1908 Cincinnati Reds season

1908 Cincinnati Reds
LeagueNational League
BallparkPalace of the Fans
CityCincinnati
OwnersGarry Herrmann
ManagersJohn Ganzel
← 1907 Seasons 1909 →

The 1908 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the National League with a record of 73–81, 26 games behind the Chicago Cubs.

Offseason

After two straight seasons in which the Reds lost 87 games, the team replaced manager Ned Hanlon with player-manager John Ganzel. This was the first managerial job of Ganzel's career at the major league level.

Regular season

Cincinnati had a new starting shortstop, as Rudy Hulswitt took over the position. Hulswitt had spent the 1907 season with the Columbus Senators of the American Association, where he hit .296 with two home runs, 35 doubles and fourteen triples. He had last played in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1904, where he hit .244 with a homer and 36 RBI.

The Reds' 1906 shortstop, Hans Lobert, moved to third base, while Mike Mowrey came off the bench. Outfielders Dode Paskert and John Kane became starting outfielders as Art Kruger and Fred Odwell joined the Columbus Senators in the American Association. Bob Spade, who was acquired by the Reds late in the 1907 season from the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association, was given a regular spot in the starting rotation. Spade was 18–12 with the Crackers in 1907 before going 1–2 with a 1.00 ERA in three starts with Cincinnati in September.

Lobert led the way offensively, hitting a team high .293 with four home runs, 63 RBI, 71 runs scored and 167 hits. Ganzel hit .250 with a homer and 53 RBI, while Miller Huggins hit .239 with no homers and 23 RBI.

Bob Ewing anchored the pitching staff once again, as he was 17–15 with a 2.21 ERA in 37 games. Spade had a solid season, going 17–12 with a 2.74 ERA, while Andy Coakley only had a record of 8–18, however, he led the team with a 1.86 ERA before being traded to the Chicago Cubs late in the season.

Season summary

The Reds got off to a better start in 1908, and saw themselves in second place with an 18–14 record after thirty-two games, two games behind the Chicago Cubs. A run of 8–3 in their next eleven games saw Cincinnati close the gap to one game, however, the Reds then lost their next five games to fall into third place, five games behind the Cubs. As the season progressed, the Reds continued to drop in the standings, and eventually fall under the .500 mark. At the end of the season, the Reds had a 73–81 record, 26 games behind the first place Cubs. The 73 wins was the highest total by the Reds since winning 79 games in 1905.

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 99 55 .643 — 47‍–‍30 52‍–‍25
New York Giants 98 56 .636 1 52‍–‍25 46‍–‍31
Pittsburgh Pirates 98 56 .636 1 42‍–‍35 56‍–‍21
Philadelphia Phillies 83 71 .539 16 43‍–‍34 40‍–‍37
Cincinnati Reds 73 81 .474 26 40‍–‍37 33‍–‍44
Boston Doves 63 91 .409 36 35‍–‍42 28‍–‍49
Brooklyn Superbas 53 101 .344 46 27‍–‍50 26‍–‍51
St. Louis Cardinals 49 105 .318 50 28‍–‍49 21‍–‍56

Record vs. opponents

1908 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS BKN CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT SLC
Boston — 12–10 6–16–2 8–14 6–16 10–12 7–15 14–8
Brooklyn 10–12 — 4–18 6–16 6–16 5–17 9–13 13–9
Chicago 16–6–2 18–4 — 16–6 11–11–1 9–13–1 10–12 19–3
Cincinnati 14–8 16–6 6–16 — 8–14–1 10–12 8–14 11–11
New York 16–6 16–6 11–11–1 14–8–1 — 16–6 11–11–1 14–8
Philadelphia 12–10 17–5 13–9–1 12–10 6–16 — 9–13 14–8
Pittsburgh 15–7 13–9 12–10 14–8 11–11–1 13–9 — 20–2
St. Louis 8–14 9–13 3–19 11–11 8–14 8–14 2–20 —


Notable transactions

Roster

1908 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other positions

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 Admiral Schlei 92 300 66 .220 1 22
1B John Ganzel 112 388 97 .250 1 53
2B Miller Huggins 135 498 119 .239 0 23
SS Rudy Hulswitt 119 386 88 .228 1 28
3B Hans Lobert 155 570 167 .293 4 63
OF John Kane 130 455 97 .213 3 23
OF Dode Paskert 118 395 96 .243 1 36
OF Mike Mitchell 119 406 90 .222 1 37

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
Larry McLean 99 309 67 .217 1 28
Mike Mowrey 77 227 50 .220 0 23
Bob Bescher 32 114 31 .272 0 17
Dick Hoblitzell 32 114 29 .254 0 8
Dick Bayless 19 71 16 .225 1 3
Dick Egan 18 68 14 .206 0 5
Dave Brain 16 55 6 .109 0 1
Tom Daley 14 46 5 .109 0 1
Bob Coulson 8 18 6 .333 0 1
Bunny Pearce 2 2 0 .000 0 0
Bill McGilvray 2 2 0 .000 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
Bob Ewing 37 293.2 17 15 2.21 95
Bob Spade 35 249.1 17 12 2.74 74
Andy Coakley 32 242.1 8 18 1.86 61
Billy Campbell 35 221.1 12 13 2.60 73
Jake Weimer 15 116.2 8 7 2.39 36
Jack Rowan 8 49.1 3 3 1.82 24
Tom McCarthy 1 3.2 0 1 9.82 3

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
Jean Dubuc 15 85.1 5 6 2.74 32
Jack Doscher 7 44.1 1 3 1.83 7
Jake Volz 7 22.2 1 2 3.57 6
Ralph Savidge 4 21.0 0 1 2.57 7
Marty O'Toole 3 15.0 1 0 2.40 5

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
Bill Tozer 4 0 0 0 1.69 5
Bert Sincock 1 0 0 0 3.86 1
Charlie Rhodes 1 0 0 0 0.00 4

Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series

The Reds competed in the inaugural Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series, playing against three teams from the Cuban League. The Almendares club finished with the best record in the series.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bob Spade page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ 1908 Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series

References