1889 Cincinnati Red Stockings season

1889 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Major League affiliations
American Association (since 1882)
Location
American Park (since 1884)
Cincinnati (since 1882)
Other information
Owner(s)	Aaron Stern
Manager(s)	Gus Schmelz
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The 1889 Cincinnati Red Stockings season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in fourth place in the American Association with a record of 76–63, 18 games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

Regular season

The Red Stockings brought back manager Gus Schmelz for a third season in 1889, as he led the team to two straight seasons of 80 or more victories. Cincinnati would have a new shortstop, signing local area player Ollie Beard to his first contract. Cincinnati also signed rookie Bug Holliday, who would play in the outfield. On the mound, another rookie, Jesse Duryea, would join the Red Stockings.

Bug Holliday had an excellent rookie season, hitting .321 with a league high nineteen home runs and a franchise record 104 RBI. George Tebeau hit .252 with seven homers and 70 RBI, while scoring a team high 110 runs. Hugh Nicol once again led Cincinnati in stolen bases, however, he failed to crack 100 for the first time since joining the team, as he stole 80 bases.

Jesse Duryea was the ace of the Red Stockings staff, going 32–19 with a 2.56 ERA in 53 games. Lee Viau had a 22–20 record with a 3.79 ERA, while Tony Mullane was 11–9 with a 2.99 ERA.

Season summary

Cincinnati began the season badly, as they lost their first four games, and were 5–10 in their first fifteen games. The Red Stockings responded by going 16–6 in their next 22 games to climb into third place, however, the team lost their next seven games to fall under .500 once again and into sixth place. Cincinnati would never be a factor in the pennant race, finishing in fourth place with a 76–63 record, eighteen games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

Season standings

American Association	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Bridegrooms	93	44	0.679	—	50–19	43–25
St. Louis Browns	90	45	0.667	2	51–18	39–27
Philadelphia Athletics	75	58	0.564	16	46–22	29–36
Cincinnati Red Stockings	76	63	0.547	18	47–26	29–37
Baltimore Orioles	70	65	0.519	22	40–24	30–41
Columbus Solons	60	78	0.435	33½	36–33	24–45
Kansas City Cowboys	55	82	0.401	38	35–35	20–47
Louisville Colonels	27	111	0.196	66½	18–46	9–65

Record vs. opponents

1889 American Association Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BR	CIN	COL	KC	LOU	PHI	STL
Baltimore	—	8–12	8–11–2	12–8	11–7	16–4	8–11	7–12–2
Brooklyn	12–8	—	15–5	11–8–2	16–4	19–1	12–7–1	8–11
Cincinnati	11–8–2	5–15	—	11–9	14–6	18–2	9–11	8–12
Columbus	8–12	8–11–2	9–11	—	9–11	13–7	7–12	6–14
Kansas City	7–11	4–16	6–14	11–9	—	13–6	8–12–1	6–14–1
Louisville	4–16	1–19	2–18	7–13	6–13	—	5–14–1	2–18–1
Philadelphia	11–8	7–12–1	11–9	12–7	12–8–1	14–5–1	—	8–9–2
St. Louis	12–7–2	11–8	12–8	14–6	14–6–1	18–2–1	9–8–2	—

Roster

1889 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Roster
Pitchers Theodore Conover Jesse Duryea Tony Mullane Charlie Petty Mike Smith Lee Viau		Catchers Kid Baldwin Jim Keenan Infielders Ollie Beard Hick Carpenter Bid McPhee John Reilly		Outfielders Billy Earle Bug Holliday Hugh Nicol George Tebeau		Manager Gus Schmelz

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	Keenan, JimJim Keenan	87	300	86	.287	6	60
SS	Beard, OllieOllie Beard	141	558	159	.285	1	77
OF	Holliday, BugBug Holliday	135	563	181	.321	19	104
OF	Tebeau, GeorgeGeorge Tebeau	135	496	125	.252	7	70

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
Baldwin, KidKid Baldwin	60	223	55	.247	1	34
Earle, BillyBilly Earle	53	169	45	.266	4	31

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
Duryea, JesseJesse Duryea	53	401	32	19	2.56	183
Viau, LeeLee Viau	47	373	22	20	3.79	152
Mullane, TonyTony Mullane	33	220	11	9	2.99	112
Smith, MikeMike Smith	29	203	9	12	4.88	104
Petty, CharlieCharlie Petty	5	44	2	3	5.52	10

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
Conover, TheodoreTheodore Conover	1	0	0	1	13.50	1

References

• 1889 Cincinnati Red Stockings season at Baseball Reference