1890 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1890 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League with a record of 77–55, 10½ behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Directly after the season ended, owner Aaron Stern sold the club to Al Johnson.

1890 Cincinnati Reds
League	National League
Ballpark	League Park
City	Cincinnati
Owner	Aaron S. Stern & Al Johnson
Manager	Tom Loftus
Seasons

Regular season

After playing eight seasons in the American Association, the Cincinnati Red Stockings jumped to the National League for the 1890 season, and renamed themselves the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds hired Tom Loftus as their new manager. He last managed the Cleveland Spiders in 1889, leading them to a 61–72 record and a sixth-place finish in the National League.

In the off-season, the Reds acquired Lefty Marr from the Columbus Solons for $2000. Marr had hit .306 with a league high 15 triples for the Solons in 1889. He had also appeared in eight games with the Red Stockings in 1886. The team also purchased the contract of pitcher Frank Foreman from the Baltimore Orioles. Foreman was 23–21 with a 3.52 with the Orioles. Cincinnati also signed two 21-year-olds, catcher Jerry Harrington and pitcher Billy Rhines. Joe Knight, who last appeared in the majors with the Philadelphia Quakers in 1884 as a pitcher, was signed to play the outfield.

John Reilly led the club offensively, hitting .300 with team highs with six home runs and 86 RBI. Bid McPhee had a .256 average with three homers and 39 RBI, as well as team highs with 125 runs and 55 stolen bases. Knight led the club with a .312 average with four homers and 67 RBI in his only season in the majors. Rhines led the pitching staff, as he had a 28–17 record with league best 1.95 ERA.

Season summary

The Reds played their first National League game on April 19, 1890. Despite a home run from Bug Holliday, Cincinnati lost to the Chicago Colts by a 5–4 score. After hovering around the .500 level, as the Reds had a record of 11–11 after twenty-two games, the team went on a 22–2 run to boost their record to 33–13, and take a four-game lead over the second place Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Cincinnati would hold on to their first place lead until going into a slump in which the Reds lost ten of eleven games to fall into fourth place, 5.5 games out of first. By the time the season ended, the Reds had a 77–55 record, finishing in fourth place, 10½ games behind the Bridegrooms.

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Bridegrooms	86	43	0.667	—	58–16	28–27
Chicago Colts	83	53	0.610	6½	48–24	35–29
Philadelphia Phillies	78	53	0.595	9	54–21	24–32
Cincinnati Reds	77	55	0.583	10½	50–23	27–32
Boston Beaneaters	76	57	0.571	12	43–23	33–34
New York Giants	63	68	0.481	24	37–27	26–41
Cleveland Spiders	44	88	0.333	43½	30–37	14–51
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	23	113	0.169	66½	14–25	9–88

Record vs. opponents

1890 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BOS	BR	CHI	CIN	CLE	NYG	PHI	PIT
Boston	—	6–11	8–11	11–8	13–7	11–8–1	11–9	16–3
Brooklyn	11–6	—	11–9	9–7	17–3	10–8	10–8	18–2
Chicago	11–8	9–11	—	12–8–2	13–7	13–6	8–10–1	17–3
Cincinnati	8–11	7–9	8–12–2	—	13–4	14–6	11–9	16–4
Cleveland	7–13	3–17	7–13	4–13	—	6–12–2	5–14–1	12–6–1
New York	8–11–1	8–10	6–13	6–14	12–6–2	—	6–11	17–3–1
Philadelphia	9–11	8–10	10–8–1	9–11	14–5–1	11–6	—	17–2
Pittsburgh	3–16	2–18	3–17	4–16	6–12–1	3–17–1	2–17	—

