The 1916

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The team finished tied for seventh and last place in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Both teams finished with a record of 60–93, 33½ games behind the Brooklyn Robins

Off-season

In December, the Reds purchased shortstop

Larry Kopf William Lorenz "Larry" Kopf (November 3, 1890 – October 15, 1986) was a professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from to . He would play for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Braves and Ci ...

from the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In 1915, Kopf's first season getting regular playing time at the major league level, batted .225 with one home run and 33 RBI in 118 games. Later in the month, Cincinnati purchased the contracts of

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

players

Earl Moseley Earl Victor Moseley (September 7, 1887 – July 1, 1963) was a pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox (1913), Indianapolis Hoosiers / Newark Pepper (1914–1915) and Cincinnati Reds (1916). Moseley batted and threw right-handed. He was born i ...

from the

Newark Peppers The Newark Peppers, originally known as the Indianapolis Hoosiers, were a Federal League baseball team from 1913–1915. The Federal League (FL), founded in 1913, was a third major league in 1914 and 1915. History The Federal League began as an in ...

, and second baseman

Baldy Louden William P. "Baldy" Louden (August 27, 1883 – December 8, 1935) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball from 1906 to 1920, including six years in Major League Baseball as an infielder with the New York Highlanders (1907 ...

from the

Buffalo Blues The Buffalo Blues were a professional baseball club that played in the short-lived Federal League, which was a minor league in 1913 and a full-fledged outlaw major league the next two years. It was the last major league baseball team to be bas ...

. Moseley had a 15–15 record and a league-best 1.91 ERA with the Pepper in 1915, while Louden batted .281 with four home runs and 48 RBI, and stole 30 bases with the Blues. In early 1916, the Reds purchased first baseman Hal Chase from the

of the

. Chase led the league with 17 home runs in 1915, and batted .289 and also had 89 RBI in 145 games. Chase had a lot of previous experience in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, playing for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

from 1905 until 1914. Cincinnati then purchased the contract of shortstop Bob Fisher from the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Fisher batted .287 with five home runs and 53 RBI in 147 games, and led the

with 42 sacrifice bunts. On February 10, the club announced more purchased contracts from the

, as Cincinnati acquired pitchers

Jim Bluejacket Jim Bluejacket (born William Lincoln Smith July 8, 1887 – March 26, 1947) was a major league pitcher in the early 20th century. Bluejacket played for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (–) and Cincinnati Reds (). Personal life When he started playing p ...

from the

Brooklyn Tip-Tops The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were a team in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team's name came from Tip Top Bread, a product of Ward Baking Company, which was also owned by team owner Robert Ward. They were so ...

and

Al Schulz Albert Christopher Schulz (May 12, 1889 – December 13, 1931), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the New York Yankees, Buffalo Buffeds, and Cincinnati Reds. Shulz was primarily a ...

from the

, and first baseman

Emil Huhn Emil Hugo "Hap" Huhn (March 10, 1892 in North Vernon, Indiana, United States – September 5, 1925 in Camden, South Carolina, United States) was a right-handed Major League Baseball first baseman and catcher who played for the Federal League's Ne ...

from the

. Bluejacket had a record of 10–11 with a 3.15 ERA in 24 games with the Tip-Tops, while Schulz was 21–14 with a 3.08 ERA in 42 games with the Blues, striking out 168 batters, throwing 25 complete games, and he led the league with 149 walks. Huhn batted .227 with a home run and 41 RBI in 127 games with the Pepper.

Regular season

Early in the season, the Reds purchased the contract of pitcher

Elmer Knetzer Elmer Ellsworth Knetzer (July 22, 1885 – October 3, 1975) was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1909 to 1917. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Rebels, Boston Braves, and Cincinnati Reds. E ...

from the Boston Braves. Knetzer was acquired by Cincinnati on April 30, after he struggled in his first two games with Boston, going 0–2 with a 7.20 ERA. He would split his games with the Reds as a starting pitcher and reliever. On July 20, with a record of 34–49 and in last place in the league, the Reds traded player-manager

Buck Herzog Charles Lincoln "Buck" Herzog (July 9, 1885 – September 4, 1953) was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for four National League clubs between 1908 and 1920: the New York Giants, the Boston Braves, the Cinci ...

and outfielder

Red Killefer Wade Hampton "Red" Killefer (April 13, 1885 – September 4, 1958) was an outfielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball who played seven seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1907–1909), Washington Senators (1909–1910), Cincinnati Reds ( ...

to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

for starting pitcher

Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...

, third baseman

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win Wo ...

and outfielder

Edd Roush Edd J. Roush (May 8, 1893 – March 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1913 to 1931, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds where he was a ...

. Mathewson, who had struggled with the Giants in 1916, had a 3–4 record with a 2.33 ERA in 12 games. He would announce his retirement and become the Reds manager, however, Mathewson would appear in one game with Cincinnati as a starting pitcher. This would be Mathewson's first time as a manager. McKechnie had a .246 batting average with no home runs and 17 RBI at the time of the trade, while Roush was batting .188 with no home runs and five RBI in 39 games.

Season summary

After a solid 5–2 start in their first seven games, in which the Reds were in first place, the club struggled badly and by the middle of May, they were under .500 and falling out of the pennant race. On July 20, with a record of 34–49, the club was involved in a deal that centered on player manager

being traded to the

for

. Mathewson announced his retirement from playing, and following a double header in which catcher

Ivey Wingo Ivey Brown Wingo (July 8, 1890 – March 1, 1941) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played all or parts of 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. ...

was the interim manager, Mathewson took over. The Reds continued to struggle under Mathewson, remaining in last place, until a three-game winning streak at the end of the season moved the team into seventh place tie with the

. Cincinnati finished the season 60–93, which included a 25–43 record under Mathewson, and were 33.5 games behind the first place Brooklyn Robins. This marked the seventh consecutive season that the team finished under .500. Offensively, the team was led by Hal Chase, who led the Reds with a .339 batting average, four home runs, 82 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 142 games. He led the National League in batting average, and hits with 184. Outfielder

Tommy Griffith Thomas Herman Griffith (October 26, 1889 – April 13, 1967) was an American professional baseball player from 1913 to 1925. He was a right fielder who mainly played with the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Robins. While with these teams he never hi ...

had a solid year, batting .266 with two home runs and 61 RBI in 155 games, while

, acquired in the middle of the season, had a solid .287 average with 15 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 69 games. On the mound,

Fred Toney Fred Toney (December 11, 1888 – March 11, 1953) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from 1911 to 1923. His career record was 139 wins, 102 ...

led the club with a 14–17 record and a team best 2.28 ERA in 41 games, pitching 300 innings, striking out 146 batters and completing 21 games. Twenty year old

Pete Schneider Peter Joseph Schneider (August 20, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1914–1918) and New York Yankees (1919). Schneider batted and threw right-handed. Career Born in ...

showed much potential, despite a poor 10–19 record, he had a 2.69 ERA in 44 games. Clarence Mitchell was 11–10 with a 3.24 ERA in 29 games in his first full season with the club.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

References

1916 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference
{{Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season