1897 Boston Beaneaters season
The 1897 Boston Beaneaters season was the 27th season of the franchise. The Beaneaters won the National League pennant, their fourth of the decade and their seventh overall. After the season, the Beaneaters played in the Temple Cup for the first time. They lost the series to the second-place Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 1.Regular season
This team has been cited as one of the greatest of the 19th century. It featured five Hall of Famers: manager Frank Selee, pitcher Kid Nichols, third baseman Jimmy Collins, and outfielders Billy Hamilton and Hugh Duffy.
In just 132 games, the Beaneaters scored 1025 runs to lead the league. They also allowed the fewest, on the way to a.705 winning percentage. Nichols was one of the premier pitchers in the league, leading the NL with 31 wins. His 2.64 ERA ranked second.Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster
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 | | 87 | 327 | 81 | .248 | 2 | 45 |
| 1B | | 132 | 566 | 180 | .318 | 1 | 85 |
| 2B | | 123 | 499 | 154 | .309 | 5 | 106 |
| 3B | | 134 | 529 | 183 | .346 | 6 | 132 |
| SS | | 107 | 450 | 145 | .322 | 3 | 69 |
| OF | | 134 | 550 | 187 | .340 | 11 | 129 |
| OF | | 127 | 507 | 174 | .343 | 3 | 61 |
| OF | | 114 | 469 | 166 | .354 | 4 | 97 |
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 |
| 61 | 199 | 73 | .367 | 2 | 37 |
| 34 | 119 | 38 | .319 | 1 | 24 |
| 30 | 105 | 28 | .267 | 0 | 14 |
| 30 | 95 | 23 | .242 | 2 | 15 |
| 19 | 62 | 15 | .242 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | 14 | 3 | .214 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 1 |
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 |
| 46 | 368 | 31 | 11 | 2.64 | 127 |
| 38 | 309.1 | 26 | 7 | 4.60 | 92 |
| 38 | 290 | 21 | 12 | 3.85 | 65 |
| 18 | 129.1 | 11 | 4 | 3.41 | 27 |
Other 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 |
| 13 | 89 | 4 | 5 | 3.94 | 17 |
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 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.87 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors
League top ten finishers
Jimmy Collins
Hugh Duffy
Sliding Billy Hamilton
Fred Klobedanz
Kid Nichols
- NL leader in wins
- #2 in NL in ERA
