Major League Baseball team season
The
1918
Cincinnati Reds
season
was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the
National League
with a record of 68?60, 15½ games behind the
Chicago Cubs
.
Off-season
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In March, the Reds sold third baseman
Bill McKechnie
to the
Pittsburgh Pirates
for $20,000. McKechnie had previously played for the Pirates from 1907 to 1912. A natural third baseman, he appeared in only four games at third for the Reds in 1917, as he played most of his games at second base.
On March 18, Cincinnati was part of a three way deal with the
St. Louis Browns
and
New York Yankees
. In the deal, the Reds received
Lee Magee
from the Browns. Magee would become the Reds starting second baseman, and split the 1917 season with the Browns and Yankees. In 87 games between the two clubs, Magee hit .200 with no home runs and 12 RBI. The Reds sent catcher
Tommy Clarke
to New York to complete the deal.
A couple of weeks later, on April 1, the Reds sent second baseman
Dave Shean
to the
Boston Red Sox
for pitcher
Rube Foster
. Foster refused to report in Cincinnati and the Red Sox sent the Reds cash to complete the trade.
Regular season
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Midway through the season, Reds first baseman
Hal Chase
allegedly paid pitcher
Jimmy Ring
$50 to throw a game against the
New York Giants
. Manager
Christy Mathewson
got wind of it and suspended Chase for the remainder of the season, and brought formal charges against Chase for fixing games, but
National League
president
John Heydler
acquitted him. Heydler had told sportswriter
Fred Lieb
in private that he believed Chase had bet on baseball, but did not have enough evidence to convict him.
On July 15, the Reds sold pitcher
Fred Toney
to the
New York Giants
. Toney, who had pitched with the club since 1915, was only 6-10 with a 2.90 ERA and had lost his spot in the Reds starting rotation due to the emergence of
Jimmy Ring
and
Hod Eller
.
Late in the season, with only 10 games remaining, manager
Christy Mathewson
left the Reds to enlist in the
United States Army
for World War I. He served overseas in the newly formed
Chemical Service
with
Ty Cobb
. Third baseman
Heinie Groh
took over as manager for the remainder of the season.
Season summary
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After a good 1917 season in which the team finished over .500 for the first time since 1909, the Reds hoped to build off of that success in 1918. Over the first 35 games of the season, Cincinnati had a very respectable 20-15 record, and was in third place in the
National League
, five games behind the first place
New York Giants
. The Reds then struggled badly over the next 29 games, winning only five of them to drop completely out of the pennant race. Only July 4, the Reds had a 25-39 record, and sat in seventh place, 21 games out of first.
The team would play very good baseball over the final months and turned their season around. Over their final 64 games, the Reds had a 43-21 record, and finished the season, which was cut short due to World War I, with a 68-60 record, which put them in third place, 15.5 games behind the pennant winning
Chicago Cubs
. The Reds .531 winning percentage was their highest since 1904.
Outfielder
Edd Roush
had another superb season, as he led the club with a .333 batting average, five home runs, 62 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 113 games. Third baseman
Heinie Groh
batted .320 with one home run and 37 RBI. First baseman
Hal Chase
batted .301 with two home runs and 38 RBI in 74 games before being suspended for the season by manager
Christy Mathewson
. Outfielder
Sherry Magee
took over at first base for Chase, and he led the club with 76 RBI, while batting .298 with two home runs in 115 games.
Pitcher
Hod Eller
led the Reds pitching staff with a 16-12 record, 2.36 ERA and led the team in innings pitched with 217.2
Pete Schneider
struggled with a 10-15 record and a 3.53 ERA, however, he led the Reds with 17 complete games.
Jimmy Ring
had a solid season, going 9-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 21 games, while
Rube Bressler
went 8-5 with a 2.46 ERA in 17 games.
Season standings
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Record vs. opponents
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Roster
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1918 Cincinnati Reds
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Roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
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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; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Other batters
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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pitching
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Starting pitchers
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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
References
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American League
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National League
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- Established in
1882
- Formerly the
Cincinnati Red Stockings
and the
Cincinnati Redlegs
- Based in
Cincinnati, Ohio
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Franchise
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Ballparks
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Culture
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Lore
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Rivalries
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Key personnel
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World Series Championships (5)
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National League pennants (9)
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AA pennants (1)
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Division titles (10)
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Minor league affiliates
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Media
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Seasons (143)
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1880s
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1890s
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1900s
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1910s
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1920s
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1930s
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1940s
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1950s
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1960s
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1970s
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1980s
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1990s
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2010s
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2020s
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