1897 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1897 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in fourth place in the National League with a record of 76–56, 17 games behind the Boston Beaneaters.

1897 Cincinnati Reds
League	National League
Ballpark	League Park
City	Cincinnati
Owners	John T. Brush
Managers	Buck Ewing
Seasons

Offseason

The Cincinnati Reds were coming off a fairly successful season in 1896. They had been in first place late in the year, but the team struggled badly over the last part of the season. to finish in third place in the National League with a 77–50 record. This marked the second consecutive season that the Reds collapsed at the end of the year.

Player-manager Buck Ewing returned to the club, but would retire from playing and focus on just being the manager. The Reds made a deal in the off-season, as Cincinnati traded away Germany Smith, Chauncey Fisher and $1,000 to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for Tommy Corcoran. Corcoran was coming off a season in which he hit .289 with three home runs and 73 RBI with the Bridegrooms in 1896. The team also purchased pitcher Ted Breitenstein from the St. Louis Browns for $10,000. Breitenstein was 18–26 with the Browns with a 4.48 ERA in 43 starts in 1896. His best season had been in 1894 when he was 27–23 with a 4.79 ERA, while leading the National League with 50 starts, 46 complete games and 447.1 innings pitched. Breitenstein also led the NL with a 3.18 ERA in 1893 while in St. Louis.

Regular season

Season summary

The Reds started the season off hot, winning their first six games, and would remain hot, as they were 19–7 in their first twenty-six games, only half a game behind the first place Baltimore Orioles. At that time, the New York Giants released Jake Beckley, and the Reds immediately signed him to take over first base. Despite their new addition, Cincinnati fell into a slump, winning only eight of eighteen games to fall into third place, 6.5 games behind the first place Orioles. The Reds then snapped out of their losing ways, as they won twelve of their next thirteen games to move back into second. However, they still remained 4.5 games out of first with a 39–18 record. Cincinnati remained in the pennant race until late August, when they went on a ten-game losing streak to fall into fourth place, eleven games out of first. They remained in fourth place for the rest of the season, finishing with a 76–56 record, 17 games behind the Boston Beaneaters.

Notable performances

Beckley, who the Reds acquired during the season, led the team offensively, batting .345 with seven home runs and 76 RBI, all team highs. Dusty Miller had another solid year, batting .316 with four homers and 70 RBI, while Tommy Corcoran batted .288 with three home runs and 57 RBI in his first year as a Red.

On the mound, Ted Breitenstein led the way, leading the team with a 23–12 record with a 3.62 ERA in 40 games, completing 32 of them. Billy Rhines was solid also, posting a record of 21–15 with a 4.08 ERA, while Frank Dwyer was 18–13 with an ERA of 3.78.

Season standings

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Beaneaters	93	39	.705	—	54‍–‍12	39‍–‍27
Baltimore Orioles	90	40	.692	2	51‍–‍15	39‍–‍25
New York Giants	83	48	.634	9½	51‍–‍19	32‍–‍29
Cincinnati Reds	76	56	.576	17	49‍–‍18	27‍–‍38
Cleveland Spiders	69	62	.527	23½	49‍–‍16	20‍–‍46
Washington Senators	61	71	.462	32	40‍–‍26	21‍–‍45
Brooklyn Bridegrooms	61	71	.462	32	38‍–‍29	23‍–‍42
Pittsburgh Pirates	60	71	.458	32½	38‍–‍27	22‍–‍44
Chicago Colts	59	73	.447	34	36‍–‍30	23‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies	55	77	.417	38	32‍–‍34	23‍–‍43
Louisville Colonels	52	78	.400	40	34‍–‍31	18‍–‍47
St. Louis Browns	29	102	.221	63½	18‍–‍41	11‍–‍61

Record vs. opponents

1897 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	BAL	BOS	BR	CHI	CIN	CLE	LOU	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL	WSH
Baltimore	—	6–6	9–3–2	9–3–3	6–6	7–4	10–1	5–7	10–2–1	9–3	10–2	9–3
Boston	6–6	—	9–3	8–4–1	9–3	7–5	9–3	8–4	10–2–1	10–2	10–2	7–5–1
Brooklyn	3–9–2	3–9	—	6–6	7–5	7–5	5–7	3–9–2	6–6	7–5	7–5	7–5
Chicago	3–9–3	4–8–1	6–6	—	5–7	4–8	6–6–1	5–7–1	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–5
Cincinnati	6–6	3–9	5–7	7–5	—	7–5	9–3	7–5–1	8–4	5–7–1	11–1	8–4
Cleveland	4–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	5–7	—	5–7	3–9	9–3	6–6	11–1–1	8–4
Louisville	1–10	3–9	7–5	6–6–1	3–9	7–5	—	6–6–1	3–9	4–8–2	8–3–1	4–8–1
New York	7–5	4–8	9–3–2	7–5–1	5–7–1	9–3	6–6–1	—	7–5	8–3–1	12–0	9–3–1
Philadelphia	2–10–1	2–10–1	6–6	7–5	4–8	3–9	9–3	5–7	—	5–7	8–4	4–8
Pittsburgh	3–9	2–10	5–7	6–6	7–5–1	6–6	8–4–2	3–8–1	7–5	—	8–4	5–7
St. Louis	2–10	2–10	5–7	4–8	1–11	1–11–1	3–8–1	0–12	4–8	4–8	—	3–9
Washington	3–9	5–7–1	5–7	5–7	4–8	4–8	8–4–1	3–9–1	8–4	7–5	9–3	—

