1896
Posted 08-19-2017 at 12:44 PM by bjohn13
Opening Day Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Lou Bierbauer
3B Jim Donnelly
SS Bill Clymer
LF Willie Keeler
CF Harry Lyons
RF Billy Hamilton
Most Common Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Lou Bierbauer
3B Joseph Herr
SS Dan Coogan
LF Willie Keeler
CF Harry Lyons
RF Billy Hamilton
Pitching Staff
SP Charlie Buffington
SP Win Mercer
SP Cy Young
SP Ed Beatin
RP Brickyard Kennedy
RP Andy Boswell
RP George Boone
April
After spending most of 1895 healthy, Brooklyn had some injuries in the lineup to contend with in 1895. Tommy Corcoran, Joseph Herr, and Lou Bierbauer all spent time on the DL in April. Most importantly, though, Billy Hamilton was lost for two months, a situation that made Brooklyn very glad that they acquired Harry Lyons in the offseason.
Brooklyn’s defense didn’t suffer, but their offense surely did. More importantly, though, Dodger pitching really struggled in the mid to late innings. Brookyn recorded four blown saves, all in the ninth, in April. In all, Brooklyn had a lead after five innings in 10 of their 13 losses.
Brooklyn finished the month with a 15-13 record, four games out of first place in the National League. That was good enough for fifth place.
On April 14th, Charlie Buffington finally won his 250th career victory. It was a 2-1 ictory over the St. Louis Browns, and Buffington went the distance giving up only one run in the ninth off of three total hits.
May
Starting pitcher Ed Beatin had not missed a start for Brooklyn since his rookie year in 1888. He was an integral part of the Brooklyn team that won world championships in 1888 and 1891. Through his first 14 starts in 1896, he had a 3-8 record with an ERA of 5.44. Brooklyn pulled him from the rotation in the third week of July, and teams immediately started making offers for him. Brooklyn ended up trading Beatin to Detroit for some minor leaguers and a second round draft pick.
Brooklyn really did have a stellar month in May, as the rest of the rotation buckled down and gave the Grooms some solid support. Lou Bierbauer and Willie Keeler provided the primary catalysts on offense while Win Mercer pitched phenomenally well from the rotation. Brooklyn finished the month with a 19-10 record which brought them to within three games of first place Pittsburgh.
June
Brooklyn won five in a row to start them month of June, and as a result, the National League had a three-way tie for first place at the All Star break.
All Star Rosters
Tommy Corcoran went down with a broken elbow just prior to the break, and he was expected to miss the rest of the season. This gave the slick fielding rookie Dan Coogan a chance to get into the lineup.
Willie Keeler led the team through the month of June, and Brooklyn was able to get out of the month with a 15-10 record. They found themselves in third place, two games behind Chicago and one game behind Pittsburgh.
July
Cy Young and Charlie Buffington both had outstanding months in July, as Young won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award. Brickyard Kennedy also filled in admirably in the number four spot as Win Mercer had a horrible month.
Brooklyn had their share of extra-inning games in July as well. They lost a 12-inning game by a score of 4-2 against Cincinnati on July 12. A few days later, on July 18, they lost a 16-inning game against St. Louis by the score of 2-1. If that wasn’t enough, their next game on July 20th went 18 innings, and they lost 8-7 to Boston. One week later, on July 24, they finally won one of their marathons going 14 innings for an 8-4 win against Philadelphia.
For most of the season, Brooklyn hovered between a game and three games out of first place, and at no point had they been able to take first place on their own. As the month came to an end, Brooklyn swept a three game set against first-place Chicago to take sole possession of first place for the first time all year. Brooklyn finished the month 1 ½ games ahead with 21 games to go. Brooklyn was scheduled to close their season at home against second place Chicago.
August
August didn’t start well for Brooklyn. They started the month by getting swept on the road in Cincinnati while Chicago swept St. Louis to regain the lead in the National League. Brooklyn then recovered to sweep Pittsburgh, but then they lost 3 of 4 to St. Louis and Boston to fall 3 ½ games back.
