1878 Season

6 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1878 Major League Baseball season was played by 6 teams. Paul Hines led with 4 home runs, Paul Hines led with 50 RBI, and Joe Start led with 100 hits. This page carries the 1878 standings, league leaders, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1878 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 189 plate appearances at 61 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Paul Hines .358 2 Abner Dalrymple .354 3 Bob Ferguson .351 4 Joe Start .351 5 Cap Anson .341

OPS qualified

1 Paul Hines .849 2 Orator Shafer .824 3 Joe Start .794 4 Tom York .793 5 Abner Dalrymple .789

Home Runs all players

1 Paul Hines 4 2 Charley Jones 3 3 Russ McKelvy 2 4 Cal McVey 2 5 Charlie Bennett 1

RBI all players

1 Paul Hines 50 2 Lew Brown 43 3 Cap Anson 40 4 Bob Ferguson 39 5 Charley Jones 39

Hits all players

1 Joe Start 100 2 Abner Dalrymple 96 3 Paul Hines 92 4 Bob Ferguson 91 5 Dick Higham 90

Runs all players

1 Dick Higham 60 2 Joe Start 58 3 Tom York 56 4 Cap Anson 55 5 Abner Dalrymple 52

Stolen Bases all players

1 Doug Allison 0 2 Cap Anson 0 3 Charlie Bennett 0 4 Frank Bliss 0 5 Tommy Bond 0
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1878 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 61 innings at 61 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 John Ward 1.51 2 Jim McCormick 1.69 3 Will White 1.79 4 Sam Weaver 1.95 5 Tommy Bond 2.06

WHIP qualified

1 Sam Weaver 1.02 2 John Ward 1.02 3 Terry Larkin 1.07 4 Bobby Mitchell 1.09 5 Will White 1.12

Wins all pitchers

1 Tommy Bond 40 2 Will White 30 3 Terry Larkin 29 4 John Ward 22 5 The Only Nolan 13

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Tommy Bond 182 2 Will White 169 3 Terry Larkin 163 4 The Only Nolan 125 5 John Ward 116

Saves all pitchers

1 Tom Healey 1 2 Doug Allison 0 3 Tommy Bond 0 4 Lew Brown 0 5 Fred Corey 0
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

National League

Boston Red Caps ★ 41-19 Cincinnati Reds 37-23 Providence Grays 33-27 Chicago White Stockings 30-30 Indianapolis Blues 24-36 Milwaukee Grays 15-45

The 1878 season in brief

The Boston Red Caps set the pace in 1878 with a 41-19 record. The Milwaukee Grays finished at the bottom of the 1878 table at 15-45. In the 1878 standings, the Cincinnati Reds (37-23) chased the Boston Red Caps (41-19) to the end in the National League. The data holds no postseason results for 1878. On the home run tile, Paul Hines sat first with 4, ahead of Charley Jones with 3. Paul Hines's .358 is the best average on the qualified board, with Abner Dalrymple next at .354. The board counts only hitters with 189 or more plate appearances, which is what 61 team games require. The batting tiles keep returning to Paul Hines, first in batting average, OPS, home runs, and RBI. Among qualified pitchers, John Ward had the lowest ERA, 1.51; Jim McCormick followed at 1.69. First place on the remaining pitching boards: Tommy Bond in wins (40) and Tommy Bond in strikeouts (182). The 1878 leaders page lists every qualified line, and each club links to its own 1878 page.

1878 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1878?
6 teams played in the 1878 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1878?
Paul Hines led with 4 home runs in 1878.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1878?
Paul Hines led with 50 RBI in 1878.
Who led MLB in hits in 1878?
Joe Start led with 100 hits in 1878.
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