OK, so I got ahead of myself saying we'd play 500 ball - we end up going 74-80.
That said, for the briefest of moments it looks like I'll have to backtrack after we beat the Cubs six straight and close to within six games.
But that's the high water mark for us as we are pretty terrible down the stretch and finish with a losing record and in the second division for the very first time.
The Cubs cruise for the most part and, despite a late wobble, win the pennant by 8 from the Phillies. However it comes at a massive cost as they lose Waddell for the season to elbow inflammation.
The AL is an entirely different matter. The A's look to have total control of the division but then lose their way in September to let the Ones, Tigers and White Sox right back in it. Washington drops off quickly, and the Tigers are eliminated in the final week, leaving just the A's and Sox, who flip the lead until the A's are a half-game ahead with one to play.
They lose that game to the Red Sox, and then lose again in the tiebreaker to pit the past two champions against each other and make it an all-ChiTown World Series, which I shall cover in a separate post.
Some other points of note from the season:
- Brooklyn’s Nap Rucker suffers a career-ending torn rotator cuff injury.
- An UCL tear finishes Cincy’s Noodles Hahn for the year.
- Rube Waddell becomes the first player in league history to reach 200 career wins. He then goes on to win the NL Pitching Triple Crown with 27-11 / 1.54 / 246 strikeouts, before the aforementioned injury strikes.
- Ty Cobb’s 342 BA wins the AL batting crown, Judge McCredie of the Giants wins the NL title with 326.
- Detroit loses shortstop Kid Elberfeld again in the latter part of the season, this time to a broken kneecap that ends his year.
- Sam Crawford notches his 1500th career hit.
The View from the Gangplank
Obviously, 1908 will be remembered as a lost season for us. To the end I am unable to put my finger on what went wrong, so I think it's best learned from and moved on from post-haste.
When it becomes obvious we're out of contention, I use the time remaining to test out a few things for future reference. Maddox as starter is a disaster, Schlitzer less so. But it is obvious we need a complete overhaul of our rotation, commencing with the upcoming Rookie Draft.
Two highlights amid the gloom are the performances of Danny Murphy and Howie Camnitz. Murph is an absolute rock for us all year and finishes with near-career best numbers in various categories. Howie finishes the year at 20-17 / 2.26 over 350+ innings, hopefully a solid foundation for the years to come.
Monthly Awards
July- AL Batter of the Month: Ty Cobb (Detroit) 391 / 1 HR / 12 RBI.
- NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 336 / 3 HR / 15 RBI.
- AL Pitcher of the Month: Ed Plank (Philadelphia) 6-1 / 1.65 / 50 K / 71 IP.
- NL Pitcher of the Month: Al Orth (Philadelphia) 6-0 / 1.31 / 19 K / 75.2 IP.
- AL Rookie of the Month: Harry Krause (St. Louis) 6-2 / 1.34 / 24 K / 74 IP.
- NL Rookie of the Month: Smoky Joe Wood (Brooklyn) 3-3 / 2.24 / 40 K / 60.1 IP.
August- AL Batter of the Month: Johnny Evers (St. Louis) 297 / 10 RBI.
- NL Batter of the Month: Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) 333 / 14 RBI.
- AL Pitcher of the Month: Doc White (Detroit) 7-1 / 1.44 / 31 K / 75 IP.
- NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-0 / 0.87 / 46 K / 62 IP.
- AL Rookie of the Month: Joe Lake (Chicago) 6-0 / 2.04 / 21 K / 53 IP.
- NL Rookie of the Month: Ed Summers (Cincinnati) 5-2 / 2.47 / 18 K / 65.2 IP.
September- AL Batter of the Month: Ty Cobb (Detroit) 402 / 23 RBI.
- NL Batter of the Month: Mike Mitchell (Philadelphia) 347 / 17 RBI.
- AL Pitcher of the Month: Ed Walsh (Chicago) 7-1 / 1.34 / 41 K / 74 IP.
- NL Pitcher of the Month: Smoky Joe Wood (Brooklyn) 7-1 / 0.75 / 44 K / 72 IP.
- AL Rookie of the Month: Frank Arellanes (Chicago) 5-1 / 0.85 / 19 K / 53 IP.
- NL Rookie of the Month: Smoky Joe Wood (Brooklyn).
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