YEAR IN REVIEW : 1899 National League

Off the field...

When their demand that only union men be employed was refused, members of the Western Federation of Miners dynamited the $250,000 mill of the Bunker Hill Company at Wardner, Idaho, destroying it completely. President William S. McKinley responded by sending in hundreds of black soldiers from Brownsville, Texas with orders to round up the thousands of miners and confine them in specially built cages called "bullpens".

In the National League...

The largest baseball crowd ever to date (24,000+) turned out at the West Side Grounds to watch the Chicago Orphans play the visiting St. Louis Perfectos. The home team Orphans won the contest 4-0 despite a poor showing by pitcher James Callahan who allowed twelve hits.

A motion to change the name of the Western League to the American League was successfully introduced by W.F.C. Golt of Indianapolis.

On October 8th, three teams played in a single double header at Chicago. Game one pitted the hometown Orphans against the Cleveland Spiders as Jake Taylor tossed his first shut out and thirty-ninth complete game of the season en route to a 13-0 Chicago victory. Game two matched the winners against the Louisville Colonels and ended with another 7-3 Chicago decision, after the game was called due to darkness after only five innings.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"A lovely shade of cardinal." - Anonymous woman describing the new St. Louis uniforms which was overheard by William McHale of the St. Louis Republic

1899 National League Player Review

1898 | 1899 Hitting Statistics League Leaders | 1900

Base on Balls John McGraw Baltimore 124 Top 25
Batting Average Ed Delahanty Philadelphia .410 Top 25
Doubles Ed Delahanty Philadelphia 55 Top 25
Hits Ed Delahanty Philadelphia 238 Top 25
Home Runs Buck Freeman Washington 25 Top 25
On Base Percentage John McGraw Baltimore .547 Top 25
RBI Ed Delahanty Philadelphia 137 Top 25
Runs Willie Keeler Brooklyn 140 Top 25
John McGraw Baltimore
Slugging Average Ed Delahanty Philadelphia .582 Top 25
Stolen Bases Jimmy Sheckard Baltimore 77 Top 25
Total Bases Ed Delahanty Philadelphia 338 Top 25
Triples Jimmy Williams Pittsburgh 27 Top 25
1899 N.L. History | Year-by-Year History

1899 National League Pitcher Review

1898 | 1899 Pitching Statistics League Leaders | 1900

Complete Games Bill Carrick New York 40 Top 25
Jack Powell St. Louis
Cy Young St. Louis
ERA Vic Willis Boston 2.50 Top 25
Games Sam Leever Pittsburgh 51 Top 25
Saves Sam Leever Pittsburgh 3 Top 25
Shutouts Vic Willis Boston 5 Top 25
Strikeouts Noodles Hahn Cincinnati 145 Top 25
Winning Percentage Jay Hughes Brooklyn .824 Top 25
Al Orth Philadelphia
Wins Jay Hughes Brooklyn 28 Top 25
Joe McGinnity Baltimore
1899 N.L. History | Year-by-Year History

1899 National League

Team Standings

Brooklyn Superbas 101 47 2 .682 0
Boston Beaneaters 95 57 1 .625 8
Philadelphia Phillies 94 58 2 .618 9
Baltimore Orioles 86 62 4 .581 15
St. Louis Perfectos 84 67 4 .556 18½
Cincinnati Reds 83 67 7 .553 19
Pittsburgh Pirates 76 73 5 .510 25½
Chicago Orphans 75 73 4 .507 26
Louisville Colonels 75 77 3 .493 28
New York Giants 60 90 3 .400 42
Washington Senators 54 98 3 .355 49
Cleveland Spiders 20 134 0 .130 84
1899 National League Team Standings

1899 National League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Cincinnati 485
Batting Average Philadelphia .301
Doubles Philadelphia 241
Hits Philadelphia 1,613
Home Runs St. Louis 47
On Base Percentage Brooklyn .368
Runs Philadelphia 916
Slugging Average Philadelphia .395
Stolen Bases Baltimore 364
Triples Pittsburgh 121

1899 National League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Chicago 147
ERA Brooklyn 3.25
Fewest Hits Allowed Boston 1,273
Fewest Home Runs Allowed Baltimore 13
Fewest Walks Allowed St. Louis 321
Saves Brooklyn 9
Shutouts Philadelphia 15
Strikeouts New York 397
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

On April 30, 1899, the largest crowd to date watched the Chicago Orphans defeat the St. Louis Perfectos 4-0. The fans, 27,849 in total, watched from the outfield and balls hit into the crowd were counted as singles.

Jay Parker, on September 27, 1899, made his Major League debut on the mound and issued two base on balls. He was relieved and both runs scored. Parker never appeared in another Major League game and his lifetime earned run average is infinite!

Did you know that when the Cleveland Spiders lost both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 12, 1899, giving them a 19-114 record, they broke the all-time record for most losses during a single season by a baseball team?