# 1908 Boston Red Sox season

The 1908 Boston Red Sox season was the eighth season for the Major League Baseball franchise previously known as the Boston Americans. The Red Sox finished fifth in the American League (AL) with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses, 15+1⁄2 games behind the Detroit Tigers. The team played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds.

## Offseason

On December 18, 1907, Boston Americans owner, John I. Taylor, seeing that the Boston Nationals had dropped wearing red and instead wore white for the 1907 season, chose to dress his team in red uniform for the 1908 season, further deciding to name his team the Red Sox.

### Transactions

* October 13, 1907: A three-team deal between the Chicago White Sox, the New York Highlanders, and the Boston Red Sox is concluded. The Red Sox send Freddy Parent to Chicago, Chicago sends Jake Stahl to New York, and New York sends Frank LaPorte to Boston.
* August 23, 1907: The Red Sox purchase pitcher Eddie Cicotte from the Western League's Lincoln Links for $2,500.
* November 5, 1907: Second Baseman Hobe Ferris is sold by the Red Sox to the New York Highlanders.
* January 3, 1908: The Red Sox trade catcher Al Shaw to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catcher Ed McFarland.
* January 30, 1908: The Red Sox send pitcher Rube Kroh to the Johnstown Johnnies.

## Regular season

Prior to the regular season, the team held spring training in Little Rock, Arkansas.
* April 14: The regular season opens with a 3–1 home win over the Washington Senators.
* May 18: The team's longest losing streak of the season, seven games, ends with a home win over the Cleveland Naps.
* May 28: The team's longest winning streak of the season, five games, ends with a home loss to the Chicago White Sox.
* June 30: Cy Young throws a no-hitter against the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park in New York City; at the plate, Young has three hits and four RBIs.
* August 6: In their longest game of the season, the Americans lose to the White Sox, 2–1 in 13 innings at South Side Park in Chicago.
* August 27: Deacon McGuire manages his final games for the team, losing both ends of a doubleheader to the St. Louis Browns, dropping the team's record to 53–62.
* August 27: Catcher Bill Carrigan undergoes a successful operation for appendicitis.
* August 28: Fred Lake manages his first game, a 3–1 win over St. Louis. Under Lake, the team goes 22–17 through the end of the season.
* September 18: The franchise is no-hit for the first time in its history, by Bob Rhoads of Cleveland in a road game played at League Park.
* October 5: The regular season ends with home doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics; Boston wins the first game, 10–1, then loses the second game, 5–3 in eight innings.

### Transactions

* June 1, 1908: It is reported that pitcher Jesse Tannehill was traded by the Red Sox to the Washington Senators for Casey Patten.
* June 10, 1908: The Red Sox sign University of Vermont shortstop Larry Gardner.
* July 10, 1908: Jake Stahl is purchased by the Red Sox from the New York Highlanders.
* July 10, 1908: Bob Unglaub is sold by the Red Sox to the Washington Senators.
* July 11, 1908: It is reported that the Red Sox have released Casey Patten.
* July 22, 1908: It is reported that the Red Sox have traded Charles Pruiett for the Cleveland Naps' Jake Thielman.
* July 27, 1908: The Detroit Tigers acquire pitcher George Winter from the Red Sox.
* August 9, 1908: The Red Sox purchase pitcher "Smoky Joe" Wood from the Kansas City Blues.
* August 17, 1908: The Red Sox trade Second Baseman Frank LaPorte to the New York Highlanders in exchange for Harry Niles.
* August 28, 1908: Deacon McGuire resigns as manager of the Red Sox at the request of president John I. Taylor.
* September 1, 1908: The Red Sox draft infielder Charlie French from Evansville in the Rule 5 draft.
* September 2, 1908: The Red Sox draft pitcher King Brady from the Johnstown Johnnies, as well as outfielder Jack Hoey and catcher Tommy Murray from the Trenton Tigers.
* September 20, 1908: Outfielder Denny Sullivan is sold by the Red Sox to the Cleveland Naps.

### Statistical leaders

The offense was led by Doc Gessler who had 63 RBIs, three home runs, and a .308 batting average. The pitching staff was led by Cy Young, who made 36 appearances (33 starts) and pitched 30 complete games with a 21–11 record and 1.26 ERA, while striking out 150 in 299 innings. Cy Morgan had a 14–13 record with 2.46 ERA in 30 games (26 starts). Smoky Joe Wood, who would go on to win 34 games in 1912, made his major league debut on August 24.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Detroit Tigers | 90 | 63 | .588 | — | 44‍–‍33 | 46‍–‍30 |
| Cleveland Naps | 90 | 64 | .584 | ½ | 51‍–‍26 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 88 | 64 | .579 | 1½ | 51‍–‍25 | 37‍–‍39 |
| St. Louis Browns | 83 | 69 | .546 | 6½ | 46‍–‍31 | 37‍–‍38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | .487 | 15½ | 37‍–‍40 | 38‍–‍39 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 68 | 85 | .444 | 22 | 46‍–‍30 | 22‍–‍55 |
| Washington Senators | 67 | 85 | .441 | 22½ | 43‍–‍32 | 24‍–‍53 |
| New York Highlanders | 51 | 103 | .331 | 39½ | 30‍–‍47 | 21‍–‍56 |
The team had one game end in a tie; September 28 at Chicago White Sox. Tie games are not counted in league standings, but player statistics during tie games are counted.

