The Washington Nationals of 1884 were a short-lived baseball team in the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

. They won 12 games and lost 51. Their home games were played at Athletic Park

Athletic Park (Washington)

Athletic Park is a former baseball ground located in Washington, D.C. The ground was home to the Washington Nationals aka "Statesmen", of the American Association in 1884....

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

  They are also known as the Washington Statesmen.

The Nationals were managed for all but one game by former player Holly Hollingshead

Holly Hollingshead

John Samuel "Holly" Hollingshead was a Major League Baseball center fielder, second baseman, and manager in the 19th century....

. John Bickerton

John Bickerton (baseball)

John A. Bickerton was a Major League Baseball manager. He managed the final game of the season for the Washington Nationals, also known as the Washington Statesmen, of the American Association on August 2, 1884, replacing Holly Hollingshead The Nationals lost the game to the New York...

 managed their final game on August 2, 1884, a loss to the New York Metropolitans

New York Metropolitans

The Metropolitan Club was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887...

. Their top hitter was shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 Frank Fennelly

Frank Fennelly

Francis John Fennelly was a 19th century Major League Baseball shortstop. He played his entire career for American Association teams: the Washington Nationals , Cincinnati Red Stockings , Philadelphia Athletics , and Brooklyn Gladiators...

, who went 75-for-257, a batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 of .292. By far their best pitcher was Bob Barr, who was 9-23 with an ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 of 3.46.

This team should not be confused with the other 1884 Washington Nationals franchise

Washington Nationals (UA)

The 1884 Washington Nationals were a member of the Union Association. They were managed by Mike Scanlon and finished in seventh place with a record of 47-65. Their home games were played at Capitol Grounds...

, a different team which played in the Union Association

Union Association

The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for only one season in 1884. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season...

 during its only year of operation.

In 1891 the AA had another team

Washington Senators (1891-1899)

The Washington Senators were a 19th century baseball team. The team was also known as the Washington Statesmen and the Washington Nationals. The team played at Boundary Field....

in Washington, that moved to the National League in 1892.