The 1902 Boston Americans season was the second season for the

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

franchise that later became known as the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. The Americans finished third in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) with a record of 77 wins and 60 losses,

games behind In most North American sports, the phrase games behind or games back (often abbreviated GB) is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. Example In the below standings fr ...

the Philadelphia Athletics. The team was managed by

Jimmy Collins James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Collins was especially regarded fo ...

and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds.

Offseason and Spring Training

The Americans bolstered their pitching by recruiting

Bill Dinneen William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen (April 5, 1876 – January 13, 1955), was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American L ...

, who jumped from the Boston Beaneaters. Dinneen and Cy Young would become the "one-two" pitching combination for the Boston Americans. Prior to the regular season, the team held spring training in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

Transactions

* November 21, 1901: The Americans make a trade with the Cleveland Blues, with catcher Osee Schrecongost sent to Cleveland in return for George LaChance. * December 16, 1901: It is reported that Jack Warner, catcher with the New York Giants, met with Jimmy Collins and signed a contract with the Boston Americans. * December 17, 1901:

Charlie Hickman Charles Taylor Hickman (May 4, 1876 – April 19, 1934) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played all or part of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a utility player for seven different franchis ...

signs with the Boston Americans. * February 24, 1902: Outfielder

Patsy Dougherty Patrick Henry "Patsy" Dougherty (October 27, 1876 – April 30, 1940) was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1902 to 1911. He played for the Boston Americans (now the Boston Red Sox), the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees), and ...

announces that he has signed to play for the Boston Americans. * March 15, 1902: Pitcher

Bert Husting Berthold Juneau Husting (March 6, 1878 - September 3, 1948) was an American baseball pitcher and attorney who served between 1933 and 1944 as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. During his Major League Baseball career, ...

, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1901 season, signs a $2700 contract to play for the Boston Americans.

Regular season

* April 19: The season opens with a 7–6 home win over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. * June 28: A

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...

is declared in Boston's favor during a road game against the Orioles. With Boston leading, 9–4 in the eighth inning, umpire

Tom Connolly Thomas Henry Connolly (December 31, 1870 – April 28, 1961) was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball. He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1 ...

called a Baltimore runner out for missing second base. The call was argued by Baltimore manager

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

, resulting in his ejection. After McGraw refused to leave the field, Connolly forfeited the game to Boston. * July 8: In their highest-scoring game of the year, Boston loses at home to the Philadelphia Athletics, 22–9. * July 9: The team's longest game of the season ends as a 4–2 loss in 15 innings to the visiting Athletics. * July 19: The team's longest losing streak of the season, six games between July 12 and 18, comes to an end with a victory over the visiting Chicago White Stockings. * July 29: The team's longest winning streak of the season, eight games between July 19 and 28, comes to an end with a loss to the visiting Detroit Tigers. * September 29: The season ends with a 9–5 road win over the Orioles. This was the last game the Orioles played at

Oriole Park Oriole Park, often referred to as Terrapin Park, opened in 1914 and closed after a fire on July 3–4, 1944. "Oriole Park" was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Par ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

; in 1903, they relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

as the Highlanders, then in 1913 became known as the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Statistical leaders

The offense was led by

Buck Freeman John Frank "Buck" Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at and , he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of ...

, who hit 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and had 121 RBIs, and

with a .342

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. The pitching staff was led by

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

, who made 45 appearances (43 starts) and pitched 41 complete games with a 32–11 record and 2.15

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, while striking out 160 in innings.

Season standings

The team had one game end in a tie; August 18 vs. Detroit Tigers. Tie games are not counted in league standings, but player statistics during tie games are counted.

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Source:

Roster

Player stats

Batting

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

Starters by position

Other batters

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

Pitching

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

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

References

External links

1902 Boston Americans team page at Baseball Reference1902 Boston Americans season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

Boston Americans The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

1900s in Boston