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1904 Major League Baseball season

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1904 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationApril 14 – October 10, 1904 (AL)
April 14 – October 9, 1904 (NL)
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL championsBoston Americans
  AL runners-upNew York Highlanders
NL championsNew York Giants
  NL runners-upChicago Cubs
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1904–1907 American League seasons
American League

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 1903 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[1]—the most games played consecutively between two teams in major league history.[2] The Chicago White Stockings shortened their name to the Chicago White Sox.

Schedule

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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 1901 season. This format would last until 1919.

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

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League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[3]
American League Boston Americans Boston, Massachusetts Huntington Avenue Grounds 11,500 Jimmy Collins
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois South Side Park 14,000 Jimmy Callahan
Fielder Jones
Cleveland Naps Cleveland, Ohio League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Bill Armour
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Bennett Park 8,500 Ed Barrow
Bobby Lowe
New York Highlanders New York, New York Hilltop Park 16,000 Clark Griffith
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Columbia Park 9,500 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 8,000 Jimmy McAleer
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. American League Park 7,000 Malachi Kittridge
Patsy Donovan
National League Boston Beaneaters Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 6,600 Al Buckenberger
Brooklyn Superbas New York, New York Washington Park 12,000 Ned Hanlon
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois West Side Park 13,000 Frank Selee
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Palace of the Fans 12,000 Joe Kelley
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Hugh Duffy
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania[A] Exposition Park 16,000 Fred Clarke
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri League Park (St. Louis) 15,200 Kid Nichols

Sunday games

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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.

Team City Ballpark Capacity Games played
New York Highlanders[4] Newark, New Jersey Wiedenmeyer's Park 7,000 1
  1. ^
    In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Americans 9559 .617 — 49‍–‍30 46‍–‍29
New York Highlanders 9259 .609 1½ 46‍–‍29 46‍–‍30
Chicago White Sox 8965 .578 6 50‍–‍27 39‍–‍38
Cleveland Naps 8665 .570 7½ 44‍–‍31 42‍–‍34
Philadelphia Athletics 8170 .536 12½ 47‍–‍31 34‍–‍39
St. Louis Browns 6587 .428 29 32‍–‍43 33‍–‍44
Detroit Tigers 6290 .408 32 34‍–‍40 28‍–‍50
Washington Senators 38113 .252 55½ 23‍–‍52 15‍–‍61

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Giants 10647 .693 — 56‍–‍26 50‍–‍21
Chicago Cubs 9360 .608 13 49‍–‍27 44‍–‍33
Cincinnati Reds 8865 .575 18 49‍–‍27 39‍–‍38
Pittsburgh Pirates 8766 .569 19 48‍–‍30 39‍–‍36
St. Louis Cardinals 7579 .487 31½ 39‍–‍36 36‍–‍43
Brooklyn Superbas 5697 .366 50 31‍–‍44 25‍–‍53
Boston Beaneaters 5598 .359 51 34‍–‍45 21‍–‍53
Philadelphia Phillies 52100 .342 53½ 28‍–‍43 24‍–‍57

Tie games

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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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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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.[5][6]

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Philadelphia Phillies Chief Zimmer Hugh Duffy
St. Louis Cardinals Patsy Donovan Kid Nichols
Washington Senators Tom Loftus Malachi Kittridge

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago White Stockings Jimmy Callahan Fielder Jones
Detroit Tigers Ed Barrow Bobby Lowe
Washington Senators Malachi Kittridge Patsy Donovan

League leaders

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Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

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Hitting leaders[7]
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/BOS) 113
H Nap Lajoie (CLE) 208
SB Harry Bay (CLE)
Elmer Flick (CLE)		 38
Pitching leaders[8]
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

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Hitting leaders[9]
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[10]
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

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Batters

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Cycles

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Other batting accomplishments

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Pitchers

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Perfect games

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No-hitters

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  • 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.[17]

Other pitching accomplishments

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Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Boston Americans[18] 95 4.4% 623,295 64.3% 7,695
New York Giants[19] 106 26.2% 609,826 5.2% 7,260
Chicago White Stockings[20] 89 48.3% 557,123 94.7% 7,143
Philadelphia Athletics[21] 81 8.0% 512,294 21.3% 6,485
Chicago Cubs[22] 93 13.4% 439,100 13.7% 5,629
New York Highlanders[23] 92 27.8% 438,919 107.2% 5,852
Cincinnati Reds[24] 88 18.9% 391,915 11.4% 4,961
St. Louis Cardinals[25] 75 74.4% 386,750 70.7% 5,089
Pittsburgh Pirates[26] 87 −4.4% 340,615 4.2% 4,367
St. Louis Browns[27] 65 0.0% 318,108 −16.4% 4,078
Cleveland Naps[28] 86 11.7% 264,749 −14.9% 3,394
Brooklyn Superbas[29] 56 −20.0% 214,600 −4.5% 2,824
Detroit Tigers[30] 62 −4.6% 177,796 −20.8% 2,251
Philadelphia Phillies[31] 52 6.1% 140,771 −7.2% 1,928
Boston Beaneaters[32] 55 −5.2% 140,694 −1.7% 1,781
Washington Senators[33] 38 −11.6% 131,744 2.2% 1,689

Venues

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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 1910.

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.[34][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "The 1904 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Game Log". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Games Played by Teams Record Book". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  3. ↑ "1904 Major League Managers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1904 Season – 1-Year Park Factors – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database". www.seamheads.com. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Brush Declines". The Boston Globe. March 8, 1904. p. 8. Retrieved November 11, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Deutsch, Jordan A. (1975). The Scrapbook History of Baseball. Bobbs-Merrill. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0672520281.
  7. ↑ "1904 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "1904 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1904 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "1904 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts. United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp. 352. ISBN 9781402742736.
  12. ↑ "Hit by a Pitch Records by Baseball Almanac". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  13. ↑ "George Davis Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More — George Davis: Standard Batting (1890-1904)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ "George Davis 1904 Batting Game Logs — George Davis: Batting Stats Career Game 582-663". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  15. ↑ "St. Louis Browns vs Chicago White Sox Box Score: July 1, 1904". Baseball Reference. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Cy Young Perfect Game Box Score". Baseball Almanac. Hosting 4 Less. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Tannehill Makes Record". The St. Paul Globe. August 18, 1904. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Detroit Tigers vs New York Highlanders Box Score: July 17, 1904". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  35. ↑ Lamb, Bill. "Wiedenmayer's Park (Newark, NJ)". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
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