### Record vs. opponents

1908 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYH | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 6–16–1 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 15–7 | 11–11 |
| Chicago | 16–6–1 | — | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 11–10 | 15–6–2 |
| Cleveland | 12–10 | 14–8–1 | — | 13–9 | 16–6 | 16–6–1 | 11–11–1 | 8–14 |
| Detroit | 11–11 | 13–9 | 9–13 | — | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | 12–10 | 16–5 |
| New York | 10–12 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 7–15 | — | 8–14–1 | 5–17 | 9–13 |
| Philadelphia | 12–10 | 9–13 | 6–16–1 | 8–14–1 | 14–8–1 | — | 8–13–1 | 11–11 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 10–11 | 11–11–1 | 10–12 | 17–5 | 13–8–1 | — | 15–7–1 |
| Washington | 11–11 | 6–15–2 | 14–8 | 5–16 | 13–9 | 11–11 | 7–15–1 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

| Jack Thoney | LF |
| Harry Lord | 3B |
| Jim McHale | CF |
| Doc Gessler | RF |
| Frank LaPorte | 2B |
| Bob Unglaub | 1B |
| Heinie Wagner | SS |
| Lou Criger | C |
| Cy Young | P |
Source:

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Lou Criger | 84 | 237 | 45 | .190 | 0 | 25 |
| 1B | Jake Stahl | 78 | 262 | 64 | .244 | 0 | 23 |
| 2B | Amby McConnell | 140 | 502 | 140 | .279 | 2 | 43 |
| SS | Heinie Wagner | 153 | 526 | 130 | .247 | 1 | 46 |
| 3B | Harry Lord | 145 | 560 | 145 | .259 | 2 | 37 |
| OF | Jack Thoney | 109 | 416 | 106 | .255 | 2 | 30 |
| OF | Denny Sullivan | 101 | 355 | 85 | .239 | 0 | 25 |
| OF | Doc Gessler | 128 | 435 | 134 | .308 | 3 | 63 |

#### 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 |
| Gavvy Cravath | 94 | 277 | 71 | .256 | 1 | 34 |
| Bob Unglaub | 72 | 266 | 70 | .263 | 1 | 25 |
| Frank LaPorte | 62 | 156 | 37 | .237 | 0 | 15 |
| Bill Carrigan | 57 | 149 | 35 | .235 | 0 | 14 |
| Tris Speaker | 31 | 116 | 26 | .224 | 0 | 9 |
| Pat Donahue | 35 | 86 | 17 | .198 | 1 | 6 |
| Jim McHale | 21 | 67 | 15 | .224 | 0 | 7 |
| Ed McFarland | 19 | 48 | 10 | .208 | 0 | 4 |
| Jack Hoey | 13 | 43 | 7 | .163 | 0 | 3 |
| Harry Niles | 18 | 33 | 8 | .242 | 1 | 3 |
| Walter Carlisle | 3 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Gardner | 3 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 1 |
| Jimmy Barrett | 3 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| Harry Ostdiek | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Deacon McGuire | 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 |
| Cy Young | 36 | 299 | 21 | 11 | 1.26 | 150 |
| Eddie Cicotte | 39 | 207+1⁄3 | 11 | 12 | 2.43 | 95 |
| Cy Morgan | 30 | 205 | 14 | 13 | 2.46 | 99 |
| Fred Burchell | 31 | 179+2⁄3 | 10 | 8 | 2.96 | 94 |
| George Winter | 22 | 147+2⁄3 | 4 | 14 | 3.05 | 55 |
| Elmer Steele | 16 | 118 | 5 | 7 | 1.83 | 37 |
| Frank Arellanes | 11 | 79 | 4 | 3 | 1.82 | 33 |
| King Brady | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
| Doc McMahon | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | 3 |
| Jesse Tannehill | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 2 |
| Casey Patten | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 0 |

#### 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 |
| Tex Pruiett | 13 | 58+2⁄3 | 1 | 7 | 1.99 | 28 |
| Ralph Glaze | 10 | 34+2⁄3 | 2 | 2 | 3.38 | 13 |
| Smoky Joe Wood | 6 | 22+2⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 2.38 | 11 |

#### 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 |
| Charlie Hartman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
| Jake Thielman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.50 | 0 |