# 1908 St. Louis Cardinals season

The 1908 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 27th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 17th season in the National League. The Cardinals had a 49–105 win–loss record during the season and finished eighth (last) in the National League. The season's attendance of 185,377, an average of less than 2,500 a game, which remains the lowest peacetime attendance level since 1901. The Cardinals set a Major League record which stills stands for the fewest base on balls by a team in a season, with 282. Additionally, they hold the MLB record for fewest runs scored in a season with 372, averaging only 2.42 runs per contest.

## Regular season
### Season summary

The Cardinals ranked last in three categories in the National League: runs scored (only 372), runs allowed (624), and errors committed (349). The team was shut out a record 33 times. Three lineup regulars batted below .200. Only three players drove in more than 20 runs, and the team lost more than 100 games for the second and last time in franchise history. The Cards set a club record with 105 losses and a league record for most defeats in a month when they went 7–27 in September (Brooklyn went 6–27 that same month).
One team member, Bugs Raymond, ranked among the league leaders in fewest hits per nine innings, resulting in a 2.03 ERA. However, the Cardinals were shut out 11 times on days Raymond took the hill, leading to his league-high 25 losses. His 15 wins accounted for almost a third of the team's wins. Of note, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson, and threw five shutouts.
In April 1908, the Cardinals played the St. Louis Browns in an exhibition game to raise money for former Cardinals owner Chris von der Ahe. The clubs raised $4,300.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 99 | 55 | .643 | — | 47‍–‍30 | 52‍–‍25 |
| New York Giants | 98 | 56 | .636 | 1 | 52‍–‍25 | 46‍–‍31 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 98 | 56 | .636 | 1 | 42‍–‍35 | 56‍–‍21 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 83 | 71 | .539 | 16 | 43‍–‍34 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 81 | .474 | 26 | 40‍–‍37 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Boston Doves | 63 | 91 | .409 | 36 | 35‍–‍42 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 53 | 101 | .344 | 46 | 27‍–‍50 | 26‍–‍51 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 49 | 105 | .318 | 50 | 28‍–‍49 | 21‍–‍56 |

### Record vs. opponents

1908 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BKN | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | SLC |
| 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 |
| Pittsburgh | 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
## 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 | Bill Ludwig | 66 | 187 | 34 | .182 | 0 | 4 |
| 1B | Ed Konetchy | 154 | 545 | 135 | .248 | 5 | 50 |
| 2B | Billy Gilbert | 89 | 276 | 59 | .214 | 0 | 10 |
| SS | Patsy O'Rourke | 53 | 164 | 32 | .195 | 0 | 16 |
| 3B | Bobby Byrne | 127 | 439 | 84 | .191 | 0 | 14 |
| OF | Red Murray | 154 | 593 | 167 | .282 | 7 | 62 |
| OF | Al Shaw | 107 | 367 | 97 | .264 | 1 | 19 |
| OF | Joe Delahanty | 140 | 499 | 127 | .255 | 1 | 44 |

#### 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 |
| Chappy Charles | 121 | 454 | 93 | .205 | 1 | 17 |
| Shad Barry | 74 | 268 | 61 | .228 | 0 | 11 |
| Art Hoelskoetter | 62 | 155 | 36 | .232 | 0 | 6 |
| Jack Bliss | 44 | 136 | 29 | .213 | 1 | 5 |
| Champ Osteen | 29 | 112 | 22 | .196 | 0 | 11 |
| Tom Reilly | 29 | 81 | 14 | .173 | 1 | 3 |
| Walter Morris | 23 | 73 | 13 | .178 | 0 | 2 |
| Charlie Moran | 21 | 63 | 11 | .175 | 0 | 2 |
| Wilbur Murdoch | 27 | 62 | 16 | .258 | 0 | 5 |
| Ralph McLaurin | 8 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 0 | 0 |
| Doc Marshall | 6 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Bugs Raymond | 48 | 324.1 | 15 | 25 | 2.03 | 145 |
| Johnny Lush | 38 | 250.2 | 11 | 18 | 2.12 | 93 |
| Art Fromme | 20 | 116.0 | 5 | 13 | 2.72 | 62 |
| Charlie Rhodes | 4 | 33.0 | 1 | 2 | 3.00 | 15 |
| Orson Baldwin | 4 | 14.2 | 1 | 3 | 6.14 | 5 |

#### 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 |
| Fred Beebe | 29 | 174.1 | 5 | 13 | 2.63 | 72 |
| Ed Karger | 22 | 141.1 | 4 | 9 | 3.06 | 34 |
| Slim Sallee | 25 | 128.2 | 3 | 8 | 3.15 | 39 |
| Irv Higginbotham | 19 | 107.0 | 3 | 8 | 3.20 | 38 |
| Stoney McGlynn | 16 | 75.2 | 1 | 6 | 3.45 | 23 |

#### 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 |
| Fred Gaiser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 2 |