1908 Season

20 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1908 Major League Baseball season was played by 20 teams. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers. Tim Jordan led with 12 home runs, Honus Wagner led with 109 RBI, and Honus Wagner led with 201 hits. This page carries the 1908 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1908 Bracket
World Series CHN def. DET (4-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1908 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 480 plate appearances at 155 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Honus Wagner .354 2 Mike Donlin .334 3 Ty Cobb .324 4 Sam Crawford .311 5 Doc Gessler .308

OPS qualified

1 Honus Wagner .957 2 Ty Cobb .844 3 Doc Gessler .817 4 Mike Donlin .816 5 Sam Crawford .812

Home Runs all players

1 Tim Jordan 12 2 Honus Wagner 10 3 Sam Crawford 7 4 Red Murray 7 5 Mike Donlin 6

RBI all players

1 Honus Wagner 109 2 Ty Cobb 108 3 Mike Donlin 106 4 Cy Seymour 92 5 Sam Crawford 80

Hits all players

1 Honus Wagner 201 2 Mike Donlin 198 3 Ty Cobb 188 4 Sam Crawford 184 5 Nap Lajoie 168

Runs all players

1 Matty McIntyre 105 2 Sam Crawford 102 3 Fred Tenney 101 4 Honus Wagner 100 5 Germany Schaefer 96

Stolen Bases all players

1 Honus Wagner 53 2 Red Murray 48 3 Patsy Dougherty 47 4 Hans Lobert 47 5 Charlie Hemphill 42
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1908 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 155 innings at 155 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Addie Joss 1.16 2 Cy Young 1.26 3 Ed Walsh 1.42 4 Christy Mathewson 1.43 5 Mordecai Brown 1.47

WHIP qualified

1 Addie Joss 0.81 2 Christy Mathewson 0.83 3 Mordecai Brown 0.84 4 Ed Walsh 0.86 5 Cy Young 0.89

Wins all pitchers

1 Ed Walsh 40 2 Christy Mathewson 37 3 Mordecai Brown 29 4 Addie Joss 24 5 Ed Reulbach 24

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Ed Walsh 269 2 Christy Mathewson 259 3 Rube Waddell 232 4 Nap Rucker 199 5 Orval Overall 167

Saves all pitchers

1 Ed Walsh 6 2 Mordecai Brown 5 3 Christy Mathewson 5 4 Joe McGinnity 5 5 Tom Hughes 4
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

American League

Detroit Tigers ★ 90-63 Cleveland Naps 90-64 Chicago White Sox 88-64 St. Louis Browns 83-69 Boston Red Sox 75-79 Philadelphia Athletics 68-85 Washington Senators 67-85 New York Highlanders 51-103

NAC

Brooklyn Royal Giants ★ 19-10 Philadelphia Giants 16-15 Cuban Stars of Havana 3-7

National League

Chicago Cubs ★ 99-55 New York Giants 98-56 Pittsburgh Pirates 98-56 Philadelphia Phillies 83-71 Cincinnati Reds 73-81 Boston Doves 63-91 Brooklyn Superbas 53-101 St. Louis Cardinals 49-105

WES

Chicago Leland Giants ★ 15-7

The 1908 season in brief

The Chicago Leland Giants set the pace in 1908 with a 15-7 record. The Cuban Stars of Havana finished at the bottom of the 1908 table at 3-7. Race by race in 1908, the American League went to the Detroit Tigers by the narrowest of margins over the Cleveland Naps, 90-63 to 90-64, the Chicago Cubs (99-55) edged the New York Giants (98-56) in the National League, and the Philadelphia Giants (16-15) chased the Brooklyn Royal Giants (19-10) to the end in the NAC group. The bracket ends with the Chicago Cubs taking the World Series from the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 1. Tim Jordan led the majors with 12 home runs, ahead of Honus Wagner with 10. Honus Wagner's .354 is the best average on the qualified board, with Mike Donlin next at .334. That 1908 rate board needs 480 plate appearances (155 team games times the per-game rule). Honus Wagner topped several batting tiles at once: batting average, OPS, RBI, hits, and stolen bases. The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Addie Joss at 1.16; Cy Young followed at 1.26. The other 1908 pitching tiles are led by Ed Walsh in wins (40) and Ed Walsh in strikeouts (269). Honus Wagner had the most stolen bases, 53. For the complete tables behind these tiles, see the 1908 leaders page.

1908 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1908?
The Chicago Cubs won the 1908 World Series, beating the Detroit Tigers.
How many teams played in 1908?
20 teams played in the 1908 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1908?
Tim Jordan led with 12 home runs in 1908.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1908?
Honus Wagner led with 109 RBI in 1908.
Who led MLB in hits in 1908?
Honus Wagner led with 201 hits in 1908.
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