Game log

Legend
Reds Win	Reds Loss	Game Tied/Postponed

1897 Game Log: 76–56 (Home: 49–18; Away: 27–38)
April: 6–1 (Home: 6–1; Away: 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 1 April 22 Colts 8–7 League Park 10,000 1-0 W1 2 April 23 Colts 4–3 League Park 3,000 2-0 W2 3 April 24 Colts 4–3 League Park 5,000 3-0 W3 - April 25 Colts Postponed (rain); Makeup: April 23 4 April 26 Spiders 6–3 League Park 3,500 4-0 W4 5 April 27 Spiders 7–3 League Park 5,000 5-0 W5 6 April 28 Spiders 5–0 League Park 3,000 6-0 W6 7 April 29 Pirates 7–8 League Park 400 6-1 L1 - April 30 Pirates Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 4
May: 17–10 (Home: 14–4; Away: 3–6) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak - May 1 Pirates Postponed (wet grounds); Makeup: August 9 8 May 3 @ Spiders 2–6 League Park 4,500 6-2 L2 - May 4 @ Spiders Postponed (rain, site change); Makeup: August 5 9 May 5 @ Spiders 3–2 League Park 2,000 7-2 W1 10 May 6 @ Pirates 1–3 Exposition Park 3,100 7-3 L1 11 May 7 @ Pirates 6–7 Exposition Park 3,000 7-4 L2 12 May 8 @ Pirates 1–9 Exposition Park 8,400 7-5 L3 13 May 9 @ Colts 2–5 West Side Park 16,700 7-6 L4 14 May 10 @ Colts 7–5 West Side Park 3,100 8-6 W1 15 May 11 @ Colts 6–5 West Side Park 1,200 9-6 W2 16 May 12 @ Colts 1–8 West Side Park 1,600 9-7 L1 17 May 13 Giants 7–3 League Park 3,000 10-7 W1 18 May 14 Giants 6–5 League Park 4,000 11-7 W2 19 May 15 Giants 9–7 League Park 4,000 12-7 W3 20 May 16 Colonels 7–6 League Park 15,000 13-7 W4 21 May 17 Phillies 3–2 League Park 4,000 14-7 W5 22 May 18 Phillies 13–2 League Park 3,000 15-7 W6 23 May 19 Phillies 7–6 League Park 3,000 16-7 W7 24 May 20 Orioles 11–10 League Park 7,000 17-7 W8 25 May 21 Orioles 6–5 League Park 8,000 18-7 W9 26 May 22 Orioles 12–10 League Park 15,000 19-7 W10 27 May 23 Bridegrooms 4–6 League Park 7,000 19-8 L1 28 May 24 Bridegrooms 4–6 League Park 3,000 19-9 L2 29 May 25 Bridegrooms 2–6 League Park 4,000 19-10 L3 30 May 27 Beaneaters 7–16 League Park 3,000 19-11 L4' - May 28 Beaneaters Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 20 31 May 29 Beaneaters 2–1 League Park 5,000 20-11 W1 32 May 30 Senators 8–7 League Park 7,000 21-11 W2 33 May 31 1 Senators 4–3 League Park 2,000 22-11 W3 34 May 31 2 Senators 4–3 League Park 9,000 23-11 W4
June: 10–6 (Home: 5–0; Away: 5–6) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 35 June 2 @ Orioles 4–10 Union Park 5,965 23-12 L1 - June 3 @ Orioles Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 30 - June 4 @ Orioles Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 27 36 June 5 @ Phillies 6–1 National League Park 12,488 24-12 W1 37 June 7 @ Phillies 0–4 National League Park 3,449 24-13 L1 - June 8 @ Phillies Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 20 - June 9 @ Giants Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 31 - June 10 @ Giants Postponed (wet grounds); Makeup: September 3 38 June 11 @ Giants 2–1 Polo Grounds 6,500 25-13 W1 39 June 12 @ Beaneaters 1–5 South End Grounds 8,500 25-14 L1 40 June 14 @ Beaneaters 3–5 South End Grounds 3,325 25-15 L2 41 June 15 @ Beaneaters 4–10 South End Grounds 2,600 25-16 L3 42 June 16 @ Bridegrooms 15–6 Eastern Park 2,714 26-16 W1 43 June 17 @ Bridegrooms 9–1 Eastern Park 2,524 27-16 W2 44 June 19 @ Bridegrooms 0–1 Eastern Park 5,454 27-17 L1 45 June 21 Browns 8–3 League Park 2,500 28-17 W1 46 June 22 Browns 7–3 League Park 4,000 29-17 W2 47 June 23 Browns 5–1 League Park 2,500 30-17 W3 48 June 26 Colonels 7–1 League Park 6,000 31-17 W4 49 June 27 Colonels 4–2 League Park 8,000 32-17 W5 - June 28 @ Browns Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 25 - June 29 @ Browns Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 26 50 June 30 @ Browns 3–0 New Sportsman's Park 2,500 33-17 W6
