1885 New York Metropolitans season

1885 New York Metropolitans
Major League affiliations
American Association (since 1883)
Location
Polo Grounds (since 1881) New York City (since 1880)
Other information
Owner(s)	John B. Day, Jim Mutrie
Manager(s)	Jim Gifford
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The 1885 New York Metropolitans were hard hit as manager/co-owner Jim Mutrie moved over to manage the New York Giants and took several of the team's stars with him. The Metropolitans finished with a 44–64 record, seventh place in the American Association.

Regular season[]

The Jones game[]

On April 30, 1885, the Metropolitans played the Philadelphia Athletics, at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan.^[1] A man whose first name was not recorded played third base for the Metropolitans in his first game in the AA; an article in The New York Times stated that "A new man covered third base for the local team. He is an amateur, and gave his name as "Jones.""^[2] Defensively, Jones recorded two putouts and four assists. When batting, Jones had one hit at four at bats, for a batting average of .250.^[3][4] Multiple newspapers reported on Jones's performance in the game. Both The New York Times and Sporting Life remarked that Jones had played "a very good game".^[1][2] The New York Times said that Jones was expected to join the Metropolitans; however, Jones never played for the team again.^[2]

The game in which Jones played lasted one hour and thirty-five minutes, according to The New York Times.^[2] Despite having no errors in the game, the Metropolitans still lost to the Athletics 2–1. The Athletics scored their two runs in the first inning, while the Metropolitans recorded their single run in the third inning. Both of the Athletics' runs were unearned, while the Metropolitans' run was earned.^[1] After the game, Metropolitan shortstop Candy Nelson remarked, "that is what I call hard luck, and the hardest kind of hard luck at that."^[2] The loss brought the Metropolitans' record to 3–6, and they continued as seventh ranked in the league. For the remainder of the season, the Metropolitans would remain as seventh or eighth place, finishing in seventh.^[5]

Season standings[]

v t American Association	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Browns	79	33	0.705	—	44–11	35–22
Cincinnati Red Stockings	63	49	0.562	16	35–21	28–28
Pittsburgh Alleghenys	56	55	0.505	22½	37–19	19–36
Philadelphia Athletics	55	57	0.491	24	33–23	22–34
Brooklyn Grays	53	59	0.473	26	35–22	18–37
Louisville Colonels	53	59	0.473	26	37–19	16–40
New York Metropolitans	44	64	0.407	33	28–24	16–40
Baltimore Orioles	41	68	0.376	36½	29–26	12–42

Record vs. opponents[]

1885 American Association Records v t Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BAL	BR	CIN	LOU	NY	PHI	PIT	STL
Baltimore	—	7–9	6–10	7–9	7–6	6–10–1	6–10	2–14
Brooklyn	9–7	—	5–11	10–6	8–8	11–5	6–10	4–12
Cincinnati	10–6	11–5	—	8–8	10–6	9–7	9–7	6–10
Louisville	9–7	6–10	8–8	—	9–7	8–8	6–10	7–9
New York	6–7	8–8	6–10	7–9	—	5–11	8–7	4–12
Philadelphia	10–6–1	5–11	7–9	8–8	11–5	—	10–6	4–12
Pittsburgh	10–6	10–6	7–9	10–6	7–8	6–10	—	6–10
St. Louis	14–2	12–4	10–6	9–7	12–4	12–4	10–6	—

Opening Day lineup[]

Roster[]

1885 New York Metropolitans
Roster
Pitchers Buck Becannon Ed Bagley Doug Crothers Ed Cushman Jack Lynch		Catchers Cal Broughton Bill Holbert Charlie Reipschlager Infielders Tom Forster Frank Hankinson Jones Candy Nelson Dave Orr Dick Pierson Joe Reilly Dasher Troy		Outfielders Steve Brady Ed Kennedy Chief Roseman		Manager Jim Gifford

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
1B	Dave Orr	107	444	152	.342	6	77

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

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
Ed Bagley	15	115	4	9	4.93	44
Buck Becannon	10	85	2	8	6.25	13

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
Dave Orr	3	0	0	0	7.20	1

References[]

• 1885 New York Metropolitans team page at Baseball Reference