The 1901 Cleveland Blues 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 t ...

. It was the franchise's first in the majors, being one of the original franchises of 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 ...

. Called the "Blues" or "Bluebirds", the team finished seventh out of eight teams.

Before the 1901 season

1899: Major League Baseball leaves Cleveland

The

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

were dissolved after winning only 20 games and losing 134 in the 1899 season along with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and the Washington Senators, leaving 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 ...

with eight teams to begin the 1900 season. As a result, 1900 marked the first year since 1886 during which the city of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

did not have a team affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

1900: A new franchise

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the mino ...

, president of the Western League, changed the league's name to the

in 1900, bringing aboard a new team in Cleveland, then known as the Cleveland Lake Shores, along with new Baltimore and Washington franchises, which would be created with or without the approval of the

.Schneider, 11 During this time, Cleveland had a minor league baseball team, known as the Bluebirds or Blues due to their all-blue uniforms, which finished their season with a 63–73 record and finished sixth.

1901: Major league once more

The American League became a major league before the 1901 season. As the American League made the jump to major league status, many players jumped ship, including

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

and

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

, which led the National League to call them an "outlaw league" in November 1900. As the 1901 season came underway in April, and as the war between the two leagues erupted, the Cleveland franchise, now known as the Blues, began its first official season as a Major League Baseball team.

Regular season

Season summary

April

The Cleveland Blues played their first game of the season against the Chicago White Stockings on April 24, 1901. This was the first games in the history of the American League; three other games scheduled that day were rained out.Snyder, 28 The starting lineup consisted of:

Ollie Pickering Oliver Daniel Pickering (April 9, 1870 – January 20, 1952) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in a 30-year career that spanned from the 1892 Houston Mudcats to the 1922 Paducah Indians. He played for a number of Maj ...

( RF), Jack McCarthy ( LF),

Frank Genins C. Frank Genins (November 2, 1866 – September 30, 1922) was a Major League Baseball utility player who played for three seasons. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns in 1892, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1895, and the Cle ...

( CF), Candy LaChance ( 1B), Bill Bradley ( 3B), Erve Beck ( 2B), Bill Hallman ( SS), Bob Wood ( C), and

Bill Hoffer William Leopold Hoffer (November 8, 1870 – July 21, 1959) was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of six seasons (1895–1899, 1901) with the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Blues. For ...

( P). Hoffer allowed seven runs in the first two innings and the Blues failed to recover, as they lost the game 8–2, earning the first loss in American League history. In the second game of the season, Beck hit the first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in American League history off pitcher

John Skopec John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, but the Blues lost again, 7–3.

May

On May 9, 1901,

Earl Moore Earl Alonzo Moore (July 29, 1879 – November 28, 1961) was an American professional baseball pitcher who had a 14-year career in Major League Baseball. Biography Moore's sidearm throwing style earned him the nickname "Crossfire". His contract ...

threw the first no-hitter in the history of the franchise and the American League. The Blues lost to Chicago by a score of 4–2 despite allowing no hits. On May 23, Cleveland scored nine runs with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Washington 14–13.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Key

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases'' Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

* #5 in AL in stolen bases (36) * #5 in AL in singles (138)

Notes

References

1901 Cleveland Blues season at Baseball Reference
* * * {{Cleveland Guardians Cleveland Guardians seasons Cleveland Bluebirds season Cleveland Blues