The 1908 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team won the American League championship by means of a scheduling quirk, finishing just one-half game ahead of the Cleveland Naps. The two teams won the same number of games, but the Tigers completed and lost one fewer. They then lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 1908 World Series.
Regular season The early part of the season was defined in part by Ty Cobb's contract dispute with the team. He claimed that the owners had too much power. Eventually Cobb settled for a $4,800 contract.Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 71, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007, After opening day, the Tigers averaged only 4,400 fans per game.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1908 Detroit Tigers 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 122 419 111 .265 1 38 1B 138 524 154 .294 2 71 2B 84 289 64 .221 1 35 SS 153 584 151 .259 3 52 3B 119 405 87 .215 0 23 OF 152 591 184 .311 7 80 OF 151 569 168 .295 0 28 OF 150 581 188 .324 4 108
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 65 211 53 .251 0 17 56 121 25 .207 0 10 40 101 31 .307 0 10 28 75 16 .213 0 11 20 68 20 .290 0 4 20 45 3 .067 0 2 7 17 2 .118 0 0
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 40 301.0 24 12 1.64 103 39 290.2 17 13 3.10 121 29 242.2 18 7 2.08 141 30 197.1 15 8 2.28 77 27 180.2 12 9 2.99 47 11 61.2 2 6 3.50 23 7 56.1 1 5 1.60 25
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 6 27.0 1 1 1.67 8 3 17.0 0 2 3.71 8
1908 World Series
Game 1 October 10, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEChicago (NL)00400010510142Detroit (AL)1000003206103W: Mordecai Brown (1–0) L: Ed Summers (0–1)
Game 2 October 11, 1908, at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois Team123456789RHEDetroit (AL)000000001141Chicago (NL)00000006x670W: Orval Overall (1–0) L: Bill Donovan (0–1)HR: CHC – Joe Tinker (1)
Game 3 October 12, 1908, at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois Team123456789RHEDetroit (AL)1000050208124Chicago (NL)000300000370W: George Mullin (1–0) L: Jack Pfiester (0–1)
Game 4 October 13, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEChicago (NL)0020000013100Detroit (AL)000000000041W: Mordecai Brown (2–0) L: Ed Summers (0–2)
Game 5 October 14, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan Team123456789RHEChicago (NL)1000100002100Detroit000000000030W: Orval Overall (2–0) L: Bill Donovan (0–2)
Notes
References
1908 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference