1886 Detroit Wolverines season

The 1886 Detroit Wolverines had the best winning percentage of any major league baseball team to play in Detroit. They compiled a record of 87–36 for a .707 winning percentage. Nevertheless, the Wolverines finished in second place, 2½ games behind the Chicago White Stockings.

1886 Detroit Wolverines
LeagueNational League
BallparkRecreation Park
CityDetroit, Michigan
OwnerFrederick K. Stearns
ManagerBill Watkins
← 1885
1887 →

Regular season

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1886 Detroit Wolverines

Season standings

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago White Stockings 90 34 .726 52‍–‍10 38‍–‍24
Detroit Wolverines 87 36 .707 49‍–‍13 38‍–‍23
New York Giants 75 44 .630 12½ 47‍–‍12 28‍–‍32
Philadelphia Quakers 71 43 .623 14 45‍–‍14 26‍–‍29
Boston Beaneaters 56 61 .479 30½ 32‍–‍26 24‍–‍35
St. Louis Maroons 43 79 .352 46 27‍–‍34 16‍–‍45
Kansas City Cowboys 30 91 .248 58½ 17‍–‍40 13‍–‍51
Washington Nationals 28 92 .233 60 19‍–‍43 9‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS CHI DET KC NYG PHI STL WSH
Boston 6–12 6–11 11–6 6–11 3–10 11–6–1 13–5
Chicago 12–6 11–7 17–1 10–8–1 10–7–1 13–4 17–1
Detroit 11–6 7–11 16–2 11–7 10–7–1 15–2–1 17–1–1
Kansas City 6–11 1–17 2–16 3–15–1 2–14–1 5–12–2 11–6–1
New York 11–6 8–10–1 7–11 15–3–1 8–8–1 15–3 11–3–2
Philadelphia 10–3 7–10–1 7–10–1 14–2–1 8–8–1 12–6 13–4–1
St. Louis 6–11–1 4–13 2–15–1 12–5–2 3–15 6–12 10–8
Washington 5–13 1–17 1–17–1 6–11–1 3–11–2 4–13–1 8–10


Roster

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1886 Detroit Wolverines
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. Slg. HR RBI
C Charlie Bennett 72 235 37 57 .243 .391 4 34
1B Dan Brouthers 121 489 139 181 .370 .581 11 72
2B Fred Dunlap 51 196 32 56 .286 .418 4 37
3B Deacon White 124 491 65 142 .289 .354 1 76
SS Jack Rowe 111 468 97 142 .303 .425 6 87
OF Sam Thompson 122 503 101 156 .310 .445 8 89
OF Ned Hanlon 126 494 105 116 .235 .296 4 60
OF Hardy Richardson 125 538 125 189 .351 .504 11 61

Other batters

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

Player G AB R H Avg. Slg. HR RBI
Charlie Ganzel 57 213 28 58 .272 .338 0 51
Sam Crane 47 185 24 26 .141 .189 1 12
Jim Manning 26 97 14 18 .186 .268 0 7
Harry Decker 14 54 2 12 .222 .250 0 5
Jack McGeachey 6 27 3 9 .333 .333 0 4
Billy Shindle 7 26 4 7 .269 .269 0 4
Tom Gillen 2 10 2 4 .400 .400 0 4

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Lady Baldwin 56 487.0 42 13 2.24 323
Pretzels Getzien 43 386.2 30 11 3.03 172
Pete Conway 11 91.0 6 5 3.36 35
Billy Smith 9 77.0 5 4 4.09 36
Phenomenal Smith 3 25.0 1 1 2.16 15
Larry Twitchell 4 25.0 0 2 6.48 6

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Hardy Richardson 4 3 0 0 4.50 5

Awards and honors

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League top ten finishers

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Lady Baldwin

  • NL leader in wins (42)
  • NL leader in strikeouts (323)
  • NL leader in shutouts (7)
  • NL leader in walks plus hits per 9 innings pitched (WHIP) (0.967)
  • NL leader in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (6.86)
  • #3 in NL in ERA (2.24)
  • #3 in NL in win percentage (.764)
  • #2 in NL in strikeouts to walks (3.23)
  • #3 in NL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (5.97)
  • #4 in NL in games (56)
  • #4 in NL in innings pitched (487)
  • #4 in NL in games started (56)
  • #4 in NL in complete games (55)
  • #5 in NL in walks per 9 innings pitched (1.85)
  • #5 in NL in Adjusted ERA+ (147)

Dan Brouthers

  • NL leader in slugging percentage (.581)
  • NL leader in OPS (1.026)
  • NL leader in total bases (284)
  • NL leader in doubles (40)
  • NL leader in home runs (11) (tied with Richardson)
  • NL leader in runs created (126)
  • NL leader in extra base hits (66)
  • NL leader in at bats per home run (44.5)
  • #2 in NL in on-base percentage (.445)
  • #2 in NL in triples (15)
  • #2 in NL in times on base (247)
  • #3 in NL in Power/Speed Number (14.4)
  • #3 in NL in at bats per strikeout (30.6)
  • #3 in NL in batting average (.370)
  • #3 in NL in plate appearances (555)
  • #3 in NL in runs scored (139)
  • #3 in NL in hits (181)
  • #4 in NL in runs scored (125)
  • #4 in NL in bases on balls (66)

Pretzels Getzien

  • #5 in NL in win percentage (.732)

Ned Hanlon

  • NL leader in games played (126)
  • #2 in NL in outs (378)
  • #3 in NL in stolen bases (50)
  • #4 in NL in plate appearances (551)
  • #5 in NL in at bats (494)

Hardy Richardson

  • NL leader in at bats (538)
  • NL leader in plate appearances (584)
  • NL leader in hits (189)
  • NL leader in home runs (11) (tied with Brouthers)
  • NL leader in singles (140)
  • NL leader in Power/Speed Number (17.4)
  • #2 in NL in at bats per home run (48.9)
  • #2 in NL in games finished (pitcher) (4)
  • #3 in NL in games played (125)
  • #3 in NL in total bases (271)
  • #3 in NL in stolen bases (42)
  • #4 in NL in runs created (109)
  • #4 in NL in extra base hits (49)
  • #5 in NL in times on base (235)
  • #5 in NL in batting average (.351)
  • #5 in NL in slugging percentage (.504)
  • #5 in NL in OPS (.906)

Jack Rowe

  • #4 in NL in RBIs (87)

Sam Thompson

  • NL leader in double plays by an outfielder (11)
  • #3 in NL in at bats (503)
  • #3 in NL in RBIs (89)
  • #4 in NL in singles (117)

Deacon White

  • #4 in NL in singles (117)
  • 3rd oldest player in NL (38)

Players Ranking Among Top 100 of All Time at Position

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The following members of the 1886 Detroit Wolverines are among the Top 100 of all time at their positions, as ranked by The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

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