‍50 |

## 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 | 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 | St. Louis Browns | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 5$^7$ | 3 | 3 | 9$^6$ |
| NL | Detroit Wolverines | 1 | 5 | 2$^{13}$* | 8 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 13† | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
*Denotes walk-off †Denotes eighth win by Detroit, clinching series

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Beaneaters | John Morrill | King Kelly |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | Ollie Caylor | Gus Schmelz |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Gus Schmelz | Watch Burnham |
| Kansas City Cowboys | Dave Rowe | Team folded |
| Louisville Colonels | Jim Hart | Kick Kelly |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Bill Sharsig | Frank Bancroft |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Beaneaters | King Kelly | John Morrill |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Watch Burnham | Fred Thomas |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Fred Thomas | Horace Fogel |
| New York Metropolitans | Bob Ferguson | Dave Orr |
| New York Metropolitans | Dave Orr | Ollie Caylor |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Frank Bancroft | Charlie Mason |

## League leaders

In 1887, bases on balls (walks) were counted as hits by the major leagues in existence at the time. This inflated batting averages, with 11 players batting .400 or better, and the experiment was abandoned the following season. Historical statistics for the season were later revised, such that "Bases on balls shall always be treated as neither a time at bat nor a hit for the batter." This results in ambiguity for some players' season and career hits totals, notably with Cap Anson. Anson was credited with a .421 average and the National League batting title in 1887; however, the recalculation of averages with walks excluded lowered his average to .347 and retroactively gave the batting title to Sam Thompson. The 1887 batting average and hits are included below, using contemporary data on Baseball Reference.

### American Association

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Tip O'Neill$^1$ (STL) | .435 |
| AVG (1887) | Tip O'Neill (STL) | .485 |
| OPS | Tip O'Neill (STL) | 1.180 |
| HR | Tip O'Neill$^1$ (STL) | 14 |
| RBI | Tip O'Neill$^1$ (STL) | 123 |
| R | Tip O'Neill (STL) | 167 |
| H | Tip O'Neill (STL) | 225 |
| H (1887) | Pete Browning (LOU) Tip O'Neill (STL) | 275 |
| SB | Hugh Nicol$^2$ (CIN) | 138 |
$^1$ American Association Triple Crown batting winner $^2$ All-time single-season stolen bases record
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Matt Kilroy (BAL) | 46 |
| L | Al Mays (NYM) | 34 |
| ERA | Elmer Smith (CIN) | 2.94 |
| K | Toad Ramsey (LOU) | 355 |
| IP | Matt Kilroy (BAL) | 589.1 |
| SV | Adonis Terry (BKN) | 3 |
| WHIP | Bob Caruthers (STL) | 1.167 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Sam Thompson (DET) | .372 |
| AVG (1887) | Cap Anson (CHI) | .421 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (DET) | .988 |
| HR | Billy O'Brien (WSH) | 19 |
| RBI | Sam Thompson (DET) | 166 |
| R | Dan Brouthers (DET) | 153 |
| H | Sam Thompson (DET) | 203 |
| H (1887) | Dan Brouthers (DET) | 240 |
| SB | John Ward (NYG) | 111 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | John Clarkson (CHI) | 35 |
| L | Egyptian Healy (IND) | 29 |
| ERA | Dan Casey (PHQ) | 2.86 |
| K | John Clarkson (CHI) | 237 |
| IP | John Clarkson (CHI) | 523.0 |
| SV | Mark Baldwin (CHI) Frederick Fass (IND) Charlie Ferguson (PHQ) Bob Pettit (CHI) Bill Stemmyer (BOS) Mike Tiernan (NYG) Larry Twitchell (DET) George Van Haltren (CHI) | 1 |
| WHIP | Tim Keefe (NYG) | 1.124 |