In the wake of the death of Charles H. Byrne, team secretary Charles Ebbets became president of the Bridegrooms (Dodgers) on January 4, 1898. The team’s future owner also managed the Brooklyn team for the last 110 games of the season, finishing tenth among the twelve teams of the National League.
Though he had been hitting as a lefty throughout his career, on August 7, 1893, New York Giants first baseman Roger Connor stepped up to the plate right-handed for the first time against a left-handed Brooklyn Bridegrooms pitcher. The right side of the plate turned out to be lucky for Connor that day, as he belted two homers and a single en route to a 10-3 win.
I did a small bit of poking around regarding Connor’s switch-hitting, and while specific details seem hard to find, I notice that some sites have him listed as a left-handed hitter while others list him as a switch-hitter. A case can be made either way, it seems.
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms (Dodgers) and the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (Pirates) faced off on September 1, 1890 for the first-ever triple header in major league baseball. Playing at home at Washington Park, Brooklyn swept Pittsburgh: 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4.
The deciding game of the 1889 World’s Championship Series was played on October 29th, featuring the New York Giants of the National League and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association. The Giants won the best-of-eleven series, 6 games to 3. As the annual competition between the champions of the National League and the American Association, this series proved to be the precursor to the modern World Series.
