# 1882 Major League Baseball season

The 1882 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through October 2, 1882. It was the inaugural season for the American Association (AA) and seventh season for the National League (NL). The Cincinnati Red Stockings won the AA pennant, while the Chicago White Stockings won the NL pennant. There was no postseason.
The American Association was established as a six-team league in cities not represented by the National League. The AA was established with the expectation that it would have more of a "liberal policy" and better labor relations, threatening the puritanical NL, which itself had formal behavior codes with associated policies and procedures and a blacklist for players who did not comply to said rules. The AA also refused to recognize the NL's reserve lists.
Three of the six teams of the American Association survive to this day as National League teams; the Cincinnati Red Stockings, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and St. Louis Brown Stockings are today's Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1882 season was the last for the Troy Trojans and Worcester Worcesters.

## Schedule

The 1882 schedule consisted of 80 games for all teams in the six-team American Association, and 84 games for all teams in the eight-team National League. Each American Association team was scheduled to play 16 games against the other five teams, while each National League was scheduled to play 12 games against the other seven teams. The 80-game format was unique to the American Association's 1882 season. Meanwhile, the National League had been playing their 84-game schedule, since 1879, though 1882 would be their last. The following season would see both leagues take on a 98-game format, playing 14 games each against their seven opponents.
National League Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all eight teams, while American Association Opening Day took place on May 2, featuring all six teams. The National League would see its final day of the regular season on October 2 featuring a game between the Boston Red Caps and Providence Grays, while the American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 1, featuring a game between the Louisville Eclipse and St. Louis Brown Stockings.

## Rule changes

The 1882 season saw the following rule changes:
* While the National League determined its championship by number of wins, the American Association would determine its championship by winning percentage.
* Pitchers were now allowed to throw sidearm.

## 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 | Newington Park | Unknown | Henry Myers |
| American Association | Cincinnati Red Stockings | Cincinnati, Ohio | Bank Street Grounds | 3,000 | Pop Snyder |
| American Association | Louisville Eclipse | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 1,200 | Denny Mack |
| American Association | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Oakdale Park | 1,500 | Juice Latham |
| American Association | Pittsburgh Alleghenys | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | Unknown | Al Pratt |
| American Association | St. Louis Brown Stockings | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 6,000 | Ned Cuthbert |
| National League | Boston Red Caps | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 3,000 | John Morrill |
| National League | Buffalo Bisons | Buffalo, New York | Riverside Park (Buffalo) | 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 | Jim McCormick |
| National League | Cleveland Blues | Cleveland, Ohio | National League Park | Unknown | Fred Dunlap |
| National League | Detroit Wolverines | Detroit, Michigan | Recreation Park | Unknown | Frank Bancroft |
| National League | Providence Grays | Providence, Rhode Island | Messer Street Grounds | 6,000 | Harry Wright |
| National League | Troy Trojans | Greenbush, New York | Riverside Park (Greenbush)* | Unknown* | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Troy Trojans | Watervliet, New York | Troy Ball Clubs Grounds | Unknown | Bob Ferguson |
| National League | Worcester Worcesters | Worcester, Massachusetts | Agricultural County Fair Grounds | Unknown | Freeman Brown |
| National League | Worcester Worcesters | Worcester, Massachusetts | Agricultural County Fair Grounds | Unknown | Tommy Bond |
| National League | Worcester Worcesters | Worcester, Massachusetts | Agricultural County Fair Grounds | Unknown | Jack Chapman |
* ^ In today's Rensselaer.

## Standings
### American Association

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 55 | 25 | .688 | — | 31‍–‍11 | 24‍–‍14 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 41 | 34 | .547 | 11½ | 21‍–‍18 | 20‍–‍16 |
| Louisville Eclipse | 42 | 38 | .525 | 13 | 26‍–‍13 | 16‍–‍25 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 39 | 39 | .500 | 15 | 17‍–‍20 | 22‍–‍19 |
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | 37 | 43 | .463 | 18 | 24‍–‍20 | 13‍–‍23 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 19 | 54 | .260 | 32½ | 7‍–‍25 | 12‍–‍29 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Stockings | 55 | 29 | .655 | — | 35‍–‍10 | 20‍–‍19 |
| Providence Grays | 52 | 32 | .619 | 3 | 30‍–‍12 | 22‍–‍20 |
| Boston Red Caps | 45 | 39 | .536 | 10 | 27‍–‍15 | 18‍–‍24 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 45 | 39 | .536 | 10 | 26‍–‍13 | 19‍–‍26 |
| Cleveland Blues | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 21‍–‍19 | 21‍–‍21 |
| Detroit Wolverines | 42 | 41 | .506 | 12½ | 24‍–‍18 | 18‍–‍23 |
| Troy Trojans | 35 | 48 | .422 | 19½ | 22‍–‍20 | 13‍–‍28 |
| Worcester Worcesters | 18 | 66 | .214 | 37 | 12‍–‍30 | 6‍–‍36 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Red Caps | Harry Wright | John Morrill |
| Cleveland Blues | John Clapp | Jim McCormick |
| Providence Grays | Tom York | Harry Wright |
| Worcester Worcesters | Harry Stovey | Freeman Brown |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Cleveland Blues | Jim McCormick | Fred Dunlap |
| Worcester Worcesters | Freeman Brown | Tommy Bond |
| Worcester Worcesters | Tommy Bond | Jack Chapman |

## 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 | Pete Browning (LOU) | .378 |
| OPS | Pete Browning (LOU) | .940 |
| HR | Oscar Walker (STL) | 7 |
| RBI | Hick Carpenter (CIN) | 67 |
| R | Ed Smartwood (PIT) | 87 |
| H | Hick Carpenter (CIN) | 120 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Will White (CIN) | 40 |
| L | Doc Landis (BAL/PHI) | 29 |
| ERA | Denny Driscoll (PIT) | 1.21 |
| K | Tony Mullane (LOU) | 170 |
| IP | Will White (CIN) | 480.0 |
| SV | Eddie Fusselback (STL) | 1 |
| WHIP | Guy Hecker (LOU) | 0.769 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .368 |
| OPS | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | .950 |
| HR | George Wood (DET) | 7 |
| RBI | Cap Anson (CHI) | 83 |
| R | George Gore (CHI) | 99 |
| H | Dan Brouthers (BUF) | 129 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jim McCormick (CLE) | 36 |
| L | Lee Richmond (WOR) | 33 |
| ERA | Larry Corcoran (CHI) | 1.95 |
| K | Charles Radbourn (PRO) | 201 |
| IP | Jim McCormick (CLE) | 595.2 |
| SV | John Ward (PRO) | 1 |
| WHIP | Larry Corcoran (CHI) | 0.967 |