With the 1888 season, the Brooklyn Grays underwent a name change to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, a nickname that resulted from several team members getting married around the same time. Also, owner Charles Byrne decided to withdraw from managing the team's on field activities and turned the reins over to more experienced baseball manager Bill McGunnigle. That, along with the Bridegrooms' purchase of several top players from the defunct New York Metropolitans, led to a dramatic on field improvement as the team finished in second place in the American Association.

Offseason October 20, 1887: Jim Donahue was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the New York Metropolitans for $25,000.Jim Donahue page at Baseball Reference October 20, 1887: Bill Fagan,Bill Fagan page at Baseball Reference Frank Hankinson,Frank Hankinson page at Baseball Reference Bill Holbert,Bill Holbert page at Baseball Reference Al Mays,Al Mays page at Baseball Reference Darby O'BrienDarby O'Brien page at Baseball Reference and Paul RadfordPaul Radford page at Baseball Reference were purchased by the Bridegrooms from the New York Metropolitans. November 21, 1887: Doc Bushong was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the St. Louis Browns.Doc Bushong page at Baseball Reference November 26, 1887: Bob Caruthers was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the St. Louis Browns.Bob Caruthers page at Baseball Reference November 29, 1887: Dave Foutz was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the St. Louis Browns.Dave Foutz page at Baseball Reference January 15, 1888, Jim Donahue, Bill Fagan, Frank Hankinson, Bill Phillips,Bill Phillips page at Baseball Reference Henry PorterHenry Porter page at Baseball Reference and Steve TooleSteve Toole page at Baseball Reference were purchased from the Bridegrooms by the Kansas City Cowboys. February, 1888: Bert CunninghamBert Cunningham page at Baseball Reference and John HarkinsJohn Harkins page at Baseball Reference were purchased from the Bridegrooms by the Baltimore Orioles. February 15, 1888: Jim McTamany was purchased from the Bridegrooms by the Kansas City Cowboys.Jim McTamany page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions August 10, 1888: Oyster Burns was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the Baltimore Orioles.Oyster Burns page at Baseball Reference September 15, 1888: Bill McClellan was purchased from the Bridegrooms by the Cleveland Blues.Bill McClellan page at Baseball Reference September 23, 1888: Pop Corkhill was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the Cincinnati Red Stockings.Pop Corkhill page at Baseball Reference September 30, 1888: Hub Collins was purchased by the Bridegrooms from the Louisville Colonels.Hub Collins page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1888 Brooklyn Bridegrooms Roster Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB C 69 253 23 53 .209 0 16 9 1B 99 394 57 120 .305 1 59 11 2B 70 246 15 30 .122 1 8 9 3B 103 402 47 86 .214 3 61 27 SS 143 575 134 156 .271 4 52 51 OF 136 532 105 149 .280 2 65 55 OF 90 308 48 67 .218 2 29 33 OF 140 563 91 156 .277 3 99 35

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB 94 335 58 77 .230 5 54 23 74 278 33 57 .205 0 21 13 52 204 40 58 .284 2 25 21 45 150 23 36 .240 1 20 11 32 103 15 20 .194 0 17 10 19 71 17 27 .380 1 19 3 15 50 4 6 .120 0 1 0 14 48 5 13 .271 0 3 4 12 42 16 13 .310 0 3 9

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games Player G GS IP W L ERA BB SO CG 44 42 391.2 29 15 2.39 53 140 42 40 40 363.0 25 13 2.13 98 159 40 23 23 195.0 13 8 2.03 67 138 20 23 19 176.0 12 7 2.51 35 73 19 18 18 160.2 9 9 2.80 32 67 17

Notes

References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page

External links Brooklyn Dodgers reference site Dodgers Media Guide History Acme Dodgers page Retrosheet