July: 17–10 (Home: 14–8; Away: 3–2) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 51 July 1 @ Colonels 14–4 Eclipse Park 1,300 34-17 W7 52 July 2 @ Colonels 1–4 Eclipse Park 1,000 34-18 L1 53 July 3 @ Colonels 12–0 Eclipse Park 2,000 35-18 W1 54 July 4 Orioles 5–4 League Park 10,000 36-18 W2 - July 5 Orioles Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 6 55 July 5 Orioles 8–5 League Park 11,000 37-18 W3 56 July 6 Orioles 10–3 League Park 4,000 38-18 W4 57 July 8 Phillies 6–3 League Park 4,000 39-18 W5 58 July 9 Phillies 7–19 League Park 2,300 39-19 L1 59 July 10 Phillies 6–3 League Park 4,000 40-19 W1 60 July 11 Colonels 9–4 League Park 4,200 41-19 W2 61 July 12 Giants 5–8 League Park 3,500 41-20 L1 62 July 13 Giants 5–4 League Park 4,500 42-20 W1 63 July 14 Giants 11–6 League Park 3,500 43-20 W2 64 July 15 Senators 5–16 League Park 3,200 43-21 L1 65 July 17 Senators 14–2 League Park 4,200 44-21 W1 66 July 18 Senators 4–3 League Park 8,000 45-21 W2 67 July 19 Beaneaters 3–9 League Park 8,000 45-22 L1 68 July 20 1 Beaneaters 3–9 League Park N/A 45-23 L2 69 July 20 2 Beaneaters 12–1 League Park 10,200 46-23 W1 70 July 21 Beaneaters 6–10 League Park 6,000 46-24 L1 71 July 22 Bridegrooms 7–9 League Park 3,000 46-25 L2 - July 24 Bridegrooms Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 25 72 July 25 1 Bridegrooms 7–4 League Park N/A 47-25 W1 73 July 25 2 Bridegrooms 11–4 League Park 14,000 48-25 W2 - July 26 @ Colts Postponed (schedule change); Makeup: May 12 74 July 27 @ Colts 3–4 West Side Park 3,800 48-26 L1 75 July 28 @ Colts 6–3 West Side Park 4,200 49-26 W1 76 July 30 Spiders 8–2 League Park 6,000 50-26 W2 77 July 31 Spiders 3–6 League Park 5,500 50-27 L1
August: 12–15 (Home: 9–5; Away: 3–10) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 78 August 1 Spiders 12–5 League Park 8,000 51-27 W1 79 August 2 Pirates 9–2 League Park 3,000 52-27 W2 80 August 3 Pirates 6–7 League Park 2,700 52-28 L1 81 August 4 1 Pirates 14–3 League Park N/A 53-28 W1 82 August 4 2 Pirates 3–3 League Park 3,500 53-28 W1 83 August 5 Spiders 5–4 League Park 3,000 54-28 W2 84 August 7 Colonels 5–0 League Park 4,000 55-28 W3 85 August 8 Colonels 2–8 League Park 7,000 55-29 L1 86 August 9 1 Pirates 5–7 League Park N/A 55-30 L2 87 August 9 2 Pirates 8–1 League Park 7,000 56-30 W1 88 August 10 Browns 8–6 League Park 2,000 57-30 W2 89 August 11 Browns 6–5 League Park 2,000 58-30 W3 90 August 13 Colts 0–2 League Park 7,000 58-31 L1 91 August 14 Colts 9–10 League Park 7,000 58-32 L2 92 August 15 Colts 3–2 League Park 8,000 59-32 W1 - August 16 Colts Postponed (schedule change); Makeup: August 13 93 August 19 @ Phillies 4–3 National League Park 2,154 60-32 W2 94 August 20 1 @ Phillies 2–6 National League Park N/A 60-33 L1 95 August 20 2 @ Phillies 4–3 National League Park 4,263 61-33 W1 96 August 21 @ Phillies 1–8 National League Park 4,000 61-34 L1 - August 23 @ Senators Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 11 97 August 24 @ Senators 9–6 Boundary Field 3,000 62-34 W1 98 August 25 @ Senators 0–4 Boundary Field 1,500 62-35 L1 99 August 26 @ Orioles 2–3 Union Park 3,943 62-36 L2 100 August 27 1 @ Orioles 0–5 Union Park N/A 62-37 L3 101 August 27 2 @ Orioles 3–5 Union Park 7,039 62-38 L4 102 August 28 @ Orioles 2–7 Union Park 5,607 62-39 L5 103 August 30 @ Orioles 1–7 Union Park 3,205 62-40 L6 104 August 31 1 @ Giants 6–7 Polo Grounds N/A 62-41 L7 105 August 31 2 @ Giants 1–9 Polo Grounds 11,000 62-42 L8
