1897 Cincinnati Reds season

The 1897 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in fourth place in the National League with a record of 76-56, 17 games behind the Boston Beaneaters.
Offseason
The Cincinnati Reds were coming off a fairly successful season in 1896. They had been in first place late in the year, but the team struggled badly over the last part of the season. to finish in third place in the National League with a 77-50 record. This marked the second consecutive season that the Reds collapsed at the end of the year.
Player-manager Buck Ewing returned to the club, but would retire from playing and focus on just being the manager. The Reds made a deal in the off-season, as Cincinnati traded away Germany Smith, Chauncey Fisher and $1,000 to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for Tommy Corcoran. Corcoran was coming off a season in which he hit .289 with three home runs and 73 RBI with the Bridegrooms in 1896. The team also purchased pitcher Ted...