# 1886 Major League Baseball season

The 1886 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1886. The regular season ended on October 15, with the Chicago White Stockings 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 third World's Championship Series on October 18 and ended with Game 6 on October 23, in what was a best-of-seven-playoff. The Browns defeated the White Stockings, four games to two, capturing their first World's Championship Series.
Over the offseason, the National League's Buffalo Bisons transfer into the minor league International League and Providence Grays fold. The two open spots are filled by the newly enfranchised Kansas City Cowboys and Washington Nationals.

## Schedule

The 1886 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 newly-implementation for the 1886 season, each replacing the 112-game, 16 games against the other seven teams format that both leagues had from 1884 and 1885. The NL would adopt the AA's format in 1888, and each league would use this 140-game format until 1892.
American Association Opening Day took place on April 17 featuring six teams, while National League Opening Day took place on April 29, also featuring six teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 15 with a doubleheader between the New York Metropolitans and Philadelphia Athletics, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 11 with a game between the Kansas City Cowboys and Washington Nationals. The 1886 World's Championship Series took place between October 18 and October 23.

## Rule changes

The 1886 season saw the following rule changes:
* Stolen bases became an official statistic.
* In the American Association, six balls became a base on balls, down from eight, while in the National League, seven balls became a base on balls, up from six.
* The pitcher's box was extended by one foot in the direction of second base, from six to seven feet.
** In the American Association, a one-foot-long by four-foot-wide smooth flat stone was placed in front of the pitcher's box.
* In the American Association the batter's box was extended by one foot in width, on either side of home plate, expanding from three feet wide and one foot from home plate to four feet wide and six inches from home plate, copying the change the National League did the previous season.
* The American Association allowed home plate to be made out of white stone.

## 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 | Ollie Caylor |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Jim Hart |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | St. George, New York | St. George Grounds | Unknown | Jim Gifford |
| American Association | New York Metropolitans | St. George, New York | St. George Grounds | Unknown | Bob Ferguson |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Lew Simmons |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Bill Sharsig |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park (Pittsburgh) | 17,000 | Horace Phillips |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 12,000 | Charles Comiskey |
| 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 | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | League Park | Unknown | Dave Rowe |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 20,709 | Jim Mutrie |
| National League | Philadelphia Quakers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Recreation Park | 6,500 | Harry Wright |
| National League | St. Louis Maroons | St. Louis, Missouri | Union Base Ball Park | 10,000 | Gus Schmelz |
| National League | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | Michael Scanlon |
| National League | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | John Gaffney |

### Sunday games

Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing the Brooklyn Grays 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 | Unknown | 14 |
* ^ 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 | 93 | 46 | .669 | — | 52‍–‍18 | 41‍–‍28 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 80 | 57 | .584 | 12 | 45‍–‍28 | 35‍–‍29 |
| Brooklyn Grays | 76 | 61 | .555 | 16 | 44‍–‍25 | 32‍–‍36 |
| Louisville Colonels | 66 | 70 | .485 | 25½ | 37‍–‍30 | 29‍–‍40 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 65 | 73 | .471 | 27½ | 40‍–‍31 | 25‍–‍42 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 63 | 72 | .467 | 28 | 38‍–‍31 | 25‍–‍41 |
| New York Metropolitans | 53 | 82 | .393 | 38 | 30‍–‍33 | 23‍–‍49 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 48 | 83 | .366 | 41 | 30‍–‍32 | 18‍–‍51 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Stockings | 90 | 34 | .726 | — | 52‍–‍10 | 38‍–‍24 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 87 | 36 | .707 | 2½ | 49‍–‍13 | 38‍–‍23 |
| New York Giants | 75 | 44 | .630 | 12½ | 47‍–‍12 | 28‍–‍32 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 71 | 43 | .623 | 14 | 45‍–‍14 | 26‍–‍29 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 56 | 61 | .479 | 30½ | 32‍–‍26 | 24‍–‍35 |
| St. Louis Maroons | 43 | 79 | .352 | 46 | 27‍–‍34 | 16‍–‍45 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 30 | 91 | .248 | 58½ | 17‍–‍40 | 13‍–‍51 |
| Washington Nationals | 28 | 92 | .233 | 60 | 19‍–‍43 | 9‍–‍49 |

## 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 |
| AA | St. Louis Browns | 0 | 12$^8$ | 4 | 8$^7$ | 10$^7$ | 4$^{10}$* |
| NL | Chicago White Stockings | 6 | 0 | 11$^8$* | 5 | 3 | 3 |
*Denotes walk-off

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Buffalo Bisons | Jack Chapman | Team transferred to minor league International League |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Harry Stovey | Lew Simmons |
| Providence Grays | Frank Bancroft | Team folded |
| St. Louis Maroons | Alex McKinnon | Gus Schmelz |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| New York Metropolitans | Jim Gifford | Bob Ferguson |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Lew Simmons | Bill Sharsig |
| Washington Nationals | Michael Scanlon | John Gaffney |

## League leaders

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

### American Association

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Guy Hecker (LOU) | .341 |
| OPS | Bob Caruthers (SLB) | .974 |
| HR | Bid McPhee (CIN) | 8 |
| RBI | Tip O'Neill (SLB) | 107 |
| R | Arlie Latham (SLB) | 152 |
| H | Dave Orr (NYM) | 193 |
| SB | Harry Stovey (PHA) | 68 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Dave Foutz (SLB) Ed Morris (PIT) | 41 |
| L | Matt Kilroy (BAL) | 34 |
| ERA | Dave Foutz (SLB) | 2.11 |
| K | Matt Kilroy$^1$ (BAL) | 513 |
| IP | Toad Ramsey (LOU) | 588.2 |
| SV | Bones Ely (LOU) Dave Foutz (SLB) Nat Hudson (SLB) Ed Morris (PIT) Joe Strauss (BKN/LOU) | 1 |
| WHIP | Ed Morris (PIT) | 1.032 |
$^1$ All-time single-season strikeouts record

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | King Kelly (CHI) | .388 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (DET) | 1.026 |
| HR | Dan Brouthers (DET) Hardy Richardson (DET) | 11 |
| RBI | Cap Anson (CHI) | 147 |
| R | King Kelly (CHI) | 155 |
| H | Hardy Richardson (DET) | 189 |
| SB | Ed Andrews (PHQ) | 56 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Lady Baldwin (DET) Tim Keefe (NYG) | 42 |
| L | George Weidman (KC) | 36 |
| ERA | Henry Boyle (SLM) | 1.76 |
| K | Lady Baldwin (DET) | 323 |
| IP | Tim Keefe (NYG) | 535.0 |
| SV | Charlie Ferguson (PHQ) | 2 |
| WHIP | Lady Baldwin (DET) | 0.967 |