How much had hitting advanced in 1894? Well, Chief Roseman of the Nationals batted an even .400, an impressive achievement -- and no better than
eighth in the NA, which was led by Emil Gross' .440 figure. The Montreal catcher, who had jumped from Rockford in the UA over the winter, thus compiled the highest batting average in over twenty years, since Davy Force hit .445 in 1873. The league batting average was a whopping .310, highest since the .337 in that chaotic first year of 1871.
The pennant races were strange, too. The Ruby Legs of Worcester, Mass. (population 110,000) grabbed the pennant behind Billy Nash and Hub Collins, as well as pitcher Emerson "Pink" Hawley, whose 3.37 ERA would've been mediocre in most years -- but was enough to take the ERA crown in '94!
But the biggest shocks of the season occurred in O-hi-o. The Red Stockings struggled at mid-table in midseason, and for a while it seemed they miss the Centennial Cup playoffs for the first time in the twenty-year history of the event. But Cincy pulled it together and managed their second straight fourth-place finish: the first time the Reds had back-to-back seasons outside of the top three since the early 1870s.
The real stunner was farther north. The Forest City club of Cleveland, perennial contenders (and nine time champions), have made the Cup playoffs just once in the decade since Jim Creighton retired as a player in 1885. Big Jim spent five years as manager, leading Cleveland to a fourth-place finish in 1890 before moving to the front office as team president. But 1894 was a disaster, as they flirted with the relegation zone all season, finishing 16th with a .429 winning percentage -- worst in club history. Normally, the club would be safe from relegation, but the New York Mutuals (18th) and Chicago White Sox (19th) used their exemptions, so the last-place Maroons would be sent down, along with the 17th-place Mansfields -- and Cleveland.
Fans were outraged -- and not just in Cleveland -- that the legendary Forest City club would be asked to ply their trade in the lower-ranked American Association. But Creighton announced he would accept the demotion -- along with New York 2B Frank Bonner and Chicago pitcher Frank Griffith as compensation. And then Big Jim stunned the baseball world again, when he announced on November 18 that he would stand down as Forest City president to accept "a new job at the league office".
Offense was up in the AA, too, as Indianapolis won its first pennant since its double-double year in 1887:
Meanwhile, the Union Association focused on pitching and defense -- nahh, runs were crossing the plate at a fever pitch, there, too, as Fall River's Pete O'Brien won the Triple Crown, with an astounding .442 average , along with a pro baseball-record 49 home runs and a mind-blowing 223 RBI. (The rest of the Marksmen were meh, so the club finished mid-table.) The grandly-named Greater New York Baseball Club drew reasonably well in their new ballpark, but were still awarded the wooden spoon for their trouble.
