1888 Season

16 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1888 Major League Baseball season was played by 16 teams. The New York Giants won the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Browns. Jimmy Ryan led with 16 home runs, John Reilly led with 103 RBI, and Jimmy Ryan led with 182 hits. This page carries the 1888 standings, league leaders, postseason results, 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

🏆 Postseason

1888 Bracket
World Series NY1 def. SL4 (6-4)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

⏳ Browse Seasons

1878 1883 1887 1888 1889 1893 1898

⚾ Batting Leaders

1888 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 — 421 plate appearances at 136 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Cap Anson .344 2 Tip O'Neill .335 3 Jimmy Ryan .332 4 John Reilly .321 5 King Kelly .318

OPS qualified

1 Cap Anson .899 2 Jimmy Ryan .892 3 Roger Connor .869 4 John Reilly .864 5 Dan Brouthers .862

Home Runs all players

1 Jimmy Ryan 16 2 Roger Connor 14 3 John Reilly 13 4 Cap Anson 12 5 Jerry Denny 12

RBI all players

1 John Reilly 103 2 Henry Larkin 101 3 Dave Foutz 99 4 Tip O'Neill 98 5 John Corkhill 93

Hits all players

1 Jimmy Ryan 182 2 Cap Anson 177 3 Tip O'Neill 177 4 Dick Johnston 173 5 John Reilly 169

Runs all players

1 George Pinkney 134 2 Hub Collins 133 3 Harry Stovey 127 4 Curt Welch 125 5 Arlie Latham 119

Stolen Bases all players

1 Arlie Latham 109 2 Hugh Nicol 103 3 Curt Welch 95 4 Tommy McCarthy 93 5 Harry Stovey 87
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1888 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 136 innings at 136 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Silver King 1.63 2 Tim Keefe 1.74 3 Ben Sanders 1.90 4 Charlie Buffinton 1.91 5 Mickey Welch 1.93

WHIP qualified

1 Silver King 0.87 2 Tim Keefe 0.94 3 Pete Conway 0.95 4 Charlie Buffinton 0.96 5 Henry Gruber 0.99

Wins all pitchers

1 Silver King 45 2 Tim Keefe 35 3 Ed Seward 35 4 John Clarkson 33 5 Pete Conway 30

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Tim Keefe 335 2 Ed Seward 272 3 Silver King 258 4 Toad Ramsey 228 5 John Clarkson 223

Saves all pitchers

1 George Wood 2 2 John Corkhill 1 3 Ed Crane 1 4 Buck Ewing 1 5 Bill George 1
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AA

St. Louis Browns ★ 92-43 Brooklyn Bridegrooms 88-52 Philadelphia Athletics 81-52 Cincinnati Red Stockings 80-54 Baltimore Orioles 57-80 Cleveland Blues 50-82 Louisville Colonels 48-87 Kansas City Cowboys 43-89

National League

New York Giants ★ 84-47 Chicago White Stockings 77-58 Philadelphia Quakers 69-61 Boston Beaneaters 70-64 Detroit Wolverines 68-63 Pittsburg Alleghenys 66-68 Indianapolis Hoosiers 50-85 Washington Nationals 48-86

The 1888 season in brief

No 1888 club finished with a better record than the St. Louis Browns at 92-43. 43-89 left the Kansas City Cowboys with the lowest winning percentage of 1888. Race by race in 1888, the American Association was not close, the St. Louis Browns finishing 92-43 to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms's 88-52 and nobody in the National League came near the New York Giants's 84-47. 1888's champions were the New York Giants, World Series winners against the St. Louis Browns, 6 games to 4. The home run board is topped by Jimmy Ryan at 16, ahead of Roger Connor with 14. Cap Anson's .344 is the best average on the qualified board, with Tip O'Neill next at .335. Qualification for that 1888 board is 421 plate appearances at 136 team games. Among qualified pitchers, Silver King had the lowest ERA, 1.63; Tim Keefe followed at 1.74. 1888's pitching counting leaders: Silver King in wins (45) and Tim Keefe in strikeouts (335). The stolen-base tile is headed by Arlie Latham with 109. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1888 leaders page.

1888 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1888?
The New York Giants won the 1888 World Series, beating the St. Louis Browns.
How many teams played in 1888?
16 teams played in the 1888 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1888?
Jimmy Ryan led with 16 home runs in 1888.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1888?
John Reilly led with 103 RBI in 1888.
Who led MLB in hits in 1888?
Jimmy Ryan led with 182 hits in 1888.
All Seasons