# 1888 Major League Baseball season

The 1888 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1888. The regular season ended on October 17, with the New York Giants 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 fifth World's Championship Series on October 16 and ended with Game 10 on October 27, in what was a best-of-eleven-playoff. The Giants defeated the Browns, six games to four, capturing their first World's Championship Series.
Over the offseason, the American Association's New York Metropolitans folded, and saw them replaced by the newly enfranchised Kansas City Cowboys. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Grays renamed as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

## Schedule

The 1888 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American Association since the 1886 season and was the first season that the National League adopted the format. This format would last until 1892.
American Association Opening Day took place on April 18 featuring all eight teams, while National League Opening Day took place on April 20, also featuring all eight teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 15 with a game between the Cleveland Blues and Philadelphia Athletics, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 13, featuring all eight teams. The 1888 World's Championship Series took place between October 16 and October 27.

## Rule changes

The 1888 season saw the following rule changes:
* A batter was credited with a base hit when a runner was hit by his batted ball.
* A batter was credited with a hit when a runner is out for being hit by the batted ball.
* The base on balls exemption from a time at bat was restored.
* Rules distinguishing earned runs from unearned runs were created, mainly that an earned run was defined as one unaided by errors, with an exception for bases on balls; a player that was walked and scores will be counted towards a pitcher's total earned runs.
* The total number of strikes needed for a strikeout were reduced from four to three (as they were, prior to 1887.
* The 1887 batting average rule which included balls in the calculation of the batting average is reversed.

## 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 | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park | 5,000 | Billy Barnie |
| American Association | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Brooklyn, New York | Washington Park | 3,000 | Bill McGunnigle |
| 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 | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | Tom Loftus |
| American Association | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | Association Park | Unknown | Dave Rowe |
| American Association | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | Association Park | Unknown | Sam Barkley |
| American Association | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | Association Park | Unknown | Bill Watkins |
| American Association | Kansas City Cowboys | Kansas City, Missouri | Exposition Park* | 4,000* | Bill Watkins |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Kick Kelly |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Mordecai Davidson |
| American Association | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 5,860 | Jack Kerins |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jefferson Street Grounds | 15,000 | Bill Sharsig |
| American Association | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 12,000 | Charles Comiskey |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,800 | 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 | Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | Recreation Park (Detroit) | Unknown | Robert Leadley |
| National League | Indianapolis Hoosiers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Seventh Street Park | Unknown | Harry Spence |
| 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 | Walter Hewett |
| National League | Washington Nationals | Washington, D.C. | Swampoodle Grounds | 6,000 | Ted Sullivan |

### 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 Bridegrooms | Ridgewood, New York | Ridgewood Park | 10,000 | 20 |
| Cleveland Blues | Bainbridge Township, Ohio | Geauga Lake Grounds | Unknown | 3 |
| Cleveland Blues | Newburgh Township, Ohio | Beyerle's Park | Unknown | 1 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Gloucester City, New Jersey | Fireworks Park | Unknown | 2 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Gloucester City, New Jersey | Gloucester Point Grounds | Unknown | 1 |
* ^ In today's Broadway–Slavic Village, Cleveland.

## Standings
### American Association

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Browns | 92 | 43 | .681 | — | 60‍–‍21 | 32‍–‍22 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 88 | 52 | .629 | 6½ | 53‍–‍20 | 35‍–‍32 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 52 | .609 | 10 | 55‍–‍20 | 26‍–‍32 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 80 | 54 | .597 | 11½ | 56‍–‍25 | 24‍–‍29 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 57 | 80 | .416 | 36 | 30‍–‍26 | 27‍–‍54 |
| Cleveland Blues | 50 | 82 | .379 | 40½ | 33‍–‍27 | 17‍–‍55 |
| Louisville Colonels | 48 | 87 | .356 | 44 | 27‍–‍29 | 21‍–‍58 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 43 | 89 | .326 | 47½ | 23‍–‍34 | 20‍–‍55 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Giants | 84 | 47 | .641 | — | 44‍–‍23 | 40‍–‍24 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 77 | 58 | .570 | 9 | 43‍–‍27 | 34‍–‍31 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 69 | 61 | .531 | 14½ | 37‍–‍29 | 32‍–‍32 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 70 | 64 | .522 | 15½ | 36‍–‍30 | 34‍–‍34 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 68 | 63 | .519 | 16 | 40‍–‍26 | 28‍–‍37 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 66 | 68 | .493 | 19½ | 37‍–‍30 | 29‍–‍38 |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | 50 | 85 | .370 | 36 | 31‍–‍35 | 19‍–‍50 |
| Washington Nationals | 48 | 86 | .358 | 37½ | 26‍–‍38 | 22‍–‍48 |

## 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 |
| AA | St. Louis Browns | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7$^8$ | 3 | 14 | 18 |
| NL | New York Giants | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6$^8$ | 12$^8$ | 5 | 11 | 11 | 7 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Charlie Byrne | Bill McGunnigle |
| Indianapolis Hoosiers | Horace Fogel | Harry Spence |
| New York Metropolitans | Ollie Caylor | Team folded |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Charlie Mason | Bill Sharsig |
| Washington Nationals | John Gaffney | Walter Hewett |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cleveland Blues | Jimmy Williams | Tom Loftus |
| Detroit Wolverines | Bill Watkins | Robert Leadley |
| Kansas City Cowboys | Dave Rowe | Sam Barkley |
| Kansas City Cowboys | Sam Barkley | Bill Watkins |
| Louisville Colonels | Kick Kelly | Mordecai Davidson |
| Louisville Colonels | Mordecai Davidson | John Kerins |
| Washington Statesmen | Walter Hewett | Ted Sullivan |

## 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 | Tip O'Neill (STL) | .335 |
| OPS | John Reilly (CIN) | .864 |
| HR | John Reilly (CIN) | 13 |
| RBI | John Reilly (CIN) | 103 |
| R | George Pinkney (BKN) | 134 |
| H | Tip O'Neill (STL) | 177 |
| SB | Arlie Latham (STL) | 109 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Silver King (STL) | 45 |
| L | Henry Porter (KC) | 37 |
| ERA | Silver King (STL) | 1.63 |
| K | Ed Seward (PHA) | 272 |
| IP | Silver King (STL) | 584.2 |
| SV | John Corkhill (BKN/CIN) Bob Gilks (CLE) Tony Mullane (CIN) | 1 |
| WHIP | Silver King (STL) | 0.874 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Cap Anson (CHI) | .344 |
| OPS | Cap Anson (CHI) | .899 |
| HR | Jimmy Ryan (CHI) | 16 |
| RBI | Cap Anson (CHI) | 84 |
| R | Dan Brouthers (DET) | 118 |
| H | Jimmy Ryan (CHI) | 182 |
| SB | Billy Hoy (WSH) | 82 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Tim Keefe$^1$ (NY) | 35 |
| L | Hank O'Day (WSH) | 29 |
| ERA | Tim Keefe$^1$ (NY) | 1.74 |
| K | Tim Keefe$^1$ (NY) | 335 |
| IP | John Clarkson (BOS) | 483.1 |
| SV | George Wood (PHQ) | 2 |
| WHIP | Tim Keefe (NY) | 0.937 |
$^1$ National League Triple Crown pitching winner