The 1908 Major League Baseball season began on April 14, 1908. The regular season ended on October 8, with the
Chicago Cubs and
Detroit Tigers as regular season champions of the
National League and
American League, respectively. In a rematch of the prior year's postseason, the postseason began with Game 1 of the fifth modern
World Series on October 10 and ended with Game 5 on October 14. The Cubs defeated the Tigers, four games to one.
The 1908 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the
1904 season. This format would last until
1919.
Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the
Pittsburgh Pirates and
St. Louis Cardinals playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 8. The
World Series took place between October 10 and October 14.
Rule changes
On February 27, 1908, the three organizations of the National Commission of Baseball Clubs,
National League, and
American League announced several rule changes, effective immediately.[1]
The act of rubbing the ball on the ground, clothing, shoes, or dropping the ball and picking it up with a handful of gravel or dirt by the pitcher was prohibited.
The
sacrifice fly rule is adopted. No time
at bat is charged if a
run scores after the catch of a
fly ball. The rule would eventually be repealed in 1931, then reinstated (or changed) several times before gaining permanent acceptance in
1954.
The trend of each team playing 22 games with every other in-league team was written into the
Major League Baseball Constitution, with rules for playing makeup games at the originally scheduled ballpark in the event of
tie games,
rain delays, and other game-preventing situations being put in place. If the series of all scheduled games has ended with makeup games remaining, if possible, the remaining game(s) can be made up on the opposite team's ballpark, with a date agreed by the two teams.
September 23 – The
Chicago Cubs and
New York Giants, involved in a tight pennant race, (also involving the
Pittsburgh Pirates) were tied in the bottom of the ninth inning at the
Polo Grounds in New York. The Giants had runners on first and third and two outs when
Al Bridwell hit a single to center field, scoring
Moose McCormick from third with the Giants' apparent winning run, but the runner on first base, rookie
Fred Merkle, thinking the game was over, went half way to second and then sprinted to the clubhouse after McCormick touched home plate. As fans swarmed the field, Cub infielder
Johnny Evers retrieved the ball and touched second. A forceout was called at second base, nullifying the single, and because there were 2 outs when the play started, the run was also nullified and the inning ended. The game was declared a
tie and would be made up at the end of the season if the Cubs and Giants were tied for first place. The incident became known as the
"Merkle Boner".
October 2 – In a game involving the
Cleveland Naps and the
Chicago White Sox,
Ed Walsh struck out 15 Naps and walked one batter, pitching a complete game, but it was not enough as
Addie Joss pitched a perfect game, and the Naps beat the White Sox, 1–0, during the heat of a
pennant race. Cleveland center fielder
Joe Birmingham scored the game's only run. It is perhaps the finest pitching duel in baseball history.
October 14 – The
Chicago Cubs defeat the
Detroit Tigers, 2–0, in Game 5 of the
World Series to win the series four games to one. It is the second consecutive
World Championship for the Cubs and the second year in a row they defeated the Tigers in the
World Series. The Cubs would not win another
World Series until 2016.
Anderson, David W. (2000). More Than Merkle: A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
ISBN0-8032-1056-6.
Fleming, G.H. (1981). The Unforgettable Season: The Most Exciting & Calamitous Pennant Race of All Time. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
ISBN0-03-056221-X.
Murphy, Cait. (2007). Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History. New York: HarperCollins/Smithsonian Books.
ISBN0-06-088937-3.
