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1886 Major League Baseball season

The 1886 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1886. The regular season ended on October 15, with the Chicago White Stockings 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 third World's Championship Series on October 18 and ended with Game 6 on October 23, in what was a best-of-seven-playoff. The Browns defeated the White Stockings, four games to two, capturing their first World's Championship Series.

Over the offseason, the National League's Buffalo Bisons transfer into the minor league International League and Providence Grays fold. The two open spots are filled by the newly enfranchised Kansas City Cowboys and Washington Nationals.

Schedule

The 1886 schedule consisted of 140 games for all American Association teams and 126 games for all National League, each of which had eight teams. Each AA team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams, while each NL team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other seven teams. Both the AA's 140-game format and NL's 126-game format were newly-implementation for the 1886 season, each replacing the 112-game, 16 games against the other seven teams format that both leagues had from 1884 and 1885. The NL would adopt the AA's format in , and each league would use this 140-game format until .

American Association Opening Day took place on April 17 featuring six teams, while National League Opening Day took place on April 29, also featuring six teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 15 with a doubleheader between the New York Metropolitans and Philadelphia Athletics, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 11 with a game between the Kansas City Cowboys and Washington Nationals. The 1886 World's Championship Series took place between October 18 and October 23.

Rule changes

The 1886 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Stolen bases became an official statistic.
  • In the American Association, six balls became a base on balls, down from eight, while in the National League, seven balls became a base on balls, up from six.
  • The pitcher's box was extended by one foot in the direction of second base, from six to seven feet.
  • In the American Association, a one-foot-long by four-foot-wide smooth flat stone was placed in front of the pitcher's box.
  • In the American Association the batter's box was extended by one foot in width, on either side of home plate, expanding from three feet wide and one foot from home plate to four feet wide and six inches from home plate, copying the change the National League did the previous season.
  • The American Association allowed home plate to be made out of white stone.
  • The reserve rule was expanded to cover 12 players on each team, up from 11 established in .

Teams

Sunday games

Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing the Brooklyn Grays 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.

Standings

American Association

National League

Tie games

28 tie games (13 in AA, 15 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

American Association

  • Baltimore Orioles, 8
  • Brooklyn Grays, 4
  • Cincinnati Red Stockings, 3
  • Louisville Colonels, 2
  • New York Metropolitans, 2
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 4
  • Pittsburgh Alleghenys, 3

National League

  • Boston Beaneaters, 1
  • Chicago White Stockings, 2
  • Detroit Wolverines, 3
  • Kansas City Cowboys, 5
  • New York Giants, 5
  • Philadelphia Quakers, 5
  • St. Louis Maroons, 4
  • Washington Nationals, 5

Postseason

Bracket

<section begin=Bracket/>

  • Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

Off-season

In-season

League leaders

Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American Association

<sup>1</sup> All-time single-season strikeouts record

National League

Milestones

Batters

Cycles

Pitchers

No-hitters

  • Al Atkinson (PHA):
  • Atkinson threw his second career no-hitter and second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Metropolitans 3&ndash;2 on May 1. Atkinson walked three and struck out seven.
  • Adonis Terry (BRO):
  • Terry threw his first career no-hitter and second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Browns 1&ndash;0 on July 24. Terry walked two and struck out three.
  • Matt Kilroy (BAL):
  • Kilroy threw his first career no-hitter and first no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Pittsburgh Alleghenys 6&ndash;0 on October 6. Only three Alleghenys reached base.

Other pitching accomplishments

  • Matt Kilroy (BAL):
  • Set the Major League single-season record for most strikeouts, striking out 513.
  • Charlie Sweeney (SLM):
  • Sets the Major League single-season record for most allowed home runs in a single game, allowing 7 home runs in a 14–7 loss to the Detroit Wolverines on June 12.

Miscellaneous

Venues

The National League saw two teams join for the 1886 season:

The 1886 season saw two teams play their final games at their respective ballparks:

The Brooklyn Grays of the American Association begin hosting Sunday games, playing 14 games at Ridgewood Park in Ridgewood, New York on May 2, 16, 23, 30, June 6, 13, 20, July 18, 25, August 1, 22, 29, September 12 and 19.

See also

References

External links