1885 New York Metropolitans season
The 1885 New York Metropolitans were hard hit as manager/co-owner Jim Mutrie moved over to manage the New York Giants and took several of the team's stars with him. The Metropolitans finished with a 44–64 record, seventh place in the American Association. Regular season. The Jones game. On April 30, 1885, the Metropolitans played the Philadelphia Athletics, at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan. A man whose first name was not recorded played third base for the Metropolitans in his first game in the AA; an article in "The New York Times" stated  that "A new man covered third base for the local team. He is an amateur, and gave his name as "Jones."" Defensively, Jones recorded two putouts and four assists. When batting, Jones had one hit at four at bats, for a batting average of .250. Multiple newspapers reported on Jones's performance in the game. Both "The New York Times" and "Sporting Life" remarked that Jones had played "a very good game". "The New York Times" said that Jones was expected to join the Metropolitans; however, Jones never played for the team again. The game in which Jones played lasted  one hour and thirty-five minutes, according to "The New York Times". Despite having no errors in the game, the Metropolitans still lost to the Athletics 2–1. The Athletics scored their two runs in the first inning, while the Metropolitans recorded their single run in the third inning. Both of the Athletics' runs were unearned, while the Metropolitans' run was earned. After the game, Metropolitan shortstop Candy Nelson remarked, "that is what I call hard luck, and the hardest kind of hard luck at that." The loss brought the Metropolitans' record to 3–6, and they continued as seventh ranked in  the league. For the remainder of the season, the Metropolitans would remain as seventh or eighth place, finishing in seventh. Player stats. Batting. Starters by position. "Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in" Other batters. "Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in" Pitching. Starting pitchers. "Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA  = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts" Relief pitchers. "Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts"