1908 Pittsburg Pirates season

1908 Pittsburg Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Exposition Park (since 1891)
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (since 1907)
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. 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. 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.

On June 30, the Pirates took first place, as the Chicago Cubs lost to the Cincinnati Reds. 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. 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.

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: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
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	—

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	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
C	George Gibson	143	486	111	.228	2	45
1B	Harry Swacina	53	176	38	.216	0	13
2B	Ed Abbaticchio	146	500	125	.250	1	61
SS	Honus Wagner	151	568	201	.354	10	109
3B	Tommy Leach	152	583	151	.259	5	41
LF	Fred Clarke	151	551	146	.265	2	35
CF	Roy Thomas	102	386	99	.256	1	24
RF	Chief 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	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jim Kane	55	145	35	.241	0	22
Charlie Starr	20	59	11	.186	0	8
John 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
Howie Camnitz	38	236.2	16	9	1.56	118
Lefty 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
Sam Leever	38	192.2	15	7	2.10	28
Chick Brandom	3	17	1	0	0.53	8
Tom 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
Homer Hillebrand	1	0	0	0	0.00	1

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Howie Camnitz

• #4 in NL in ERA (1.56)

Fred Clarke

• #4 in NL in runs scored (83)

Tommy Leach

• #3 in NL in runs scored (93)

Honus Wagner

• MLB leader in batting average (.354)
• MLB leader in RBI (109)
• MLB leader in stolen bases (53)
• MLB leader in on-base percentage (.415)
• MLB leader in slugging percentage (.542)
• #2 in NL in home runs (10)
• #2 in NL in runs scored (100)

References

• 1908 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1908 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac