The 1893 major league baseball season began on April 27, 1893. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Boston Beaneaters as the pennant winner of the National League and therefore winner of the final Dauvray Cup.

The 1893 season saw no postseason championship series, unlike the split-season 1892 World's Championship Series. This would not last, as the following season would see the Temple Cup, which would be a championship series between the NL pennant winner and the runner-up.

Schedule

The 1893 schedule consisted of 132 games for the twelve teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other eleven teams in the league. This replaced the 154-game, 14-games-each format put in place in the previous season and would be used until .

Opening Day took place on April 27 featuring eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring six teams.

Rule changes The 1893 season saw the following rule changes: In place of a pitcher's box, a pitcher's plate at a size of 12 inches by 4 inches was instituted. Per new Rule 27, prior to throwing a pitch, a pitcher must keep their rear foot on the plate through coming set and the windup. The pitcher's plate was moved back from 50 feet from home plate to 60 feet 6 inches. Changes were made to baseball bats, as described in new Rule 13, stating: "the bat must be made round and of hardwood and may have twine on the handle or granulated substance applied not to exceed 18 inches from the end. No bat shall exceed 42 inches in length." This rescinded the 1885 rule allowing flat bats, reinstating the 1857 rule requiring round bats. Softwoods, like pine, and bats that were sawed off at the end were banned. The balk rule was clarified to state that motions to deceive a baserunner would be declared a balk, but "when the pitcher feigns to throw the ball to a base" he must resume his former position before delivering the ball to the plate. On-field mingling between opposing players was prohibited. A sacrifice hit would no longer result in hitters being charged with an at bat, though the question on whether this counted for outfield fly balls was an open question (the "sacrifice hit" was not a formal rule until the following season).

Teams An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBaltimore OriolesBaltimore, MarylandUnion Park6,500Boston BeaneatersBoston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds8,500Brooklyn GroomsBrooklyn, New YorkEastern Park12,000Chicago ColtsChicago, IllinoisSouth Side Park*6,450*West Side Park13,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioLeague Park (Cincinnati)3,000Cleveland SpidersCleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000Louisville ColonelsLouisville, KentuckyEclipse Park (I)*5,860*Eclipse Park (II)6,400New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia Base Ball Grounds12,500Pittsburgh PiratesAllegheny, PennsylvaniaExposition Park6,500St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriNew Sportsman's Park14,500Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Boundary Field6,500

Standings National League

Tie games 12 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season. Boston Beaneaters, 2 Brooklyn Grooms, 2 Chicago Colts, 1 Cincinnati Reds, 3 Cleveland Spiders, 1 Louisville Colonels, 1 New York Giants, 4 Philadelphia Phillies, 4 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 St. Louis Browns, 3 Washington Senators, 1

Managerial changes Off-season TeamFormer ManagerNew ManagerBrooklyn GroomsJohn Montgomery WardDave FoutzLouisville ColonelsFred PfefferBilly BarnieNew York GiantsPatrick PowersJohn Montgomery WardPittsburgh PiratesTom BurnsAl BuckenbergerSt. Louis BrownsBob CaruthersBill WatkinsWashington SenatorsDanny RichardsonJim O'Rourke

League leaders Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

National League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Billy Hamilton (PHI) .380 OPS Billy Hamilton (PHI) 1.014 HR Ed Delahanty (PHI) 19 RBI Ed Delahanty (PHI) 146 R Herman Long (BSN) 149 H Sam Thompson (PHI) 222 SB Tom Brown (LOU) 66

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Frank Killen (PIT) 36 L Duke Esper (WAS) 28 ERA Theodore Breitenstein (STL) 3.18 K Amos Rusie (NYG) 208 IP Amos Rusie (NYG) 482.0 SV Mark Baldwin (NYG/)Tom Colcolough (PIT)Frank Donnelly (CHI)Frank Dwyer (CIN)Tony Mullane (BAL/)Cy Young (CLE) 2 WHIP Kid Nichols (BSN) 1.280

Milestones Batters Harry Staley (BSN): Set a Major League record by a pitcher when he hits for nine RBIs in a single game on June 1. Piggy Ward (CIN/): Set a Major League record by reaching base in 17 consecutive plate appearances between June 16 and 19. He was traded from the Orioles to the Reds mid-streak. Arlie Latham (CIN): Recorded his 600th career stolen base, becoming the first player to reach this mark. It is unknown what day this stolen base occurred. Harry Stovey (BRO/): Recorded his 500th career stolen base, becoming the second player to reach this mark. It is unknown what day this stolen base occurred. John Montgomery Ward (NYG): Recorded his 500th career stolen base, becoming the third player to reach this mark. It is unknown what day this stolen base occurred.

Pitchers No-hitters

Bill Hawke (BAL/): Hawke threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history as a part of the Baltimore Orioles, by defeating the Washington Senators 5–0 on August 16. Hawke walked two and struck out six.

Other pitching accomplishments Pittsburgh Pirates: In the second inning of game 1 of a doubleheader, Charlie Ganzel and Herman Long of the Boston Beaneaters were hit by pitch by pitcher Red Ehret. After being taken out of the game and, relief pitcher Adonis Terry proceeded to hit Bobby Lowe and Tommy Tucker by pitch. The four hit by pitches by Pittsburgh pitchers said a major league record.

Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendancePhiladelphia Phillies72 −17.2%293,019 51.3%4,440New York Giants68 −4.2%290,000122.1%4,085Brooklyn Grooms65 −31.6%235,000 27.9%3,507Chicago Colts56 −20.0%223,500 104.9%3,062St. Louis Browns57 1.8%195,000 1.3%2,708Cincinnati Reds65 −20.7%194,250 −1.1%2,943Boston Beaneaters86−15.7%193,300 32.0%2,974Pittsburgh Pirates811.3%184,000 3.8%2,521Baltimore Orioles6030.4%143,00052.8%2,383Cleveland Spiders73−21.5%130,000−7.1%1,857Washington Senators40−31.0%90,000−29.8%1,837Louisville Colonels50−20.6%53,683−59.1%1,013

Venues The St. Louis Browns leave Sportsman's Park (where they played for 11 seasons) and move to New Sportman's Park, where they would go on to play for 28 seasons through part of .

The ballpark for the Louisville Colonels, Eclipse Park was largely destroyed in a fire towards the end of the previous season, though the team continued to play in its remains. In the 1893 season, the Colonels played only one home game on May 4 at the still destroyed ballpark. They would move one block south at a new ballpark, also named Eclipse Park, when they returned home for their next home game on May 22.

When the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago opened in May, the Chicago Colts wanted to break with their no-Sundays tradition and start playing Sunday games to attract Fair visitors, but their South Side Park lease forbade Sunday ball. They sought a new location, which turned out to be West Side Park. After drawing well on their two May Sunday games, the club abandoned their three-season tenure at South Side Park after only eight games (their last being on May 24) and moved to the West Side on a full-time basis from their next home game on Sunday, June 18.

See also 1893 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)

References

External links 1893 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference