1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings season

1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Major League affiliations
American Association (since 1882)
Location
American Park (since 1884)
Cincinnati (since 1882)
Other information
Owner(s)	George Herancourt
Manager(s)	O. P. Caylor
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The 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American Association, 16 games behind the St. Louis Browns.

Regular season

During the off-season, the Red Stockings hired O. P. Caylor to become the manager of the team, the first time in club history that the club did not have a player-manager. Cincinnati also signed Tony Mullane to a contract. Mullane, who spent the 1884 season with the Toledo Blue Stockings, had a 36–26 record with a 2.52 ERA in 67 starts, striking out 325 batters. Mullane was suspended for the 1885 season for defying his contract, as the Blue Stockings and the St. Louis Maroons, another team he tried to sign with, folded after the 1884 season, and the St. Louis Browns attempted to reclaim Mullane, as he pitched there in 1883. Before the Browns could reclaim him, he signed with the Red Stockings.

Frank Fennelly, who the Red Stockings acquired late in the 1884 season from the Washington Nationals, had a breakout season, hitting .273 with ten home runs and a league high 89 RBI. Charley Jones led the team with a .322 average, and had five home runs and 35 RBI to go along with it, while John Reilly hit .297 with five homers and 60 RBI.

On the mound, nineteen-year-old Larry McKeon led the Red Stockings with 20 wins and a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts, while Will White had eighteen wins and a 3.53 ERA in 34 starts.

Season summary

Cincinnati began the season very well, putting up an impressive 16–8 record in their first 24 games to sit in second place in the league, two games behind the St. Louis Browns. The Red Stockings then began to slump, as they would win only six of their next sixteen games to slip into third place, seven games behind the Browns. On July 1, the Red Stockigns acquired Jim Keenan and Larry McKeon, who both jumped from the Detroit Wolverines to join Cincinnati. The Red Stockings improved with their new acquisitions in the lineup, as the team eventually moved back into second place, however, they were too far behind the Browns, and Cincinnati finished the season with a 63–49 record, good for second place, however, they were sixteen games out of first.

Season standings

American Association	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Browns	79	33	0.705	—	44–11	35–22
Cincinnati Red Stockings	63	49	0.562	16	35–21	28–28
Pittsburg Alleghenys	56	55	0.505	22½	37–19	19–36
Philadelphia Athletics	55	57	0.491	24	33–23	22–34
Brooklyn Grays	53	59	0.473	26	35–22	18–37
Louisville Colonels	53	59	0.473	26	37–19	16–40
New York Metropolitans	44	64	0.407	33	28–24	16–40
Baltimore Orioles	41	68	0.376	36½	29–26	12–42

Record vs. opponents

1885 American Association Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BR	CIN	LOU	NY	PHI	PIT	STL
Baltimore	—	7–9	6–10	7–9	7–6	6–10–1	6–10	2–14
Brooklyn	9–7	—	5–11	10–6	8–8	11–5	6–10	4–12
Cincinnati	10–6	11–5	—	8–8	10–6	9–7	9–7	6–10
Louisville	9–7	6–10	8–8	—	9–7	8–8	6–10	7–9
New York	6–7	8–8	6–10	7–9	—	5–11	8–7	4–12
Philadelphia	10–6–1	5–11	7–9	8–8	11–5	—	10–6	4–12
Pittsburg	10–6	10–6	7–9	10–6	7–8	6–10	—	6–10
St. Louis	14–2	12–4	10–6	9–7	12–4	12–4	10–6	—

Notable transactions

• July 1, 1885: Jim Keenan jumped to the Red Stockings from the Detroit Wolverines.^[1]

Roster

1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Roster
Pitchers Bill McCaffrey Larry McKeon Bill Mountjoy George Pechiney Gus Shallix Will White		Catchers Kid Baldwin Jim Keenan Jimmy Peoples Phil Powers Pop Snyder Infielders Hick Carpenter Frank Fennelly Bid McPhee John Reilly		Outfielders Jim Clinton Pop Corkhill Charley Jones		Manager O. P. Caylor

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	Snyder, PopPop Snyder	39	152	36	.237	1	19
1B	Reilly, JohnJohn Reilly	111	482	143	.297	5	60
2B	McPhee, BidBid McPhee	110	431	114	.265	0	46
3B	Carpenter, HickHick Carpenter	112	473	131	.277	2	61
SS	Fennelly, FrankFrank Fennelly	112	454	124	.273	10	89
OF	Jones, CharleyCharley Jones	112	487	157	.322	5	35
OF	Corkhill, PopPop Corkhill	112	440	111	.252	1	53
OF	Clinton, JimJim Clinton	105	408	97	.238	0	34

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
Keenan, JimJim Keenan	36	132	35	.265	1	15
Baldwin, KidKid Baldwin	34	126	17	.135	1	8
Powers, PhilPhil Powers	15	60	16	.267	0	7
Peoples, JimmyJimmy Peoples	7	22	4	.182	0	1

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
White, WillWill White	34	293.1	18	15	3.53	80
McKeon, LarryLarry McKeon	33	290	20	13	2.86	117
Mountjoy, BillBill Mountjoy	17	153.2	10	7	3.16	50
Shallix, GusGus Shallix	13	91.1	6	4	3.25	15
Pechiney, GeorgeGeorge Pechiney	11	98	7	4	2.02	49
Peoples, JimmyJimmy Peoples	2	15	0	2	12.00	4
McCaffrey, BillBill McCaffrey	1	9	1	0	6.00	2

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
Baldwin, KidKid Baldwin	2	4	0	0	9.00	1

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Corkhill, PopPop Corkhill	8	1	4	1	3.65	12
Keenan, JimJim Keenan	1	0	0	0	1.13	0

Notes

1. Jim Keenan page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings season at Baseball Reference