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Several prominent managers got the boot after lackluster 1894 campaigns, including two World Series winners. 47-year old John Hatfield was canned by Detroit after 11 seasons. The Tigers won the 1891 World Series and had division titles in 1892-93, but fell off a cliff hard in 1894 at 68-94. Detroit struggled in his earlier seasons, finishing with an 888-901 record.

The Red Sox fired Gat Stires after six seasons. He took over in 1889 and won a World Series in his first year, the team’s third title in four seasons. They spent the next three seasons in the middle tier before back-to-back last place seasons with the 45-year old at the helm.

Perhaps the most surprising firing was Buffalo’s Ned Cuthbert. The 49-year old took over in 1890 and had four straight 90+ win seasons and two NL pennants. The Bisons fell off in 1894 but weren’t outright bad at 84-78. Buffalo had also been hurt by multiple injuries to former MVP Jimmy Ryan, who was their big trade acquisition for the season.

Also gone was Chicago’s Al Pratt, who won division titles in 1891-82 for the Cubs. “Uncle Al” lasted six seasons, but back-to-back losing campaigns cooked his goose. Another former division winner fired was Joe Simmons, who was with the St. Louis Browns from 1889-94. After their 1890 berth, they missed but were second in the next two years. Back-to-back losing seasons after that sent the 49-year old packing.

The Phillies gave a hefty extension to pitcher Silver King, the 1894 NLCS MVP. The 27-year old ace opted out of his previous deal to sign a new six-year, $230,600 deal, becoming the richest true pitcher as of signing in November. Detroit continued its fire sale by trading six-time Silver Slugger 3B Duke Farrell to the White Sox for three prospects. The 28-year old Farrell will be in the last year of his current contract.

There was a cross-city trade in Philadelphia. Former Pitcher of the Year Toad Ramsey was sent away from the Athletics to the Phillies along with minor league 2B Art Ball. The A’s meanwhile got pitching prospect George Cummings. Ramsey had a down year by his standards in 1894 with 3.5 WAR and a 3.26 ERA over 290 innings. He has two years left on the six-year, $207,600 deal he signed earlier with the Athletics.

The 1894 draft had a notably large influx of players, justifying 16 rounds worth of picks. This made the talent pool large enough throughout pro baseball to allow for an expansion of the minor league system. Triple A began in 1887 and for 1895, the Double A level begins, giving each franchise two affiliated squads.



Above are the top picks from the 1894 draft. The New York Giants took SP Joe Corbett with the #1 pick. He and #6 pick SP Jerry Nops (Pittsburgh) both have 75 potential grades. #2 pick SP Doc McJames (Boston Red Sox) and #4 pick SP Arlie Pond (Louisville) both have 70-grade potential. The one notable player who didn’t sign with their squad was #10 pick RF Bunk Congalton with the Philadelphia Athletics.