1908 Pittsburg Pirates season

1908 Pittsburg Pirates
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Barney Dreyfuss
Manager(s) Fred Clarke
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The 1908 Pittsburg Pirates season was the 27th season for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise.[2] The team finished tied for second place in the National League with the New York Giants, one game behind the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates spent 46 days in first place, and were on top on October 3. However, they lost their last game to the Cubs, which set up a replay of the infamous "Merkle" game between the Cubs and the Giants. The Cubs took it to win the pennant. Pittsburg finished tied for second place with the Giants, just one game back. It was one of the closest races in baseball history.

Shortstop Honus Wagner had one of the most dominating hitting performances of all-time. The "Flying Dutchman" led the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs batted in, and stolen bases. He missed the triple crown by two home runs. For his efforts, Wagner was paid $5,000, possibly the most on the team.

Regular season

Season summary

The Pirates opened the season by winning three straight games in St. Louis. On Opening Day, the Pirates committed four errors while the Cardinals committed six.[3] Fans were concerned because Honus Wagner—who in 1907 led the National League in hitting, slugging, and stolen bases—was not at the game, and there were concerns that he was taking the year off. On April 17, Charlie Starr, who was Wagner’s replacement, committed two errors. Afterwards, Wagner would sign with the Pirates. The home opener for the Pirates was a 5–1 victory for the Pirates over the Cardinals. From April 26 to May 9, the Pirates played only 3 games due to poor weather.[4]

On June 30, the Pirates took first place, as the Chicago Cubs lost to the Cincinnati Reds.[5] Starting on July 2, the Pirates started a critical five game series against the Cubs. In the first game, Three Finger Brown threw a six hit, no walk shutout, winning the game 3–0.[6] The Pirates scheduled a doubleheader on the Fourth of July and more than 30,000 fans showed up. The Cubs won the first game 2–0 as Three Finger Brown only allowed two hits.[7]

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 99 55 0.643 — 47–30 52–25
New York Giants 98 56 0.636 1 52–25 46–31
Pittsburg Pirates 98 56 0.636 1 42–35 56–21
Philadelphia Phillies 83 71 0.539 16 43–34 40–37
Cincinnati Reds 73 81 0.474 26 40–37 33–44
Boston Doves 63 91 0.409 36 35–42 28–49
Brooklyn Superbas 53 101 0.344 46 27–50 26–51
St. Louis Cardinals 49 105 0.318 50 28–49 21–56

Record vs. opponents

1908 National League Records

Sources:

Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
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
Pittsburg 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 —

Roster

1908 Pittsburg Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 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 Gibson, GeorgeGeorge Gibson 143 486 111 .228 2 45
1B Swacina, HarryHarry Swacina 53 176 38 .216 0 13
2B Abbaticchio, EdEd Abbaticchio 146 500 125 .250 1 61
SS Wagner, HonusHonus Wagner 151 568 201 .354 10 109
3B Leach, TommyTommy Leach 152 583 151 .259 5 41
LF Clarke, FredFred Clarke 151 551 146 .265 2 35
CF Thomas, RoyRoy Thomas 102 386 99 .256 1 24
RF Wilson, ChiefChief Wilson 144 529 120 .227 3 43

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
Kane, JimJim Kane 55 145 35 .241 0 22
Starr, CharlieCharlie Starr 20 59 11 .186 0 8
Sullivan, JohnJohn Sullivan 1 1 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
Camnitz, HowieHowie Camnitz 38 236.2 16 9 1.56 118
Leifield, LeftyLefty Leifield 34 218.2 15 14 2.10 87

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
Leever, SamSam Leever 38 192.2 15 7 2.10 28
Brandom, ChickChick Brandom 3 17 1 0 0.53 8
McCarthy, TomTom McCarthy 2 6 0 0 0.00 1

Relief pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Hillebrand, HomerHomer Hillebrand 1 0 0 0 0.00 1

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Howie Camnitz

Fred Clarke

Tommy Leach

Honus Wagner

Notes

  1. ↑ From 1882-1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
  2. ↑ In 1891 the United States Board on Geographic Names forced the city of Pittsburgh to undergo a controversial name change by having them drop the "h" at the end of the name, making the team's official name the "Pittsburg Pirates" from the adoption of the Pirates nickname until Pittsburg was able to get the "h" restored to its name in 1911.
  3. ↑ Crazy ’08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 68, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007, ISBN 978-0-06-088937-1
  4. ↑ Crazy ’08, p. 69
  5. ↑ Crazy ’08, p. 95
  6. ↑ Crazy ’08, p. 99
  7. ↑ Crazy ’08, p. 101

References

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