The St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 season was the team's 27th season in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 and its 17th season in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

. The Cardinals had a 49-105 win-loss record during the season and finished 8th (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 peace-time attendance level since .

Season summary

The Cardinals ranked last in three categories in the National League: runs scored

Run (baseball)

In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

 (only 371), runs allowed (626), and errors committed

Error (baseball)

In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...

 (348). The team was shut out a record 33 times. Three lineup regulars batted below .200. Only three 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

1908 Brooklyn Superbas season

The Brooklyn Superbas suffered through another poor season, finishing in seventh place. After the season, manager Patsy Donovan was fired.- Offseason :* December 17, 1907: Tommy Sheehan was purchased by the Superbas from the Pittsburgh Pirates.- Roster :...

 went 6-27 that same month).

One team member, Bugs Raymond

Bugs Raymond

Arthur Lawrence "Bugs" Raymond was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1904 to 1911. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Giants.-Career:...

, ranked among the league leaders in fewest hits per nine innings, resulting in a 2.03 ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

. However, the Cardinals were shut out

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

 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

Christy Mathewson

Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...

, and threw five shutouts.

In April 1908, the Cardinals played the St. Louis Browns

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 in an exhibition game to raise money for former Cardinals owner Chris von der Ahe

Chris von der Ahe

Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von der Ahe was a German-American entrepreneur, best known as the owner of the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association, now known as the St. Louis Cardinals....

. The clubs raised $4,300.

Roster

1908 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
valign="top" | Pitchers		valign="top" | Catchers Infielders		valign="top" | Outfielders		valign="top" | Manager

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		66	187	34	.182	0	4

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
	44	136	29	.213	1	5
	6	14	1	.071	0	1

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
	48	324.1	15	25	2.03	145
	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
	29	174.1	5	13	2.63	72

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