The Cincinnati Red Stockings

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 season was a season in American baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. The team finished third in the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

 with a record of 61-37, 5 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics

1883 Philadelphia Athletics season

The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics finished with a 66-32 record and won the championship of the American Association.-Roster:-Starters by position:...

.

Regular season

The Red Stockings came into the 1883 season looking to repeat as American Association Champions, as they had a league best record of 55-25 in 1882. During the off-season, the team announced that catcher Pop Snyder

Pop Snyder

Charles N. "Pop" Snyder was an American catcher, manager, and umpire in Major League Baseball. His 18 season playing career began in 1873 for the Washington Blue Legs of the National Association, and ended with the 1891 Washington Statesmen...

 would return as player-manager. Cincinnati also made a big signing, as they signed Charley Jones

Charley Jones

Charles Wesley Jones was an American left fielder in the National Association and Major League Baseball who hit 56 home runs and batted .298 during his twelve-year career...

, who played with the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds (1876-1880)

The Cincinnati Reds, also known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, were a professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio that played from 1876–1880. The Reds were a charter member of the National League.-History:...

 of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 from 1876-1878. Jones had not played professional baseball since 1880, when he played for the Boston Red Caps of the NL, after which he was black-balled from professional baseball. The Red Stockings also signed another former Reds player, John Reilly, who had also last played major league baseball for the Reds in the 1880 season.

On the diamond, the Red Stockings were led by Jones, who hit .294 with a team leading ten home runs, as well as a league leading 80 RBI

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

. Reilly hit a team high .311 with nine homers and 79 RBI. On the mound, Will White

Will White

William Henry "Whoop-La" White was an American Major League Baseball pitcher.White made his debut on July 20, 1877 with the Boston Red Caps at the age of 23...

 continued to be the ace of the pitching staff, posting a 43-22 record with 64 complete games and a 2.09 ERA in 577 innings pitched.

Season summary

Cincinnati started off the season on the right foot, winning their first four games, and had an impressive 11-5 record in their first sixteen ballgames, however, they were 3.5 games behind the Athletics. The Red Stockings would continue to play good baseball, and had a 31-23 record, however they sat in fourth place. Cincinnati would then go on to win twelve of their next thirteen games to improve to 43-24, however, they only moved up to third place. The Red Stockings would remain in third place for the rest of the season, finishing the year at 61-37, five games behind the Athletics.

Roster

1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings
Roster
valign="top" | Pitchers		valign="top" | Catchers Infielders		valign="top" | Outfielders		valign="top" | Manager

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		58	250	64	.256	0	34
1B		98	437	136	.311	9	79
2B		96	367	90	.245	2	42
3B		95	435	130	.299	3	40
SS		92	362	92	.254	5	52
OF		97	413	115	.278	3	52
OF		90	391	115	.294	10	80
OF		88	375	81	.216	2	46

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	30	114	28	.246	0	8
	30	105	21	.200	0	8
	14	48	8	.167	0	4
	1	4	1	.250	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	65	577	43	22	2.09	141
	18	148	10	8	2.31	48
	15	128.2	8	6	2.87	21
	1	8	0	1	2.25	3

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	1	0	0	0	5.40	2