The 1908 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1908. The regular season ended on October 8, with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the prior year's postseason, the postseason began with Game 1 of the fifth modern World Series on October 10 and ended with Game 5 on October 14. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), The Cubs defeated the Tigers, four games to one, capturing their second championship in franchise history, and the first team to win back-to-back World Series.
The Boston Americans renamed as the Boston Red Sox.
Schedule
The 1908 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the season. This format would last until .
Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 8. The World Series took place between October 10 and October 14.
Rule changes The 1908 season saw the following rule changes: The American League made the following rule changes: Language on postponed games was adopted, stating "All postponed games of the first series shall be played on the first or succeeding days of the second series; all postponed games of the second and third series shall be played on the next day or succeeding day of the same series." A rule stating "restricts the practice of acquiring a player by refusing waiver on him and then immediately turning him over to a club outside the league." On February 27, 1908, the three organizations of the National Commission of Baseball Clubs, National League, and American League announced several rule changes, effective immediately. The act of rubbing the ball on the ground, clothing, shoes, or dropping the ball and picking it up with a handful of gravel or dirt by the pitcher was prohibited. The sacrifice fly rule is adopted. No time at bat is charged if a run scores after the catch of a fly ball. The rule would eventually be repealed in 1931, then reinstated (or changed) several times before gaining permanent acceptance in . The trend of each team playing 22 games with every other in-league team was written into the Major League Baseball Constitution, with rules for playing makeup games at the originally scheduled ballpark in the event of tie games, rain delays, and other game-preventing situations being put in place. If the series of all scheduled games has ended with makeup games remaining, if possible, the remaining game(s) can be made up on the opposite team's ballpark, with a date agreed by the two teams.
Teams LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsHuntington Avenue Grounds11,500Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisSouth Side Park15,000Cleveland NapsCleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBennett Park8,500New York HighlandersNew York, New YorkHilltop Park16,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaColumbia Park13,600St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park8,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.National Park9,000Boston DovesBoston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds9,800Brooklyn SuperbasNew York, New YorkWashington Park14,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWest Side Park16,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioPalace of the Fans12,000New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaExposition Park16,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriLeague Park (St. Louis)15,200
Standings
American League
National League
Tie games 16 tie games (10 in AL, 6 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
American League Boston Red Sox, 1 Chicago White Sox, 4 Cleveland Naps, 3 Detroit Tigers, 1 New York Highlanders, 1 Philadelphia Athletics, 4 St. Louis Browns, 3 Washington Senators, 3
National League Boston Doves, 2 Chicago Cubs, 4 Cincinnati Reds, 1 New York Giants, 3 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1
Postseason The postseason began on October 10 and ended on October 14 with the Chicago Cubs defeating the Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series in five games.
Bracket
Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston DovesFred TenneyJoe KelleyCincinnati RedsNed HanlonJohn Ganzel
In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston Red SoxDeacon McGuireFred LakeNew York HighlandersClark GriffithKid Elberfeld
League leaders Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
American League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Ty Cobb (DET) .324 OPS Ty Cobb (DET) .844 HR Sam Crawford (DET) 7 RBI Ty Cobb (DET) 108 R Matty McIntyre (DET) 105 H Ty Cobb (DET) 188 SB Patsy Dougherty (CWS) 47
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Ed Walsh (CWS) 40 L Joe Lake (NYH) 22 ERA Addie Joss (CLE) 1.16 K Ed Walsh (CWS) 269 IP Ed Walsh1 (CWS) 464.0 SV Ed Walsh (CWS) 6 WHIP Addie Joss (CLE) 0.806 1 Modern (1901–present) single-season innings pitched record
National League
+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Honus Wagner (PIT) .354 OPS Honus Wagner (PIT) .957 HR Tim Jordan (BRO) 12 RBI Honus Wagner (PIT) 109 R Fred Tenney (NYG) 101 H Honus Wagner (PIT) 201 SB Honus Wagner (PIT) 53
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Christy Mathewson2 (NYG) 37 L Bugs Raymond (STL) 25 ERA Christy Mathewson2 (NYG) 1.43 K Christy Mathewson2 (NYG) 259 IP Christy Mathewson (NYG) 390.2 SV Mordecai Brown (CHC)Christy Mathewson (NYG)Joe McGinnity (NYG) 5 WHIP Christy Mathewson (NYG) 0.827 2 National League Triple Crown pitching winner
Milestones Batters Cycles
Otis Clymer (WSH): Clymer hit for his first cycle and first in franchise history, on October 2 against the New York Highlanders.
