# 1898 Major League Baseball season

The 1898 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1898. The regular season ended on October 15, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League. Due to lack of enthusiasm from both players and fans, the Temple Cup which had taken place in the four previous seasons was not held, nor was there any other form of a postseason.
The Chicago Colts renamed as the Chicago Orphans.

## Schedule

The 1898 schedule consisted of 154 games for the twelve teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 14 games against the other eleven teams in the league. This format saw an increase to the previously used format, which had each team play 12 games against each other, and had resulted in a total of 132 games. The 154-game format had previously been used by the National League during in 1892.
Opening Day took place on April 15 featuring six teams. The final day of the season was on October 15, featuring eight teams.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| National League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Union Park | 6,500 | Ned Hanlon |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | Frank Selee |
| National League | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | Billy Barnie |
| National League | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | Mike Griffin |
| National League | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | Charles Ebbets |
| National League | Chicago Orphans | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | Tom Burns |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | League Park (Cincinnati) | 9,000 | Buck Ewing |
| National League | Cleveland Spiders | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | Patsy Tebeau |
| National League | Louisville Colonels | Louisville, Kentucky | Eclipse Park | 6,400 | Fred Clarke |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | Bill Joyce |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | Cap Anson |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | George Stallings |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Bill Shettsline |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 6,500 | Bill Watkins |
| National League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | New Sportsman's Park | 14,500 | Tim Hurst |
| National League | Washington Sentaors | Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | Tom Brown |
| National League | Washington Sentaors | Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | Jack Doyle |
| National League | Washington Sentaors | Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | Deacon McGuire |
| National League | Washington Sentaors | Washington, D.C. | Boundary Field | 6,500 | Arthur Irwin |

## Standings
### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Beaneaters | 102 | 47 | .685 | — | 62‍–‍15 | 40‍–‍32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 96 | 53 | .644 | 6 | 58‍–‍15 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 60 | .605 | 11½ | 58‍–‍28 | 34‍–‍32 |
| Chicago Orphans | 85 | 65 | .567 | 17½ | 58‍–‍31 | 27‍–‍34 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 81 | 68 | .544 | 21 | 36‍–‍19 | 45‍–‍49 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 78 | 71 | .523 | 24 | 49‍–‍31 | 29‍–‍40 |
| New York Giants | 77 | 73 | .513 | 25½ | 45‍–‍28 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 76 | .486 | 29½ | 39‍–‍35 | 33‍–‍41 |
| Louisville Colonels | 70 | 81 | .464 | 33 | 43‍–‍34 | 27‍–‍47 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 54 | 91 | .372 | 46 | 30‍–‍41 | 24‍–‍50 |
| Washington Senators | 51 | 101 | .336 | 52½ | 34‍–‍44 | 17‍–‍57 |
| St. Louis Browns | 39 | 111 | .260 | 63½ | 20‍–‍44 | 19‍–‍67 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Chicago Orphans | Cap Anson | Tom Burns |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Patsy Donovan | Bill Watkins |
| St. Louis Browns | Chris von der Ahe | Tim Hurst |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Billy Barnie | Mike Griffin |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | Mike Griffin | Charles Ebbets |
| New York Giants | Bill Joyce | Cap Anson |
| Philadelphia Phillies | George Stallings | Bill Shettsline |
| Washington Senators | Tom Brown | Jack Doyle |
| Washington Senators | Jack Doyle | Deacon McGuire |
| Washington Senators | Deacon McGuire | Arthur Irwin |

## League leaders
### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Willie Keeler (BKN) | .385 |
| OPS | Billy Hamilton (BOS) | .933 |
| HR | Jimmy Collins (BOS) | 15 |
| RBI | Nap Lajoie (PHI) | 127 |
| R | John McGraw (BAL) | 143 |
| H | Willie Keeler (BKN) | 216 |
| SB | Ed Delahanty (PHI) | 58 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Kid Nichols (BOS) | 31 |
| L | Jack Taylor (STL) | 29 |
| ERA | Clark Griffith (CHI) | 1.88 |
| K | Cy Seymour (NY) | 239 |
| IP | Jack Taylor (STL) | 397.1 |
| SV | Kid Nichols (BOS) | 4 |
| WHIP | Kid Nichols (BOS) | 1.034 |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Chicago Orphans | 85 | 44.1% | 424,352 | 29.7% | 4,768 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 21.1% | 336,378 | −0.1% | 3,780 |
| New York Giants | 77 | −7.2% | 265,414 | −32.0% | 3,492 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 78 | 41.8% | 265,414 | −8.5% | 3,277 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 102 | 9.7% | 229,275 | −31.5% | 2,902 |
| St. Louis Browns | 39 | 34.5% | 151,700 | 11.2% | 2,298 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 72 | 20.0% | 150,900 | −9.1% | 2,012 |
| Louisville Colonels | 70 | 34.6% | 128,980 | −11.2% | 1,633 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 96 | 6.7% | 123,416 | −54.8% | 1,624 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 54 | −11.5% | 122,514 | −44.5% | 1,656 |
| Washington Senators | 51 | −16.4% | 103,250 | −31.6% | 1,291 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 81 | 17.4% | 70,496 | −38.8% | 1,237 |