The 1908

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

with a record of 73–81, 26 games behind the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

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 Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, as

Rudy Hulswitt Rudolph Edward Hulswitt (February 23, 1877 in Newport, Kentucky – January 16, 1950 in Louisville, Kentucky), was a professional baseball player who played shortstop in the Major Leagues from -. Hulswitt played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ci ...

took over the position. Hulswitt had spent the 1907 season with the

Columbus Senators The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was created in as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900), Western Association (1901), and Americ ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

, where he hit .296 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 35

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s and fourteen

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

s. He had last played in the major leagues with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1904, where he hit .244 with a homer and 36 RBI. The Reds' 1906 shortstop,

Hans Lobert John Bernard "Hans" Lobert (October 18, 1881 – September 14, 1968) was an American third baseman, shortstop, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. Lobert was immortalized in the 1966 Lawrence Ritter book ''The Glory of Their Times'' ...

, moved to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, while Mike Mowrey came off the bench.

Outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Dode Paskert George Henry "Dode" Paskert (August 28, 1881 – February 12, 1959) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1907 through 1921 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. Career Born in Cle ...

and John Kane became starting outfielders as

Art Kruger Arthur Theodore Kruger (March 16, 1881 – November 28, 1949) was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Naps, Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a c ...

and

Fred Odwell Frederick William Odwell (September 25, 1872 – August 19, 1948) was a professional baseball player. He was an outfielder over parts of four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1905, he led the National League in home runs. He was born in and la ...

joined the

in the American Association.

Bob Spade Robert Spade was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played four seasons in the major leagues, from until , for the Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major Lea ...

, who was acquired by the Reds late in the 1907 season from the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

, 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 George Lemuel Ewing (April 24, 1873 – June 20, 1947), was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the majors from 1902 to 1912 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. Early life Ewing was born on April ...

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 Andrew James Coakley (November 20, 1882 – September 27, 1963) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1902–1906), Cincinnati Reds (1907–1908), Chicago Cubs (1908–1909), and New York H ...

only had a record of 8–18, however, he led the team with a 1.86 ERA before being traded to the

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

. 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

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* July 8, 1908:

was claimed off waivers from the Reds by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

.Bob Spade page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * July 10, 1908: Jake Weimer and

Dave Brain David Leonard Brain (January 24, 1879 – May 25, 1959) was an infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1901), St. Louis Cardinals (1903–1905), Pittsburgh Pirates (1905), Boston Beaneaters/Doves (190 ...

were traded by the Reds to the New York Giants for Bob Spade and $5,000.

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series

The Reds competed in the inaugural

Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series The American Series (Spanish: ''La Temporada Americana'') was a set of baseball games played between Cuban and American teams in Cuba. An American team would travel to Cuba and play various professional, all-star and/or amateur Cuban teams throughou ...

, playing against three teams from the

Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

. The Almendares club finished with the best record in the series.1908 Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series
/ref>

Notes

References

1908 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference
{{Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season