September/October: 14–14 (Home: 1–0; Away: 13–14) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 106 September 1 @ Giants 7–8 Polo Grounds 4,100 62-43 L9 107 September 2 @ Giants 3–3 Polo Grounds 3,700 62-43 L9 108 September 3 1 @ Giants 11–1 Polo Grounds N/A 63-43 W1 109 September 3 2 @ Giants 3–13 Polo Grounds 9,100 63-44 L1 110 September 4 @ Beaneaters 6–7 South End Grounds 6,500 63-45 L2 111 September 6 1 @ Beaneaters 5–3 South End Grounds 6,500 64-45 W1 112 September 6 2 @ Beaneaters 2–10 South End Grounds 12,000 64-46 L1 113 September 8 @ Bridegrooms 4–2 Eastern Park 1,120 65-46 W1 114 September 9 @ Bridegrooms 1–7 Eastern Park 1,728 65-47 L1 115 September 10 @ Bridegrooms 4–11 Eastern Park 1,521 65-48 L2 116 September 11 1 @ Senators 19–10 Boundary Field N/A 66-48 W1 117 September 11 2 @ Senators 4–8 Boundary Field 3,000 66-49 L1 118 September 13 @ Senators 2–1 Boundary Field 3,000 67-49 W1 119 September 14 @ Senators 9–10 Boundary Field 4,000 67-50 L1 - September 16 @ Spiders Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 18 120 September 17 @ Spiders 3–14 League Park 700 67-51 L2 121 September 18 1 @ Spiders 0–6 League Park N/A 67-52 L3 122 September 18 2 @ Spiders 3–4 League Park 2,500 67-53 L4 123 September 19 Browns 5–4 League Park 2,000 68-53 W1 124 September 21 @ Pirates 11–3 Exposition Park 1,500 69-53 W2 125 September 22 1 @ Pirates 13–2 Exposition Park N/A 70-53 W3 126 September 22 2 @ Pirates 4–8 Exposition Park 1,800 70-54 L1 - September 23 @ Pirates Postponed (schedule change); Makeup: September 22 127 September 25 1 @ Browns 7–5 New Sportsman's Park N/A 71-54 W1 128 September 25 2 @ Browns 8–7 New Sportsman's Park 3,000 72-54 W2 129 September 26 1 @ Browns 10–4 New Sportsman's Park N/A 73-54 W3 130 September 26 2 @ Browns 8–6 New Sportsman's Park N/A 74-54 W4 131 September 27 @ Browns 4–5 New Sportsman's Park 500 74-55 L1 - September 30 @ Colonels Postponed (unknown reason); Makeup: October 1 132 October 1 @ Colonels 3–5 Eclipse Park 2,500 74-56 L2 133 October 2 @ Colonels 9–8 Eclipse Park 1,500 75-56 W1 134 October 3 @ Colonels 9–7 Eclipse Park 5,500 76-56 W2

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Heinie Peitz	77	266	78	.293	1	44
1B	Jake Beckley	97	365	126	.345	7	76
2B	Bid McPhee	81	282	85	.301	1	39
SS	Claude Ritchey	101	337	95	.282	0	41
3B	Charlie Irwin	134	505	146	.289	0	74
OF	Eddie Burke	95	387	103	.266	1	41
OF	Dusty Miller	119	440	139	.316	4	70
OF	Dummy Hoy	128	497	145	.292	2	42

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Tommy Corcoran	109	445	128	.288	3	57
Farmer Vaughn	54	199	58	.291	0	30
Bug Holliday	61	195	61	.313	2	20
Pop Schriver	61	178	54	.303	1	30
Buck Ewing	1	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ted Breitenstein	40	320.1	23	12	3.62	98
Billy Rhines	41	288.2	21	15	4.08	65
Frank Dwyer	37	247.1	18	13	3.78	41
Bill Dammann	16	95.0	6	4	4.74	21

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Red Ehret	34	184.1	8	10	4.78	43
Stub Brown	2	13.0	0	1	4.15	2
Heinie Peitz	2	8.0	0	1	7.88	0

External links

• 1897 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference