1908 Cincinnati Reds season

March 2026 November 2013 Cincinnati Reds 1908 National League Palace of the Fans Cincinnati 73 81 y 5th Garry Herrmann John Ganzel The 1908 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the National League with a record of 73–81, 26 games behind the Chicago Cubs. 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, as Rudy Hulswitt took over the position. Hulswitt had spent the 1907 season with the Columbus Senators of the American Association, where he hit .296 with two home runs, 35 doubles and fourteen triples. He had last played in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1904, where he hit .244 with a homer and 36 RBI. The Reds' 1906 shortstop, Hans Lobert, moved to third base, while Mike Mowrey came off the bench. Outfielders Dode Paskert and John Kane became starting outfielders as Art Kruger and Fred Odwell joined the Columbus Senators in the American Association. Bob Spade, who was acquired by the Reds late in the 1907 season from the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association, 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 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 only had a record of 8–18, however, he led the team with a 1.86 ERA before being traded to the Chicago Cubs 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 Chicago Cubs. 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 Cincinnati Reds Record vs. opponents CIN Notable transactions July 8, 1908: Bob Spade was claimed off waivers from the Reds by the New York Giants.Bob Spade page at Baseball Reference July 10, 1908: Jake Weimer and Dave Brain were traded by the Reds to the New York Giants for Bob Spade and $5,000. Roster 1908 Cincinnati Reds Roster Pitchers Billy Campbell Andy Coakley Jack Doscher Jean Dubuc Bob Ewing Tom McCarthy Marty O'Toole Charlie Rhodes Jack Rowan Ralph Savidge Bert Sincock Bob Spade Bill Tozer Jake Volz Jake Weimer Catchers Larry McLean Bunny Pearce Admiral Schlei Infielders Dick Egan John Ganzel Dick Hoblitzel Miller Huggins Rudy Hulswitt Hans Lobert Mike Mowrey Outfielders Dick Bayless Bob Bescher Dave Brain Bob Coulson Tom Daley John Kane Mike Mitchell Dode Paskert Other positions Bill McGilvray Manager John Ganzel 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 Admiral Schlei 92 300 66 .220 1 22 1B John Ganzel 112 388 97 .250 1 53 2B Miller Huggins 135 498 119 .239 0 23 SS Rudy Hulswitt 119 386 88 .228 1 28 3B Hans Lobert 155 570 167 .293 4 63 OF John Kane John Kane (outfielder) 130 455 97 .213 3 23 OF Dode Paskert 118 395 96 .243 1 36 OF Mike Mitchell 119 406 90 .222 1 37 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 Larry McLean 99 309 67 .217 1 28 Mike Mowrey 77 227 50 .220 0 23 Bob Bescher 32 114 31 .272 0 17 Dick Hoblitzell 32 114 29 .254 0 8 Dick Bayless 19 71 16 .225 1 3 Dick Egan Dick Egan (infielder) 18 68 14 .206 0 5 Dave Brain 16 55 6 .109 0 1 Tom Daley 14 46 5 .109 0 1 Bob Coulson 8 18 6 .333 0 1 Bunny Pearce 2 2 0 .000 0 0 Bill McGilvray 2 2 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 Bob Ewing 37 293.2 17 15 2.21 95 Bob Spade 35 249.1 17 12 2.74 74 Andy Coakley 32 242.1 8 18 1.86 61 Billy Campbell Billy Campbell (baseball) 35 221.1 12 13 2.60 73 Jake Weimer 15 116.2 8 7 2.39 36 Jack Rowan Jack Rowan (baseball) 8 49.1 3 3 1.82 24 Tom McCarthy Tom McCarthy (1900s pitcher) 1 3.2 0 1 9.82 3 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 Jean Dubuc 15 85.1 5 6 2.74 32 Jack Doscher 7 44.1 1 3 1.83 7 Jake Volz 7 22.2 1 2 3.57 6 Ralph Savidge 4 21.0 0 1 2.57 7 Marty O'Toole 3 15.0 1 0 2.40 5 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Bill Tozer 4 0 0 0 1.69 5 Bert Sincock 1 0 0 0 3.86 1 Charlie Rhodes 1 0 0 0 0.00 4 Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series The Reds competed in the inaugural Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series, playing against three teams from the Cuban League. The Almendares club finished with the best record in the series.1908 Cuban-American Major League Clubs Series Notes 2 References 1908 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference Category:Cincinnati Reds seasons Cincinnati Reds season Cincinnati Reds