1903 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1903 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1903 in baseball.

1903 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 16 – October 13, 1903
Number of games	140
Number of teams	16
Pennant Winners
AL champions	Boston Americans
AL runners-up	Philadelphia Athletics
NL champions	Pittsburgh Pirates
NL runners-up	New York Giants
World Series
Champions	Boston Americans
Runners-up	Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB seasons
← 1902 1904 →

Americans

White Stockings

Naps

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Highlanders

Senators

Locations of AL teams for the 1903 MLB season
American League

Beaneaters

Superbas

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of NL teams for the 1903 MLB season
National League

The 1903 Major League Baseball season began on April 16, 1903. The regular season ended September 29, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Americans as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the first modern World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 8 on October 13. The Americans defeated the Pirates, five games to three. ^[1]

The defunct Baltimore Orioles were replaced by a new franchise in New York City known as the New York Highlanders; it was the last change to the lineup of AL and NL franchises until 1953. The Chicago Orphans were renamed as the Chicago Cubs.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
American League	Boston Americans	Boston, Massachusetts	Huntington Avenue Grounds	11,500
	Chicago White Stockings	Chicago, Illinois	South Side Park	15,000
	Cleveland Naps	Cleveland, Ohio	League Park	9,000
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Bennett Park	8,500
	New York Highlanders	New York, New York	Hilltop Park	16,000
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Columbia Park	9,500
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	8,000
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	American League Park	Unknown
National League	Boston Beaneaters	Boston, Massachusetts	South End Grounds	2,300
	Brooklyn Superbas	New York, New York	Washington Park	18,800
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	West Side Park	16,000
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Palace of the Fans	6,000
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	16,000
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	National League Park	18,000
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Allegheny, Pennsylvania	Exposition Park	16,000
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Robison Field	Unknown

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1903 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the 1901 season. This would be the last season with this format, as the following season would see an increase of games played.

National League Opening Day took place on April 16 with four teams playing, while American League Opening Day did not take place until April 20, with a doubleheader between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Americans. The National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 27, while the American League would see its final day of the season on September 29. The inaugural World Series took place between October 1 and October 13.

Rule changes

1903 Boston vs Chicago at Huntington Avenue Grounds

The 1903 season saw the following rule changes:

• The pitcher's mound height was capped at 15 inches. ^{[2] [3]}
• Previously adopted by the National league in 1901, the American League adopted the rule that foul balls are to count as strike balls, except after two strikes. Previously, foul balls would not affect the count. To cut the cost of lost foul balls, the committee urges that batters who foul off good strikes are to be disciplined. ^{[4] [5]}

Standings

American League v t e American League W L Pct. GB Home Road Boston Americans 91 47 0.659 — 49–20 42–27 Philadelphia Athletics 75 60 0.556 14½ 44–21 31–39 Cleveland Naps 77 63 0.550 15 49–25 28–38 New York Highlanders 72 62 0.537 17 41–26 31–36 Detroit Tigers 65 71 0.478 25 37–28 28–43 St. Louis Browns 65 74 0.468 26½ 38–32 27–42 Chicago White Stockings 60 77 0.438 30½ 41–28 19–49 Washington Senators 43 94 0.314 47½ 29–40 14–54

National League v t e National League W L Pct. GB Home Road Pittsburgh Pirates 91 49 0.650 — 46–24 45–25 New York Giants 84 55 0.604 6½ 41–27 43–28 Chicago Cubs 82 56 0.594 8 45–28 37–28 Cincinnati Reds 74 65 0.532 16½ 41–35 33–30 Brooklyn Superbas 70 66 0.515 19 40–33 30–33 Boston Beaneaters 58 80 0.420 32 31–35 27–45 Philadelphia Phillies 49 86 0.363 39½ 25–33 24–53 St. Louis Cardinals 43 94 0.314 46½ 22–45 21–49

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Boston Americans	5
	NL	Pittsburgh Pirates	3

"Battle of Ohio"

Termed the "Battle of Ohio", the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Naps played an unofficial best of 11-game exhibition series after the regular season, with Cleveland winning the series six games to three. ^[6]

Managers

American League Team Manager Boston Americans Jimmy Collins Chicago White Stockings Jimmy Callahan Cleveland Naps Bill Armour Detroit Tigers Ed Barrow New York Highlanders Clark Griffith Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack St. Louis Browns Jimmy McAleer Washington Senators Tom Loftus

National League Team Manager Boston Beaneaters Al Buckenberger Brooklyn Superbas Ned Hanlon Chicago Cubs Frank Selee Cincinnati Reds Joe Kelley New York Giants John McGraw Philadelphia Phillies Chief Zimmer Pittsburgh Pirates Fred Clarke St. Louis Cardinals Patsy Donovan

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Nap Lajoie (CLE) .344 HR Buck Freeman (BSA) 14 RBI Buck Freeman (BSA) 125 R Patsy Dougherty (BSA) 107 H Patsy Dougherty (BSA) 195 SB Harry Bay (CLE) 45

Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Cy Young (BSA) 28 L Patsy Flaherty (CWS) 25 ERA Earl Moore (CLE) 1.74 K Rube Waddell (PHA) 302 IP Cy Young (BSA) 341.2 SV Bill Dinneen (BSA) George Mullin (DET) Al Orth (WSH) Jack Powell (SLB) Cy Young (BSA) 2

National League

Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Honus Wagner (PIT) .355 HR Jimmy Sheckard (BKN) 9 RBI Sam Mertes (NYG) 104 R Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 137 H Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 209 SB Jimmy Sheckard (BKN) Frank Chance (CHC) 67

Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Joe McGinnity (NYG) 31 L Togie Pittinger (BSB) 22 ERA Sam Leever (PIT) 2.06 K Christy Mathewson (NYG) 267 IP Joe McGinnity (NYG) 434.0 SV Carl Lundgren (CHC) Roscoe Miller (NYG) 3

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Giants [7]	84	75.0%	579,530	91.3%	8,279
Philadelphia Athletics [8]	75	-9.6%	422,473	0.6%	6,306
Chicago Cubs [9]	82	20.6%	386,205	46.5%	5,290
St. Louis Browns [10]	65	-16.7%	380,405	39.7%	5,434
Boston Americans [11]	91	18.2%	379,338	8.8%	5,419
Cincinnati Reds [12]	74	5.7%	351,680	61.8%	4,627
Pittsburgh Pirates [13]	91	-11.7%	326,855	34.1%	4,669
Cleveland Naps [14]	77	11.6%	311,280	13.0%	4,206
Chicago White Stockings [15]	60	-18.9%	286,183	-15.3%	4,088
St. Louis Cardinals [16]	43	-23.2%	226,538	0.1%	3,283
Brooklyn Superbas [17]	70	-6.7%	224,670	12.4%	3,078
Detroit Tigers [18]	65	25.0%	224,523	18.5%	3,454
New York Highlanders [19]	72		211,808		3,161
Philadelphia Phillies [20]	49	-12.5%	151,729	35.4%	2,487
Boston Beaneaters [21]	58	-20.5%	143,155	22.4%	2,105
Washington Senators [22]	43	-29.5%	128,878	-31.5%	1,815

Events

• August 1 – Joe McGinnity becomes the first pitcher to win two complete games in one day, with 4–1 and 5–2 victories for the New York Giants over the Boston Beaneaters in a doubleheader. ^[23]

References

1. "History of the World Series – 1903". SportingNews.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2006.
2. "A guide to rules changes in MLB (and sports) history". MLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
3. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (June 9, 2012). "Pitching Mound Is a Work of Art Often Abused". The New York Times . Retrieved April 11, 2024.
4. "The National League Rules Committee decrees that all foul balls are to count as strikes, except after two strikes. - This Day In Baseball". February 27, 1901. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
5. "This Day in Sports: The National League Makes it Way Harder for Fans to Catch a Foul Ball". ESPN.com. February 27, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
6. Rhodes, Greg (2007). Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Highlights: Memorable Moments in Team History As Heard on the Reds Radio Network. United States: Clerisy Press. p. 251. ISBN   9781578603008.
7. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
8. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
9. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
10. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
11. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
12. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
13. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
14. "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
15. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
16. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
17. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
18. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
19. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
20. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
21. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
22. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
23. Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN   9781553650386..

External links

• 1903 in baseball history from ThisGreatGame.com
• 1903 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference