The 1897 Boston Beaneaters season was the 27th season of the franchise. The Beaneaters went 93–39–3 (), finishing 2.0 games ahead of the second-place Baltimore Orioles and winning the National League pennant, their fourth of the decade and their seventh overall. After the season, the Beaneaters played in the Temple Cup for the first time. They lost the series to the Orioles, 4 games to 1.
Regular season
This team has been cited (along with the 1880s St. Louis Browns and the 1890s Baltimore Orioles) as one of the greatest of the 19th century. It featured five Hall of Famers: manager Frank Selee, pitcher Kid Nichols, third baseman Jimmy Collins, and outfielders Billy Hamilton and Hugh Duffy.
In just 132 games, the Beaneaters scored 1025 runs to lead the league (Hamilton had 152 of them to win individual honors). They also allowed the fewest, on the way to a .705 winning percentage. Nichols was one of the premier pitchers in the league, leading the NL with 31 wins. His 2.64 ERA ranked second.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1897 Boston Beaneaters Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
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 87 327 81 .248 2 45 1B 132 566 180 .318 1 85 2B 123 499 154 .309 5 106 3B 134 529 183 .346 6 132 SS 107 450 145 .322 3 69 OF 134 550 187 .340 11 129 OF 127 507 174 .343 3 61 OF 114 469 166 .354 4 97
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 61 199 73 .367 2 37 34 119 38 .319 1 24 30 105 28 .267 0 14 30 95 23 .242 2 15 19 62 15 .242 0 5 4 14 3 .214 0 4 2 2 1 .500 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 46 368.0 31 11 2.64 127 38 309.1 26 7 4.60 92 38 290.0 21 12 3.85 65 18 129.1 11 4 3.41 27
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 13 89.0 4 5 3.94 17
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 2 0 0 1 5.87 0 1 0 0 0 18.00 1
Awards and honors
League top ten finishers Jimmy Collins #2 in NL in RBI (132)
Hugh Duffy NL leader in home runs (11) #3 in NL in RBI (129)
Sliding Billy Hamilton NL leader in runs scored (152) #3 in NL in stolen bases (66)
Fred Klobedanz #3 in NL in wins (26)
Kid Nichols NL leader in wins (31) #2 in NL in ERA (2.64)
References 1897 Boston Beaneaters season at Baseball Reference