1898 Season

14 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1898 Major League Baseball season was played by 14 teams. Jimmy Collins led with 15 home runs, Nap Lajoie led with 127 RBI, and Willie Keeler led with 216 hits. This page carries the 1898 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

1898 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 — 471 plate appearances at 152 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Willie Keeler .385 2 Billy Hamilton .369 3 John McGraw .342 4 Elmer Smith .342 5 Jesse Burkett .341

OPS qualified

1 Billy Hamilton .933 2 Ed Delahanty .880 3 Elmer Flick .878 4 Hughie Jennings .876 5 John McGraw .871

Home Runs all players

1 Jimmy Collins 15 2 Bill Joyce 10 3 Honus Wagner 10 4 John Anderson 9 5 Ed McKean 9

RBI all players

1 Nap Lajoie 127 2 Jimmy Collins 111 3 Joe Kelley 110 4 Hugh Duffy 108 5 Dan McGann 106

Hits all players

1 Willie Keeler 216 2 Jesse Burkett 213 3 George Van Haltren 204 4 Nap Lajoie 197 5 Jimmy Collins 196

Runs all players

1 John McGraw 143 2 Hughie Jennings 135 3 George Van Haltren 129 4 Willie Keeler 126 5 Duff Cooley 123

Stolen Bases all players

1 Ed Delahanty 58 2 Billy Hamilton 54 3 Gene DeMontreville 49 4 Charlie Dexter 44 5 John McGraw 43
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1898 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 152 innings at 152 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Clark Griffith 1.88 2 Al Maul 2.10 3 Kid Nichols 2.13 4 James McJames 2.36 5 Jimmy Callahan 2.46

WHIP qualified

1 Kid Nichols 1.03 2 Al Maul 1.07 3 Clark Griffith 1.13 4 Cy Young 1.13 5 James McJames 1.18

Wins all pitchers

1 Kid Nichols 31 2 Bert Cunningham 28 3 Pink Hawley 27 4 James McJames 27 5 Ted Lewis 26

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Cy Seymour 239 2 James McJames 178 3 Vic Willis 160 4 Kid Nichols 138 5 Wiley Piatt 121

Saves all pitchers

1 Kid Nichols 4 2 Bill Dammann 2 3 Charlie Hickman 2 4 Ted Lewis 2 5 Jesse Tannehill 2
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

National League

Boston Beaneaters ★ 102-47 Baltimore Orioles 96-53 Cincinnati Reds 92-60 Chicago Orphans 85-65 Cleveland Spiders 81-68 Philadelphia Phillies 78-71 New York Giants 77-73 Pittsburgh Pirates 72-76 Louisville Colonels 70-81 Brooklyn Bridegrooms 54-91 Washington Senators 51-101 St. Louis Browns 39-111

IND

Cuban X Giants ★ 7-2 Chicago Unions 2-4

The 1898 season in brief

1898 belonged, by record, to the Cuban X Giants: 7-2. Nobody in 1898 fared worse than the St. Louis Browns (39-111). In the standings, the Chicago Unions (2-4) chased the Cuban X Giants (7-2) to the end in the IND group and nobody in the National League came near the Boston Beaneaters's 102-47. The data holds no postseason results for 1898. Jimmy Collins led the majors with 15 home runs, ahead of Bill Joyce with 10. Willie Keeler's .385 is the best average on the qualified board, with Billy Hamilton next at .369. The board counts only hitters with 471 or more plate appearances, which is what 152 team games require. The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Clark Griffith at 1.88; Al Maul followed at 2.10. 1898's pitching counting leaders: Kid Nichols in wins (31) and Cy Seymour in strikeouts (239). Ed Delahanty had the most stolen bases, 58. Beyond the top five in each tile, the 1898 leaders page ranks the whole 1898 field.

1898 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1898?
14 teams played in the 1898 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1898?
Jimmy Collins led with 15 home runs in 1898.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1898?
Nap Lajoie led with 127 RBI in 1898.
Who led MLB in hits in 1898?
Willie Keeler led with 216 hits in 1898.
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