1890 Season

25 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1890 Major League Baseball season was played by 25 teams. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms won the World Series, defeating the Louisville Colonels. Hardy Richardson led with 16 home runs, Hardy Richardson led with 152 RBI, and Chicken Wolf led with 197 hits. This page carries the 1890 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

1890 Bracket
World Series BRO def. LS2 (3-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1890 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 — 415 plate appearances at 134 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Pete Browning .373 2 Dave Orr .371 3 Chicken Wolf .363 4 Jim O'Rourke .360 5 Tommy McCarthy .350

OPS qualified

1 Roger Connor .998 2 Pete Browning .976 3 Dave Orr .948 4 Dan Brouthers .936 5 George Gore .931

Home Runs all players

1 Hardy Richardson 16 2 Roger Connor 14 3 Thomas Burns 13 4 Mike Tiernan 13 5 Walt Wilmot 13

RBI all players

1 Hardy Richardson 152 2 Thomas Burns 128 3 Dave Orr 124 4 Jake Beckley 123 5 Jim O'Rourke 115

Hits all players

1 Chicken Wolf 197 2 Tommy McCarthy 192 3 Hugh Duffy 191 4 Billy Shindle 189 5 John Ward 188

Runs all players

1 Hugh Duffy 161 2 Tom Brown 149 3 Hub Collins 148 4 Harry Stovey 145 5 Jim McTamany 140

Stolen Bases all players

1 Billy Hamilton 102 2 Harry Stovey 97 3 Hub Collins 85 4 Billy Sunday 84 5 Tommy McCarthy 83
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1890 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 134 innings at 134 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Billy Rhines 1.95 2 Kid Nichols 2.23 3 Tony Mullane 2.24 4 Scott Stratton 2.36 5 Red Ehret 2.53

WHIP qualified

1 Scott Stratton 1.06 2 Hank Gastright 1.11 3 Billy Rhines 1.12 4 Frank Knauss 1.13 5 Kid Nichols 1.15

Wins all pitchers

1 Bill Hutchison 41 2 Kid Gleason 38 3 Sadie McMahon 36 4 Scott Stratton 34 5 Mark Baldwin 33

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Amos Rusie 341 2 Sadie McMahon 291 3 Bill Hutchison 289 4 Jack Stivetts 289 5 Toad Ramsey 257

Saves all pitchers

1 Herb Goodall 4 2 George Hemming 3 3 Hank O'Day 3 4 Bill Daley 2 5 Red Ehret 2
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

PL

Boston Reds ★ 81-48 Brooklyn Ward's Wonders 76-56 New York Giants 74-57 Chicago Pirates 75-62 Philadelphia Athletics 68-63 Pittsburgh Burghers 60-68 Cleveland Infants 55-75 Buffalo Bisons 36-96

AA

Louisville Colonels ★ 88-44 Columbus Solons 79-55 St. Louis Browns 77-58 Toledo Maumees 68-64 Rochester Broncos 63-63 Baltimore Orioles 15-19 Syracuse Stars 55-72 Philadelphia Athletics 54-78 Brooklyn Gladiators 26-72

National League

Brooklyn Bridegrooms ★ 86-43 Chicago Colts 83-53 Philadelphia Phillies 78-53 Cincinnati Reds 77-55 Boston Beaneaters 76-57 New York Giants 63-68 Cleveland Spiders 44-88 Pittsburg Alleghenys 23-113

The 1890 season in brief

1890 belonged, by record, to the Louisville Colonels: 88-44. The Pittsburg Alleghenys finished at the bottom of the 1890 table at 23-113. In the standings, the Chicago Colts (83-53) finished a distant second to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (86-43) in the National League, the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders (76-56) finished a distant second to the Boston Reds (81-48) in the Players' League, and the American Association was not close, the Louisville Colonels finishing 88-44 to the Columbus Solons's 79-55. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms won the World Series over the Louisville Colonels, 3 games to 3. Hardy Richardson led the majors with 16 home runs, ahead of Roger Connor with 14. Pete Browning's .373 is the best average on the qualified board, with Dave Orr next at .371. That 1890 rate board needs 415 plate appearances (134 team games times the per-game rule). The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Billy Rhines at 1.95; Kid Nichols followed at 2.23. Elsewhere on the pitching side, the 1890 leaders were Bill Hutchison in wins (41) and Amos Rusie in strikeouts (341). Billy Hamilton had the most stolen bases, 102. The 1890 leaders page lists every qualified line, and each club links to its own 1890 page.

1890 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1890?
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms won the 1890 World Series, beating the Louisville Colonels.
How many teams played in 1890?
25 teams played in the 1890 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1890?
Hardy Richardson led with 16 home runs in 1890.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1890?
Hardy Richardson led with 152 RBI in 1890.
Who led MLB in hits in 1890?
Chicken Wolf led with 197 hits in 1890.
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