Game log

Legend
Reds Win	Reds Loss	Game Tied/Postponed

1890 Game Log: 77–55 (Home: 50–23; Away: 27–32)
April: 4–4 (Home: 2–2; Away: 2–2) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 1 April 19 Colts 1–5 League Park N/A 0-1 L1 2 April 21 Colts 9–4 League Park N/A 1-1 W1 3 April 22 Colts 3–13 League Park N/A 1-2 L1 4 April 23 Colts 9–6 League Park N/A 2-2 W1 - April 24 @ Alleghenys Postponed (rain; site change); Makeup: September 11 5 April 25 @ Alleghenys 10–1 Recreation Park N/A 3-2 W1 - April 26 @ Alleghenys Postponed (rain; site change); Makeup: September 12 6 April 28 @ Alleghenys 2–6 Recreation Park N/A 3-3 L1 7 April 29 @ Spiders 2–3 National League Park N/A 3-4 L2 8 April 30 @ Spiders 4–0 National League Park N/A 4-4 W1
May: 14–8 (Home: 2–2; Away: 12–6) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 9 May 1 @ Spiders 12–11 National League Park N/A 5-4 W2 10 May 2 @ Spiders 6–1 National League Park N/A 6-4 W3 - May 3 @ Colts Postponed (rain); Makeup: May 8 11 May 5 @ Colts 2–2 West Side Park 125 6-4 W3 12 May 6 @ Colts 5–6 West Side Park 1,635 6-5 L1 13 May 7 @ Colts 5–2 West Side Park 386 7-5 W1 14 May 8 @ Colts 9–18 West Side Park 390 7-6 L1 15 May 9 Alleghenys 10–5 League Park N/A 8-6 W1 16 May 10 Alleghenys 11–1 League Park N/A 9-6 W2 17 May 12 Alleghenys 3–5 League Park N/A 9-7 L1 18 May 13 Alleghenys 0–4 League Park N/A 9-8 L2 - May 15 @ Phillites Postponed (rain; site change); Makeup: September 23 19 May 16 @ Phillies 5–1 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 10-8 W1 20 May 17 @ Phillies 4–6 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 10-9 L1 21 May 19 @ Phillies 9–6 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 11-9 W1 22 May 21 @ Bridegrooms 4–19 Washington Park N/A 11-10 L1 23 May 22 @ Bridegrooms 4–6 Washington Park N/A 11-11 L2 24 May 23 @ Bridegrooms 7–2 Washington Park N/A 12-11 W1 25 May 24 @ Beaneaters 7–5 South End Grounds N/A 13-11 W2 26 May 26 @ Beaneaters 4–2 South End Grounds N/A 14-11 W3 27 May 28 @ Beaneaters 0–1 South End Grounds N/A 14-12 L1 28 May 29 @ Giants 7–6 Polo Grounds N/A 15-12 W1 29 May 30 1 @ Giants 3–1 Polo Grounds 678 16-12 W2 30 May 30 2 @ Giants 1–0 Polo Grounds 3,759 17-12 W3 31 May 31 @ Giants 12–8 Polo Grounds N/A 18-12 W4
June: 19–6 (Home: 17–5; Away: 2–1) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 32 June 2 @ Spiders 4–3 National League Park N/A 19-12 W5 33 June 3 @ Spiders 5–2 National League Park N/A 20-12 W6 34 June 4 @ Spiders 1–3 National League Park N/A 20-13 L1 - June 5 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: June 5 35 June 5 Alleghenys 9–1 League Park 1,200 21-13 W1 - June 6 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: June 6 36 June 6 Alleghenys 9–5 League Park N/A 22-13 W2 - June 7 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: June 7 37 June 7 Alleghenys 6–2 League Park N/A 23-13 W3 38 June 9 Alleghenys 8–2 League Park N/A 24-13 W4 39 June 10 Alleghenys 9–2 League Park N/A 25-13 W5 40 June 11 Alleghenys 5–1 League Park N/A 26-13 W6 41 June 12 Spiders 8–0 League Park 1,611 27-13 W7 42 June 13 Spiders 7–5 League Park N/A 28-13 W8 43 June 14 Spiders 9–0 League Park N/A 29-13 W9 44 June 16 Spiders 7–3 League Park N/A 30-13 W10 45 June 17 Colts 3–0 League Park N/A 31-13 W11 46 June 18 Colts 6–2 League Park N/A 32-13 W12 47 June 19 Colts 4–2 League Park N/A 33-13 W13 48 June 20 Beaneaters 2–4 League Park N/A 33-14 L1 49 June 21 Beaneaters 4–1 League Park N/A 34-14 W1 50 June 23 Beaneaters 4–12 League Park N/A 34-15 L1 51 June 24 Beaneaters 0–2 League Park N/A 34-16 L2 52 June 25 Giants 2–1 League Park 2,600 35-16 W1 53 June 26 Giants 8–5 League Park N/A 36-16 W2 54 June 27 Giants 4–8 League Park N/A 36-17 L1 55 June 28 Giants 12–3 League Park N/A 37-17 W1 56 June 30 Bridegrooms 6–8 League Park N/A 37-18 L1
July: 12–15 (Home: 10–5; Away: 2–10) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 57 July 1 Bridegrooms 3–0 League Park N/A 38-18 W1 58 July 2 Bridegrooms 6–1 League Park 1,928 39-18 W2 59 July 3 Bridegrooms 9–6 League Park N/A 40-18 W3 60 July 4 1 Phillies 2–11 League Park N/A 40-19 L1 61 July 4 2 Phillies 7–1 League Park 14,817 41-19 W1 62 July 5 Phillies 6–9 League Park N/A 41-20 L1 63 July 7 @ Phillies 3–1 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 42-20 W1 64 July 8 @ Phillies 4–9 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 42-21 L1 65 July 9 @ Phillies 1–6 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 42-22 L2 66 July 10 @ Bridegrooms 3–5 Washington Park N/A 42-23 L3 67 July 11 @ Bridegrooms 2–9 Washington Park N/A 42-24 L4 68 July 12 @ Bridegrooms 1–7 Washington Park N/A 42-25 L5 69 July 14 @ Giants 6–1 Polo Grounds N/A 43-25 W1 70 July 15 @ Giants 3–7 Polo Grounds N/A 43-26 L1 71 July 16 @ Giants 8–12 Polo Grounds N/A 43-27 L2 72 July 17 @ Beaneaters 3–6 South End Grounds N/A 43-28 L3 73 July 18 @ Beaneaters 3–9 South End Grounds N/A 43-29 L4 74 July 19 @ Beaneaters 2–6 South End Grounds N/A 43-30 L5 75 July 21 Bridegrooms 20–11 League Park N/A 44-30 W1 76 July 22 Bridegrooms 5–16 League Park N/A 44-31 L1 77 July 24 Giants 7–5 League Park N/A 45-31 W1 78 July 25 Giants 10–6 League Park N/A 46-31 W2 79 July 26 Giants 5–1 League Park 2,108 47-31 W3 80 July 28 Beaneaters 1–2 League Park N/A 47-32 L1 81 July 29 Beaneaters 11–3 League Park N/A 48-32 W1 82 July 30 Beaneaters 0–3 League Park N/A 48-33 L1 83 July 31 Phillies 8–6 League Park N/A 49-33 W1
August: 15–8 (Home: 8–3; Away: 7–5) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 84 August 1 Phillies 4–5 League Park N/A 49-34 L1 85 August 2 Phillies 11–3 League Park N/A 50-34 W1 86 August 4 Phillies 7–5 League Park N/A 51-34 W2 - August 6 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: August 6 87 August 6 Alleghenys 16–3 League Park N/A 52-34 W3 - August 7 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: August 7 88 August 7 Alleghenys 23–17 League Park N/A 53-34 W4 - August 8 @ Alleghenys Postponed (site change); Makeup: August 8 89 August 8 Alleghenys 9–6 League Park N/A 54-34 W5 90 August 9 @ Spiders 4–5 National League Park N/A 54-35 L1 91 August 11 @ Spiders 9–7 National League Park N/A 55-35 W1 92 August 12 @ Spiders 2–1 National League Park N/A 56-35 W2 93 August 13 Colts 4–6 League Park N/A 56-36 L1 94 August 14 Colts 2–1 League Park N/A 57-36 W1 95 August 15 Colts 2–9 League Park N/A 57-37 L1 96 August 16 Spiders 10–0 League Park N/A 58-37 W1 97 August 18 Spiders 14–3 League Park N/A 59-37 W2 98 August 21 @ Giants 5–3 Polo Grounds N/A 60-37 W3 99 August 22 @ Giants 3–4 Polo Grounds N/A 60-38 L1 100 August 23 @ Giants 3–7 Polo Grounds 2,034 60-39 L2 101 August 25 @ Bridegrooms 4–1 Washington Park N/A 61-39 W1 102 August 26 @ Bridegrooms 0–3 Washington Park N/A 61-40 L1 103 August 27 @ Bridegrooms 8–1 Washington Park N/A 62-40 W1 104 August 28 @ Beaneaters 7–0 South End Grounds N/A 63-40 W2 105 August 29 @ Beaneaters 1–2 South End Grounds N/A 63-41 L1 106 August 30 @ Beaneaters 6–5 South End Grounds N/A 64-41 W1
