1908 Boston Red Sox
League	American League
Ballpark	Huntington Avenue Grounds
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	75–79 (.487)
League place	5th
Owners	John I. Taylor
Managers	Deacon McGuire (53–62) Fred Lake (22–17)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
← 1907 Seasons 1909 →

The1908 Boston Red Sox season was the eighth season for theMajor League Baseball franchise previously known as the Boston Americans. TheRed Sox finished fifth in theAmerican League (AL) with a record of 75 wins and 79 losses,15+1⁄2games behind theDetroit Tigers. The team played its home games atHuntington Avenue Grounds.

On December 18, 1907, Boston Americans owner,John I. Taylor, seeing that theBoston Nationals had dropped wearing red and instead wore white for the 1907 season, chose to dress his team in red uniform for the 1908 season, further deciding to name his team theRed Sox.^[2]

• October 13, 1907: A three-team deal between theChicago White Sox, theNew York Highlanders, and the Boston Red Sox is concluded. The Red Sox sendFreddy Parent to Chicago, Chicago sendsJake Stahl to New York, and New York sendsFrank LaPorte to Boston.^[3]
• August 23, 1907: The Red Sox purchase pitcherEddie Cicotte from theWestern League'sLincoln Links for $2,500.^[4]
• November 5, 1907: Second BasemanHobe Ferris is sold by the Red Sox to theNew York Highlanders.^[5]
• January 3, 1908: The Red Sox trade catcherAl Shaw to theChicago White Sox in exchange for catcherEd McFarland.^[6]
• January 30, 1908: The Red Sox send pitcherRube Kroh to theJohnstown Johnnies.^[7]

Prior to the regular season, the team heldspring training inLittle Rock, Arkansas.^[8]

• April 14: The regular season opens with a 3–1 home win over theWashington Senators.^[1]
• May 18: The team's longest losing streak of the season, seven games, ends with a home win over theCleveland Naps.^[1]
• May 28: The team's longest winning streak of the season, five games, ends with a home loss to theChicago White Sox.^[1]
• June 30:Cy Young throws ano-hitter against theNew York Highlanders atHilltop Park inNew York City; at the plate, Young has three hits and fourRBIs.^[9]
• August 6: In their longest game of the season, the Americans lose to the White Sox, 2–1 in 13 innings atSouth Side Park inChicago.^[1]
• August 27:Deacon McGuire manages his final games for the team,^[10] losing both ends of adoubleheader to theSt. Louis Browns, dropping the team's record to 53–62.
• August 27: CatcherBill Carrigan undergoes a successful operation forappendicitis.^[11]
• August 28:Fred Lake manages his first game,^[12] a 3–1 win over St. Louis. Under Lake, the team goes 22–17 through the end of the season.
• September 18: The franchise is no-hit for the first time in its history, byBob Rhoads of Cleveland in a road game played atLeague Park.^[13]
• October 5: The regular season ends with home doubleheader against thePhiladelphia Athletics; Boston wins the first game, 10–1, then loses the second game, 5–3 in eight innings.^[1]

• June 1, 1908: It is reported that pitcherJesse Tannehill was traded by the Red Sox to the Washington Senators forCasey Patten.^[14]
• June 10, 1908: The Red Sox signUniversity of Vermont shortstopLarry Gardner.^[15]
• July 10, 1908:Jake Stahl is purchased by the Red Sox from theNew York Highlanders.^[16]
• July 10, 1908:Bob Unglaub is sold by the Red Sox to theWashington Senators.^[16]
• July 11, 1908: It is reported that the Red Sox have releasedCasey Patten.^[17]
• July 22, 1908: It is reported that the Red Sox have tradedCharles Pruiett for theCleveland Naps'Jake Thielman.^[18]
• July 27, 1908: TheDetroit Tigers acquire pitcherGeorge Winter from the Red Sox.^[19]
• August 9, 1908: The Red Sox purchase pitcher"Smoky Joe" Wood from theKansas City Blues.^[20]
• August 17, 1908: The Red Sox trade Second BasemanFrank LaPorte to theNew York Highlanders in exchange forHarry Niles.^[21]
• August 28, 1908:Deacon McGuire resigns as manager of the Red Sox at the request of presidentJohn I. Taylor.^[22]
• September 1, 1908: The Red Sox draft infielderCharlie French from Evansville in the Rule 5 draft.^[23]
• September 2, 1908: The Red Sox draft pitcherKing Brady from theJohnstown Johnnies, as well as outfielderJack Hoey and catcher Tommy Murray from theTrenton Tigers.^[24]
• September 20, 1908: OutfielderDenny Sullivan is sold by the Red Sox to theCleveland Naps.^[25]

The offense was led byDoc Gessler who had 63RBIs, threehome runs, and a .308batting average. The pitching staff was led byCy Young, who made 36 appearances (33 starts) and pitched 30 complete games with a 21–11 record and 1.26ERA, while striking out 150 in 299 innings.Cy Morgan had a 14–13 record with 2.46 ERA in 30 games (26 starts).Smoky Joe Wood, who would go on to win 34 games in1912, made his major league debut on August 24.^[26]

The team had one game end in a tie; September 28 atChicago White Sox.^[27] Tie games are not counted in league standings, but player statistics during tie games are counted.^[28]

Source:^[29]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

• Murphy, Cait (2007).Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History. foreword byRobert Creamer. Smithsonian.ISBN 978-0060889371.

• 1908 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1908 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com

• Boston Red Sox seasons
• 1908 Major League Baseball season
• 1908 in sports in Massachusetts
• 1900s in Boston

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards