[FuzzyRussianHat]

The first franchise to make a stadium change was Detroit, leaving Recreation Park. The new Bennett Park has a capacity of 14,000 and is very favorable for doubles and triples with a large outfield, especially in left with 456 feet to left-center. It will also be one of the toughest parks for any player to hit home runs.



Above are the top-rated batters in professional baseball entering the 1896 season. The biggest contract remains LF Mike Tiernan of Pittsburgh with a $70,000 salary for the season.



Above are the top-rated pitchers for 1896.

The highest team payroll for 1896 is the Philadelphia Phillies at $297,690. The New York Yankees ($234,658), St. Louis Cardinals ($212,059), and Washington Nationals ($209,467) are each above $200k. The lowest payroll is the New York Giants at $67,625. Only Detroit ($94,637) is also at five figures.

Below are the all-time leaderboards entering the season and the notable milestones that may be reached.





Cincinnati got horrible news right at the end of spring training. Reigning NL MVP Kip Selbach, fresh off his Triple Crown season, suffered a broken left knee cap. The Reds hope Selbach might make it back in late fall, but he’s expected out 5-6 months.

Bad injury news continued for RF/SP Buck Freeman, the #3 draft pick in 1890 by Brooklyn. He had injury issues immediately and was traded to the Yankees in 1892 after only 31 games for the Dodgers. A torn UCL and other injuries kept Freeman out much of his time with the Yankees with some limited minor league use.

Freeman finally debuted in 1895 for New York with 17 games and they were optimistic that the 24-year old could still reach his potential for 1896. Unfortunately, Freeman ended spring training with a ruptured UCL with another full year of recovery expected.