The 1908 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 27th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 17th season in the National League. The Cardinals had a 49–105 win–loss record during the season and finished eighth (last) in the National League. The season's attendance of 185,377, an average of less than 2,500 a game, which remains the lowest peacetime attendance level since 1901. The Cardinals set a Major League record which stills stands for the fewest base on balls by a team in a season, with 282. Additionally, they hold the MLB record for fewest runs scored in a season with 372, averaging only 2.42 runs per contest.
Regular season
Season summary The Cardinals ranked last in three categories in the National League: runs scored (only 372), runs allowed (624), and errors committed (349).Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 160, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007, The team was shut out a record 33 times. Three lineup regulars batted below .200. Only three players drove in more than 20 runs, and the team lost more than 100 games for the second and last time in franchise history. The Cards set a club record with 105 losses and a league record for most defeats in a month when they went 7–27 in September (Brooklyn went 6–27 that same month1908 Brooklyn Superbas at Baseball Reference).
One team member, Bugs Raymond, ranked among the league leaders in fewest hits per nine innings, resulting in a 2.03 ERA. However, the Cardinals were shut out 11 times on days Raymond took the hill, leading to his league-high 25 losses. His 15 wins accounted for almost a third of the team's wins. Of note, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson, and threw five shutouts.Crazy '08, p. 166
In April 1908, the Cardinals played the St. Louis Browns in an exhibition game to raise money for former Cardinals owner Chris von der Ahe. The clubs raised $4,300.Crazy '08, p. 164
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1908 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 66 187 34 .182 0 4 1B Ed Konetchy 154 545 135 .248 5 50 2B Billy Gilbert 89 276 59 .214 0 10 SS Patsy O'Rourke 53 164 32 .195 0 16 3B Bobby Byrne 127 439 84 .191 0 14 OF Red Murray 154 593 167 .282 7 62 OF Al Shaw 107 367 97 .264 1 19 OF Joe Delahanty 140 499 127 .255 1 44
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Chappy Charles 121 454 93 .205 1 17 Shad Barry 74 268 61 .228 0 11 Art Hoelskoetter 62 155 36 .232 0 6 44 136 29 .213 1 5 Champ Osteen 29 112 22 .196 0 11 Tom Reilly 29 81 14 .173 1 3 Walter Morris 23 73 13 .178 0 2 Charlie Moran 21 63 11 .175 0 2 Wilbur Murdoch 27 62 16 .258 0 5 Ralph McLaurin 8 22 5 .227 0 0 6 14 1 .071 0 1
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 48 324.1 15 25 2.03 145 Johnny Lush 38 250.2 11 18 2.12 93 Art Fromme 20 116.0 5 13 2.72 62 Charlie Rhodes 4 33.0 1 2 3.00 15 4 14.2 1 3 6.14 5
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 29 174.1 5 13 2.63 72 Ed Karger 22 141.1 4 9 3.06 34 Slim Sallee 25 128.2 3 8 3.15 39 Irv Higginbotham 19 107.0 3 8 3.20 38 Stoney McGlynn 16 75.2 1 6 3.45 23
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Fred Gaiser 1 0 0 0 7.71 2
References
External links 1908 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference 1908 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com