September/October: 13–14 (Home: 11–6; Away: 2–8) # Date Opponent Score Stadium Attendance Record Streak 107 September 1 1 @ Phillies 1–2 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 64-42 L1 108 September 1 2 @ Phillies 8–5 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 65-42 W1 109 September 2 @ Phillies 12–14 Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds N/A 65-43 L1 110 September 4 @ Colts 4–7 West Side Park 2,436 65-44 L2 111 September 5 @ Colts 8–12 West Side Park 910 65-45 L3 112 September 6 @ Colts 0–1 West Side Park 2,972 65-46 L4 113 September 9 Spiders 4–8 League Park N/A 65-47 L5 114 September 11 1 Alleghenys 2–0 League Park N/A 66-47 W1 115 September 11 2 Alleghenys 4–1 League Park N/A 67-47 W2 116 September 12 1 Alleghenys 7–3 League Park N/A 68-47 W3 117 September 12 2 Alleghenys 11–1 League Park N/A 69-47 W4 118 September 13 Alleghenys 6–8 League Park N/A 69-48 L1 119 September 15 @ Colts 3–6 West Side Park 1,847 69-49 L2 120 September 16 @ Colts 2–5 West Side Park 1,328 69-50 L3 121 September 17 @ Colts 6–6 West Side Park 1,541 69-50 L3 122 September 18 1 @ Colts 4–8 West Side Park 2,382 69-51 L4 123 September 18 2 @ Colts 10–5 West Side Park N/A 70-51 W1 124 September 19 Phillies 5–4 League Park N/A 71-51 W2 125 September 20 Phillies 9–1 League Park N/A 72-51 W3 126 September 22 Phillies 5–7 League Park N/A 72-52 L1 127 September 23 Phillies 4–2 League Park N/A 73-52 W1 128 September 24 Bridegrooms 1–5 League Park N/A 73-53 L1 129 September 27 Giants 3–15 League Park N/A 73-54 L2 130 September 29 Giants 5–4 League Park N/A 74-54 W1 131 September 30 Giants 5–2 League Park N/A 75-54 W2 132 October 1 Beaneaters 5–3 League Park N/A 76-54 W3 133 October 2 Beaneaters 3–7 League Park N/A 76-55 L1 134 October 3 Beaneaters 8–2 League Park N/A 77-55 W1 - October 4 Beaneaters Postponed (rain); Makeup: October 1

Player stats

Batting

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	Jerry Harrington	65	236	58	.246	1	23
1B	John Reilly	133	553	166	.300	6	86
2B	Bid McPhee	132	528	135	.256	3	39
SS	Ollie Beard	122	492	132	.268	3	72
3B	Arlie Latham	41	164	41	.250	0	15
OF	Joe Knight	127	481	150	.312	4	67
OF	Lefty Marr	130	527	157	.298	1	73
OF	Bug Holliday	131	518	140	.270	4	75

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
Tony Mullane	81	286	79	.276	0	34
Jim Keenan	54	202	28	.139	3	19
Hugh Nicol	50	186	39	.210	0	19
Kid Baldwin	22	72	11	.153	0	10
Billy Clingman	7	27	7	.259	0	5

Pitching

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
Billy Rhines	46	401.1	28	17	1.95	182
Jesse Duryea	33	274.0	16	12	2.92	108
Tony Mullane	25	209.0	12	10	2.24	91
Frank Foreman	25	198.1	13	10	3.95	57
Lee Viau	13	90.0	7	5	4.50	41
John Dolan	2	18.0	1	1	4.50	9

External links

• 1890 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference