The 1904 major league baseball season was contested from April 14 to October 10, 1904. The Boston Americans and New York Giants finished atop the standings for the American League and National League, respectively. There was no postseason: with still no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues, the Giants declined to meet the Americans in the 1904 World Series. Going into the season, the Americans were the defending World Series from the season.

The St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers played 11 consecutive games against each other in September—the first six in Detroit and the final five in St. Louis—the most games played consecutively between two teams in major league history. The Chicago White Stockings shortened their name to the Chicago White Sox.

Schedule

The 1904 schedule consisted of 154 games (an increase from 140 from the previous season) 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 format was an adjustment to the 140-game, 20-games-each format that had been in place from the season. This format would last until .

Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The National League and American League would see their final day of the regular season on October 9 & 10, respectively.

Teams LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston AmericansBoston, MassachusettsHuntington Avenue Grounds11,500Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisSouth Side Park14,000Cleveland NapsCleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBennett Park8,500New York HighlandersNew York, New YorkHilltop Park16,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaColumbia Park9,500St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park8,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.American League Park7,000Boston BeaneatersBoston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds6,600Brooklyn SuperbasNew York, New YorkWashington Park12,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWest Side Park13,000Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioPalace of the Fans12,000New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Pittsburgh PiratesAllegheny, PennsylvaniaExposition Park16,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriLeague Park (St. Louis)15,200

Sunday games Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing the New York Highlanders, in a rescheduled game, to play at a ballpark in a different locality. TeamCityBallparkCapacityGames playedNew York HighlandersNewark, New JerseyWiedenmeyer's Park7,0001

Standings

American League

National League

Tie games 29 tie games (18 in AL, 11 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

American League Boston Americans, 3 Chicago White Sox, 2 Cleveland Naps, 3 Detroit Tigers, 10 New York Highlanders, 4 Philadelphia Athletics, 4 St. Louis Browns, 4 Washington Senators, 6

National League Boston Beaneaters, 2 Brooklyn Superbas, 1 Chicago Cubs, 3 Cincinnati Reds, 4 New York Giants, 5 Philadelphia Phillies, 3 Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 St. Louis Cardinals, 1

Postseason

No postseason was held this year. With still no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues regarding the staging of the World Series, the New York Giants refused to play against the Boston Americans or any other team from what they considered an inferior league.

Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerPhiladelphia PhilliesChief ZimmerHugh DuffySt. Louis CardinalsPatsy DonovanKid NicholsWashington SenatorsTom LoftusMalachi Kittridge

In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerChicago White StockingsJimmy CallahanFielder JonesDetroit TigersEd BarrowBobby LoweWashington SenatorsMalachi KittridgePatsy Donovan League leaders Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Nap Lajoie (CLE) .376 OPS Nap Lajoie (CLE) .959 HR Harry Davis (PHA) 10 RBI Nap Lajoie (CLE) 102 R Patsy Dougherty (NYH/) 113 H Nap Lajoie (CLE) 208 SB Harry Bay (CLE)Elmer Flick (CLE) 38

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Jack Chesbro1 (NYH) 41 L Happy Townsend (WSH) 26 ERA Addie Joss (CLE) 1.59 K Rube Waddell (PHA) 349 IP Jack Chesbro (NYH) 454.2 SV Casey Patten (WSH) 3 WHIP Cy Young (BOS) 0.937 1 Modern (1901–present) single-season wins record

National League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Honus Wagner (PIT) .349 OPS Honus Wagner (PIT) .944 HR Harry Lumley (BRO) 9 RBI Bill Dahlen (NYG) 80 R George Browne (PIT) 99 H Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 185 SB Honus Wagner (PIT) 53

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Joe McGinnity (NYG) 35 L Vic Willis (BSN)Oscar Jones (BRO) 25 ERA Joe McGinnity (NYG) 1.61 K Christy Mathewson (NYG) 212 IP Joe McGinnity (NYG) 408.0 SV Joe McGinnity (NYG) 5 WHIP Joe McGinnity (NYG) 0.963

Milestones Batters Cycles

Duff Cooley (BSN): Cooley hit for his first cycle and second in franchise history, in game two of a doubleheader on June 20 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Sam Mertes (NYG): Mertes hit for his first cycle, the fourth cycle in franchise history, and the third reverse cycle in major league history, in game one of a doubleheader on October 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Other batting accomplishments Frank Chance (CHC): Chance is hit by a pitch five times in a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds on May 30, by Jack Harper and Win Kellum. George Davis (CWS): Recorded his 500th career stolen base against the St. Louis Browns on July 1. He became the 13th player to reach this mark.

Pitchers Perfect games

Cy Young (BOS): Young pitched the third perfect game in major league history and the first in franchise history on May 5 against the Philadelphia Athletics. Young struck out eight in the 3–0 victory.

No-hitters

Jesse Tannehill (BOS): Tannehill threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Chicago White Sox 6–0 on August 17. Tannehill walked one, hit one by pitch, and struck out four.

Other pitching accomplishments Cy Young (BOS): Became the first member of the 400-win club, defeating the Philadelphia Athletics on September 20, winning 11–1.

Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceBoston Americans95 4.4%623,29564.3%7,695New York Giants106 26.2%609,8265.2%7,260Chicago White Stockings89 48.3%557,123 94.7%7,143Philadelphia Athletics81 8.0%512,29421.3%6,485Chicago Cubs93 13.4%439,100 13.7%5,629New York Highlanders9227.8%438,919107.2%5,852Cincinnati Reds88 18.9%391,915 11.4%4,961St. Louis Cardinals75 74.4%386,750 70.7%5,089Pittsburgh Pirates87 −4.4%340,615 4.2%4,367St. Louis Browns65 0.0%318,108 −16.4%4,078Cleveland Naps8611.7%264,749 −14.9%3,394Brooklyn Superbas56 −20.0%214,600 −4.5%2,824Detroit Tigers62 −4.6%177,796 −20.8%2,251Philadelphia Phillies52 6.1%140,771 −7.2%1,928Boston Beaneaters55 −5.2%140,694 −1.7%1,781Washington Senators38 −11.6%131,744 2.2%1,689

Venues The Washington Senators leave American League Park (where they played three seasons) and move into a new American League Park, where they would go on to play seven seasons through .

The New York Highlanders play one game at Wiedenmeyer's Park in Newark, New Jersey on Sunday, July 17, as a makeup between them and the Detroit Tigers and to avoid New York City's blue laws.

See also 1904 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)

References

External links 1904 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference 1904 in baseball history from ThisGreatGame.com 1904 Major League Season at ESPN.com