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1908 in baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following are the baseball events of the year 1908 throughout the world.

Champions

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Statistical leaders

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American League National League
Stat Player Total Player Total
AVG Ty Cobb (DET) .324 Honus Wagner (PIT) .354
HR Sam Crawford (DET) 7 Tim Jordan (BKN) 12
RBI Ty Cobb (DET) 108 Honus Wagner (PIT) 109
Wins Ed Walsh (CWS) 40 Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 37
ERA Addie Joss (CLE) 1.16 Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 1.43
K Ed Walsh (CWS) 269 Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 259

1 National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Major league baseball final standings

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American League final standings

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National League final standings

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Events

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January–March

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  • February 27 – The sacrifice fly rule is adopted. No time at bat is charged if a run scores after the catch of a fly ball. The rule will be repealed in 1931, then reinstated (or changed) several times before gaining permanent acceptance in 1954.

April–June

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July–September

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October–December

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Births

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January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

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November

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December

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Deaths

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January–April

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  • January 14 – Sim Bullas, 45, outfielder for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings.
  • January 14 – Henry Krug, 41, utility for the 1902 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • February 6 – Samuel F. Angus, 52, owner of the Detroit Tigers from November 1901 to October 1903.
  • February 20 – Wallace Terry, 57, first baseman/outfielder for the 1875 Washington Nationals.
  • March 12 – Fred Ketcham, 32, outfielder for the Louisville Colonels (1899) and Philadelphia Athletics (1901).
  • March 27 – Forrest Crawford, 26, shortstop who played 1906 through 1907 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • March 30 – Charlie Sweasy, 60, second baseman for 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. Played seven years in the National Association and the National League.
  • April 6 – Jim Brown, 47, pitcher and outfielder for two seasons, 1884 and 1886.
  • April 10 – Mike Griffin, 43, center fielder for Baltimore and Brooklyn who batted .300 six times, scored 100 runs ten times; led league in runs and doubles once each.
  • April 13 – John Kelly, 49, 19th century catcher, manager and umpire.
  • April 20 – Henry Chadwick, 83, the "Father of Baseball", who through his writings, analysis of statistics and service in developing the sport's rules played a principal role in establishing baseball as the "national pastime"; devised the box score, developed scoring system which enabled recording of every play, authored the first rule book in 1858, and created statistics including batting average and earned run average; worked to revise sport's rules so as to balance offense and defense, and to increase mental demands as well as physical ones.

May–August

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  • May 9 – Charlie Nyce, 37, shortstop for the 1895 Boston Beaneaters.
  • May 14 – John O'Connell, 35, played in only the 1891 and 1902 seasons.
  • May 24 – Pete Hasney, 43, played for the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association.
  • June 16 – Ned Garvin, 34, pitcher who posted a 57–97 record and a 2.72 ERA for five different teams between 1896 and 1904.
  • June 22 – Everett Mills, 63, first baseman for six seasons, 1871–1876.
  • June 23 – Bill Traffley, 38, catcher for the 1878 Chicago White Stockings.
  • July 18 – John Brown, 31, pitcher for the 1897 Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
  • July 22 – Andy Sommers, 42, catcher who played with six clubs from 1897 to 1890.
  • August 19 – Doc Bushong, 51, catcher for 13 seasons (1875–1876, 1880–1890), who played on five league championship teams.
  • August 20 – Marty Honan, 39, catcher for the 1891 Chicago Colts of the National League.
  • August 24 – George Meister, 44, German third baseman who hit .194 in 34 games for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings.

September–December

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  • September 7 – Bill Morgan, 52, outfielder and shortstop who played with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1883) and Washington Nationals (1884).
  • September 14 – Ike Van Zandt, 32, outfielder and pitcher who played for the New York Giants (1901), Chicago Cubs (1904) and St. Louis Browns (1905).
  • September 18 – Dickey Pearce, 72, shortstop (in the sport's earliest era) whose career spanned the years 1856 to 1877; introduced the bunt and pioneered defensive play at his position, later became an umpire.
  • September 25 – Frank Robison, 55 or 56, co-owner (with his brother Stanford) of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1899 until his death; previously co-owner of the Cleveland Spiders from 1897 to 1899.
  • September 28 – Tom Pratt, 64, played at first base for one game with the 1871 Philadelphia Athletics.
  • November 5 – Pat Hannivan, 42, outfielder and second baseman for the 1897 Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
  • December 8 – Frank Griffith, 36, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1892) and Cleveland Spiders (1894).
  • December 10 – Wild Bill Widner, 41, pitcher who posted a 22–36 record and a 4.36 ERA with the Red Stockings, Nationals, Solons and Kelly's Killers from 1887 to 1891.
  • December 19 – Reddy Foster, 44, pinch hitter for the 1896 New York Giants.
  • December 26 – Charlie Householder, 52, third baseman/left fielder/shortstop who hit .239 in 83 games for the 1884 Chicago/Pittsburgh team of the Union Association.
  • December 26 – Shadow Pyle, 47, pitcher for the Philadelphia Quakers (1884) and Chicago White Stockings (1887).

Bibliography

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  • Fleming, G.H. (2006). The Unforgettable Season. Bison Books. ISBN 0-8032-6922-6.
  • Murphy, Cait (2007). Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History. Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-088937-1.