They didn’t do much losing after that. Brooklyn won 7 of their next 8 to pull even with Chicago atop the National League going into the final three game series of the season. It became the Joseph Herr Show. In the first game, Herr delivered a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th to give the Grooms the winning run in a 7-6 final. In the second game, a Joseph Herr three-run home run, again in the bottom of the ninth, broke the tie to give Brooklyn a 5-2 win. In the third game, it was an RBI single by Joseph Herr in the bottom of the 11th to give Brooklyn a 6-5 win and to clinch the pennant.
Final Standings
Hitting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
Team Hitting
Team Pitching
Brooklyn Hitting
Brooklyn Pitching
World Series
The Boston Americans were set to meet with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for the 1896 World Series. For Boston, it was their second appearance in a row and their third in 5 years. Overall, this would prove to be their fourth World Series appearance with one championship. Meanwhile, Brooklyn was prepared to make their first appearance since 1891, but it would be their fifth appearance overall with three total championships.
Boston had a team led by stellar hitting and pitching. Staff ace Matt Kilroy led the league with 23 wins while Hank Gastright provided near-flawless relief in 63 games. Offensively, Billy Lush amazed the world by contributing 28 triples. Jimmy Ryan led the league with 14 home runs and 116 RBIs, but Boston was to start the series with his availability unknown due to a rib injury.
The Brooklyn lineup was led by some prominent names in Jake Beckley at first, Willie Keeler in left field, Billy Hamilton in right field, and Lou Bierbauer at second base. Beckley, Hamilton, and Bierbauer were completing their ninth season together with Brooklyn. It’s a small wonder why they didn’t have more pennants. The pitching staff was led by Charlie Buffington and Cy Young with Andy Boswell earning 21 saves from the bullpen.
With Charlie Buffington squaring off against John Doran in game one, neither pitcher was particularly effective. They both left the game in the sixth with the Grooms leading 5-4, but Billy Lush hit a solo home run off of Joe Corbett in the 7th to tie it up. Harry Lyons capped off a four-run 8th inning for Brooklyn, and Billy Hamilton ultimately went 3 for 4 in the 9-5 Brooklyn win.
Game two was to become a legendary game in terms of World Series performances. Cy Young started against Bob Ernslie. Both pitched well, but neither factored in the decision. Boston got off to a 2-1 lead with the help of an Ed Cartwright home run. After Brooklyn scored a run in the sixth off of a Joseph Herr single to tie it up, no one would score again until the 17th inning when Dan Coogan hit a 2-RBI single to give Brooklyn a 4-2 lead. Overall, ten pitchers would appear in this 17 inning classic with Joe Corbett getting his second win of the series in as many games. Billy Hamilton had to leave the game with an undisclosed calf injury, and Brooklyn would not commit to whether or not he would be available for game three.
With the series moving to Brooklyn, game three featured a matchup of Matt Kilroy against Win Mercer. Billy Hamilton was in the lineup for Brooklyn, and he went 3 for 5 to help Brooklyn to a 4-3 victory which put Brooklyn ahead in the series 3 games to 0. Mercer pitched seven strong innings for the victory.
John Doran pitched an effective game 4 for Boston, allowing no earned runs through three innings of work. Buffington left with a 3-3 tie after 7, and Boston scored two in the ninth off of errors by Lave Cross and Harry Lyons to win 5-3.
Game five seemed like the ninth inning from game four would never end. Cy Young pitched extremely well, giving up just 4 hits in 7 innings, but Brooklyn committed five errors. That allowed Boston to take a 3-2 win to force a game six back in Boston. Billy Hamilton was taken out of the game, apparently aggravating his leg injury. He would be unlikely to return to the series.
Game six featured Billy Hamilton on the bench with Win Mercer allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in seven innings to earn his second Series win. This capped off the 4-2 Series victory for Brooklyn, their fourth championship in 13 years. Billy Hamilton, bum leg and all, won the World Series MVP Award in what will likely go down as a legendary performance.
Awards
Amateur Draft
1. Roger Bresnahan P
2. Ed Abbaticchio 3B
3. Charlie Hickman P
4. Jim Jones P
5. Doc Amole P
6. Percy Coleman P
Brooklyn was unable to sign Jones, Amole, or Coleman.
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Lou Bierbauer
3B Jim Donnelly
SS Bill Clymer
LF Willie Keeler
CF Harry Lyons
RF Billy Hamilton
Most Common Lineup
C Lave Cross
1B Jake Beckley
2B Lou Bierbauer
3B Joseph Herr
SS Dan Coogan
LF Willie Keeler
CF Harry Lyons
RF Billy Hamilton
Pitching Staff
SP Charlie Buffington
SP Win Mercer
SP Cy Young
SP Ed Beatin
RP Brickyard Kennedy
RP Andy Boswell
RP George Boone
April
After spending most of 1895 healthy, Brooklyn had some injuries in the lineup to contend with in 1895. Tommy Corcoran, Joseph Herr, and Lou Bierbauer all spent time on the DL in April. Most importantly, though, Billy Hamilton was lost for two months, a situation that made Brooklyn very glad that they acquired Harry Lyons in the offseason.
Brooklyn’s defense didn’t suffer, but their offense surely did. More importantly, though, Dodger pitching really struggled in the mid to late innings. Brookyn recorded four blown saves, all in the ninth, in April. In all, Brooklyn had a lead after five innings in 10 of their 13 losses.
Brooklyn finished the month with a 15-13 record, four games out of first place in the National League. That was good enough for fifth place.
On April 14th, Charlie Buffington finally won his 250th career victory. It was a 2-1 ictory over the St. Louis Browns, and Buffington went the distance giving up only one run in the ninth off of three total hits.
May
Starting pitcher Ed Beatin had not missed a start for Brooklyn since his rookie year in 1888. He was an integral part of the Brooklyn team that won world championships in 1888 and 1891. Through his first 14 starts in 1896, he had a 3-8 record with an ERA of 5.44. Brooklyn pulled him from the rotation in the third week of July, and teams immediately started making offers for him. Brooklyn ended up trading Beatin to Detroit for some minor leaguers and a second round draft pick.
Brooklyn really did have a stellar month in May, as the rest of the rotation buckled down and gave the Grooms some solid support. Lou Bierbauer and Willie Keeler provided the primary catalysts on offense while Win Mercer pitched phenomenally well from the rotation. Brooklyn finished the month with a 19-10 record which brought them to within three games of first place Pittsburgh.
June
Brooklyn won five in a row to start them month of June, and as a result, the National League had a three-way tie for first place at the All Star break.
All Star Rosters
Tommy Corcoran went down with a broken elbow just prior to the break, and he was expected to miss the rest of the season. This gave the slick fielding rookie Dan Coogan a chance to get into the lineup.
Willie Keeler led the team through the month of June, and Brooklyn was able to get out of the month with a 15-10 record. They found themselves in third place, two games behind Chicago and one game behind Pittsburgh.
July
Cy Young and Charlie Buffington both had outstanding months in July, as Young won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award. Brickyard Kennedy also filled in admirably in the number four spot as Win Mercer had a horrible month.
Brooklyn had their share of extra-inning games in July as well. They lost a 12-inning game by a score of 4-2 against Cincinnati on July 12. A few days later, on July 18, they lost a 16-inning game against St. Louis by the score of 2-1. If that wasn’t enough, their next game on July 20th went 18 innings, and they lost 8-7 to Boston. One week later, on July 24, they finally won one of their marathons going 14 innings for an 8-4 win against Philadelphia.
For most of the season, Brooklyn hovered between a game and three games out of first place, and at no point had they been able to take first place on their own. As the month came to an end, Brooklyn swept a three game set against first-place Chicago to take sole possession of first place for the first time all year. Brooklyn finished the month 1 ½ games ahead with 21 games to go. Brooklyn was scheduled to close their season at home against second place Chicago.
August
August didn’t start well for Brooklyn. They started the month by getting swept on the road in Cincinnati while Chicago swept St. Louis to regain the lead in the National League. Brooklyn then recovered to sweep Pittsburgh, but then they lost 3 of 4 to St. Louis and Boston to fall 3 ½ games back.