Other batting accomplishments Honus Wagner (PIT): Recorded his 500th career stolen base against the Cincinnati Reds on June 21. He became the 15th player to reach this mark. George Davis (CWS): Recorded his 600th career stolen base against the Detroit Tigers on July 5. He became the fourth player to reach this mark.
Pitchers Perfect games
Addie Joss (CLE): Pitched the fourth perfect game in major league history and the first in franchise history on October 2 against the Chicago White Sox. Joss threw 74 pitches (the lowest known pitch count ever for a perfect game) and struck out three in the 1–0 victory.
No-hitters
Cy Young (BOS): Young threw his third career no-hitter and the fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Highlanders 8–0 on June 30. Young walked one and struck out two. Hooks Wiltse (NYG): Wiltse threw his first career no-hitter and the fourth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 1–0 in 10 innings on the first game of a doubleheader on July 4. Wiltse hit one batter by pitch and struck out five. Nap Rucker (BRO): Rucker threw his first career no-hitter and the sixth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Doves 6–0 on the second game of a doubleheader on September 5. Rucker walked zero batters by pitch and struck out 14, though two batters would reach base via error. Bob Rhoads (CLE): Rhoads threw his first career no-hitter and the first no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Red Sox 2–1 on September 18. Rhoads walked two, hit one by pitch, and struck out two. Frank Smith (CWS): Smith threw his second career no-hitter and the third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Philadelphia Athletics 1–0 on September 20. Smith walked one and struck out two, though allowed two runners on base.
Other pitching accomplishments Ed Reulbach (CHC): Reulbach pitched two shutouts in a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Superbas on September 26, winning both games 5–0 and 3–0.
Miscellaneous St. Louis Cardinals: Set a Major League record for least runs scored in a full season, by scoring only 372 runs.
Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Giants98 19.5%910,000 69.0%11,375Chicago Cubs99 −7.5%665,325 57.5%8,530Chicago White Sox88 1.1%636,096 −4.5%8,155St. Louis Browns83 20.3%618,947 47.7%7,935Boston Red Sox75 27.1%473,048 8.3%6,143Philadelphia Athletics68 −22.7%455,062 −27.3%5,834Detroit Tigers90 −2.2%436,199 46.8%5,592Cleveland Naps90 5.9%422,262 10.5%5,414Philadelphia Phillies83 0.0%420,660 23.3%5,393Cincinnati Reds73 10.6%399,200 25.7%5,184Pittsburgh Pirates98 7.7%382,444 19.7%4,967New York Highlanders51 −27.1%305,500 −12.7%3,968Brooklyn Superbas53 −18.5%275,600 −11.8%3,579Washington Senators67 36.7%264,252 19.1%3,388Boston Doves63 8.6%253,750 24.9%3,253St. Louis Cardinals49 −5.8%205,129 10.7%2,664
Venues The Philadelphia Athletics would play their final game at Columbia Park with a doubleheader on October 3 against the Boston Red Sox, moving into Shibe Park for the start of the season.
See also 1908 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
References
Bibliography Anderson, David W. (2000). More Than Merkle: A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. . Fleming, G.H. (1981). The Unforgettable Season: The Most Exciting & Calamitous Pennant Race of All Time. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. . Murphy, Cait. (2007). Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History. New York: HarperCollins/Smithsonian Books. .
External links 1908 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference 1908 in baseball history from ThisGreatGame.com