The 1909

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 Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The team finished fourth 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 77–76, 33 games behind the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Offseason

The Reds replaced player-manager

John Ganzel John Henry Ganzel (April 7, 1874 – January 14, 1959) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Ganzel batted and threw right-handed. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1898), Chicago Cubs (1900), New York Giants (19 ...

after one season of managing the club. Ganzel led Cincinnati to a 73–81 record in the 1908 season. His replacement was former

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

manager

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

, who had managed the club from 1903 until 1908, posting a 437–370 record. Griffith also pitched with the Highlanders until he retired in 1907. He also was a player-manager with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

from 1901 to 1902, going 157–113 in his two seasons with the club, and led them to the pennant in 1901. On December 12, the Reds traded catcher

Admiral Schlei George Henry "Admiral" Schlei (January 12, 1878 - January 24, 1958) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played all or part of eight seasons in the majors, between 1904 and 1911, for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. He was a starting ...

to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, getting pitchers

Art Fromme Arthur Henry Fromme (September 3, 1883 – August 24, 1956) was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from -. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team ...

and Ed Karger. Fromme had a 5–13 record with a 2.72 ERA with the Cardinals in 1908, and Karger was 15–19 with a 2.04 ERA in 39 starts. Cincinnati continued to make moves in the winter months, as on January 18, the team traded outfielder John Kane to 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 ...

for outfielder

Blaine Durbin Blaine Alphonsus Durbin (September 10, 1886 – September 11, 1943), nicknamed "Danny Dreamer,"

and shortstop

Tom Downey Thomas Edward Downey (January 1, 1884 – August 3, 1961) was a major league baseball player. Born in Lewiston, Maine, Downey played on several baseball teams after his first professional appearance at age 25 on May 7, 1909. Downey played for t ...

. Durbin appeared in only 14 games with the Cubs in 1908, hitting .250 in 32 at-bats. Downey had not yet appeared in majors; however, he was expected to compete with

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 ...

for the starting shortstop job. Also on January 18, the Reds acquired outfielder

Rebel Oakes Ennis Telfair "Rebel" Oakes (December 17, 1883 – March 1, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player. Oakes was born in Lisbon, Louisiana. After attending Louisiana Industrial Institute, which is now Louisiana Tech University, Rebel ...

from the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in exchange for outfielder

Tom Daley Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

and

Rube Ellis George William "Rube" Ellis (November 17, 1885 – March 13, 1938), was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from -. Ellis played for the St. Louis Cardinals. In both 1909 and 1910, Ellis led all National Leagu ...

. Oakes batted .288 with the Angels, and had 212 hits in the 1908 season.

Regular season

Newly acquired

became the Reds starting shortstop, and the club traded away

to the

on May 2. Downey finished his rookie season with a .231 batting average, hitting one home run and had 32 RBI, while stealing 16 bases in 119 games. Another rookie,

, hit .270 with three home runs, 31 RBI, and 23 stolen bases in 120 games while playing in the outfield.

Dick Hoblitzell Richard Carleton "Dick" Hoblitzell (October 26, 1888 – November 14, 1962) played first base in the major leagues from 1908 to 1918. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed "Doc" by his teammates, Hoblitzell's baseball car ...

became the Reds starting first baseman, and the 20 year old had a great season, batting .308 with four home runs and 67 RBI in 142 games. Outfielder Mike Mitchell led the Reds with a .310 batting average, while hitting four home runs and a team-high 86 RBI in 145 games. Outfielder

Bob Bescher Robert Henry Bescher (February 25, 1884 – November 29, 1942) was a baseball outfielder who played 11 seasons in the major leagues. Born in London, Ohio, he played his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and was one of the National League' ...

hit .240 and led the Reds with 56 stolen bases. Newly acquired pitcher

anchored the pitching staff, earning a record of 19–13 with a 1.90 ERA in 37 games, pitching a team high 279.1 innings, while throwing 22 complete games.

Harry Gaspar Harry Lambert Gaspar (April 28, 1883 – May 14, 1940) was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of four seasons (1909–1912) with the Cincinnati Reds. For his career, he compiled a 46–48 record in 143 appea ...

also had a great season, going 19–11 with a 2.01 ERA in 44 games.

Season summary

The Reds got off to a good start in 1909, going 7–2 in their first nine games to take an early division lead. However, the club fell under .500 following a 3-10 stretch, knocking them out of first place. The club eventually rebounded, and through 73 games, the Reds had a 40–33 record, but the club still found themselves in only fourth place, 13.5 games behind the first place

. Cincinnati would finish the season with a 77–76 record, making it the first time since 1905 that the club finished over .500. They finished in fourth place, 33.5 games behind the Pirates.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 28, 1909:

Blaine Durbin Blaine Alphonsus Durbin (September 10, 1886 – September 11, 1943), nicknamed "Danny Dreamer,"

was traded by the Reds to the

for

Ward Miller Ward MacLaughlin Miller (November 29, 1902 – March 11, 1984) was an American politician of the Republican party. He briefly served in the U.S. House of Representatives from November 1960 to January 1961. Biography Miller was born in Ports ...

and cash.Ward Miller page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

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''

Notes

References

1909 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference
{{Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season