They didn’t do much losing after that. Brooklyn won 7 of their next 8 to pull even with Chicago atop the National League going into the final three game series of the season. It became the Joseph Herr Show. In the first game, Herr delivered a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th to give the Grooms the winning run in a 7-6 final. In the second game, a Joseph Herr three-run home run, again in the bottom of the ninth, broke the tie to give Brooklyn a 5-2 win. In the third game, it was an RBI single by Joseph Herr in the bottom of the 11th to give Brooklyn a 6-5 win and to clinch the pennant.
Final Standings
Hitting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
Team Hitting
Team Pitching
Brooklyn Hitting
Brooklyn Pitching
World Series
The Boston Americans were set to meet with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for the 1896 World Series. For Boston, it was their second appearance in a row and their third in 5 years. Overall, this would prove to be their fourth World Series appearance with one championship. Meanwhile, Brooklyn was prepared to make their first appearance since 1891, but it would be their fifth appearance overall with three total championships.
Boston had a team led by stellar hitting and pitching. Staff ace Matt Kilroy led the league with 23 wins while Hank Gastright provided near-flawless relief in 63 games. Offensively, Billy Lush amazed the world by contributing 28 triples. Jimmy Ryan led the league with 14 home runs and 116 RBIs, but Boston was to start the series with his availability unknown due to a rib injury.
The Brooklyn lineup was led by some prominent names in Jake Beckley at first, Willie Keeler in left field, Billy Hamilton in right field, and Lou Bierbauer at second base. Beckley, Hamilton, and Bierbauer were completing their ninth season together with Brooklyn. It’s a small wonder why they didn’t have more pennants. The pitching staff was led by Charlie Buffington and Cy Young with Andy Boswell earning 21 saves from the bullpen.
With Charlie Buffington squaring off against John Doran in game one, neither pitcher was particularly effective. They both left the game in the sixth with the Grooms leading 5-4, but Billy Lush hit a solo home run off of Joe Corbett in the 7th to tie it up. Harry Lyons capped off a four-run 8th inning for Brooklyn, and Billy Hamilton ultimately went 3 for 4 in the 9-5 Brooklyn win.
Game two was to become a legendary game in terms of World Series performances. Cy Young started against Bob Ernslie. Both pitched well, but neither factored in the decision. Boston got off to a 2-1 lead with the help of an Ed Cartwright home run. After Brooklyn scored a run in the sixth off of a Joseph Herr single to tie it up, no one would score again until the 17th inning when Dan Coogan hit a 2-RBI single to give Brooklyn a 4-2 lead. Overall, ten pitchers would appear in this 17 inning classic with Joe Corbett getting his second win of the series in as many games. Billy Hamilton had to leave the game with an undisclosed calf injury, and Brooklyn would not commit to whether or not he would be available for game three.
With the series moving to Brooklyn, game three featured a matchup of Matt Kilroy against Win Mercer. Billy Hamilton was in the lineup for Brooklyn, and he went 3 for 5 to help Brooklyn to a 4-3 victory which put Brooklyn ahead in the series 3 games to 0. Mercer pitched seven strong innings for the victory.
John Doran pitched an effective game 4 for Boston, allowing no earned runs through three innings of work. Buffington left with a 3-3 tie after 7, and Boston scored two in the ninth off of errors by Lave Cross and Harry Lyons to win 5-3.
Game five seemed like the ninth inning from game four would never end. Cy Young pitched extremely well, giving up just 4 hits in 7 innings, but Brooklyn committed five errors. That allowed Boston to take a 3-2 win to force a game six back in Boston. Billy Hamilton was taken out of the game, apparently aggravating his leg injury. He would be unlikely to return to the series.
Game six featured Billy Hamilton on the bench with Win Mercer allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in seven innings to earn his second Series win. This capped off the 4-2 Series victory for Brooklyn, their fourth championship in 13 years. Billy Hamilton, bum leg and all, won the World Series MVP Award in what will likely go down as a legendary performance.
Awards
Amateur Draft
1. Roger Bresnahan P
2. Ed Abbaticchio 3B
3. Charlie Hickman P
4. Jim Jones P
5. Doc Amole P
6. Percy Coleman P
Brooklyn was unable to sign Jones, Amole, or Coleman.
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