The 1904 Boston Americans season was the fourth 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. The Americans finished first in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL) with a record of 95 wins and 59 losses, games ahead of the New York Highlanders. The team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds. The Americans were set to play the National League (NL) champion New York Giants in the 1904 World Series; however, the Giants refused to play.

Offseason

Transactions

* December 7, 1903: It is reported that the Boston Americans will trade catcher Jake Stahl to the Washington Senators. * December 23, 1903: The Boston Americans trade pitcher Tom Hughes to the New York Highlanders for pitcher Jesse Tannehill. Prior to the regular season, the team held

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

Regular season

* April 14: The regular season opens with an 8–2 loss to the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. * April 18: In the home opener, the Americans defeat the visiting Washington Senators, 5–0. * May 5:

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 t ...

throws the first no-hitter in franchise history; it was also a perfect game. The Americans beat the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

by a score of 3–0 in Boston. * June 12: In their longest game of the season, the Americans defeat the St. Louis Browns, 2–1 in 16 innings, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. * June 18: The team's highest scoring game of the season ends as a 13–10 win in 11 innings, on the road against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. * August 17: Jesse Tannehill throws a no-hitter against the White Sox at South Side Park in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. * October 10: The regular season ends with a doubleheader on the road against the Highlanders; Boston won the first game, 3–2, while New York won the second game, 1–0 in 10 innings.

Statistical leaders

The offense was led by Buck Freeman, who hit 7 home runs and had 84 RBIs, and Freddy Parent with a .291 batting average. The pitching staff was led by

, who made 43 appearances (41 starts) and pitched 40 complete games with a 26–16 record and 1.97 ERA, while striking out 200 in 380 innings. The team had two other 20-game winners; Bill Dinneen (23–14) and Jesse Tannehill (21–11).

Season standings

The team had three games end in a tie; September 13 at Philadelphia, September 14 vs. New York, and September 15 vs. New York. Both ties against New York were the second games of doubleheaders. 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: Stats in brackets are derived from Retrosheet which differ from the stats found on MLB.com.

Starters by position

''Note: Pos=Position; GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage''

Other batters

Pitchers

''Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: GP=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average''

References

External links

1904 Boston Americans team page at Baseball Reference

1904 Boston Americans season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons Boston Americans Boston Americans 1900s in Boston American League champion seasons