# 2003 Boston Red Sox season

The 2003 Boston Red Sox season was the 103rd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95–67, six games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card and defeated the American League West champion Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. The Red Sox then lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.
The Red Sox led the major leagues in nearly all offensive categories, including runs scored (961), batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.360), and perhaps most impressively, a .491 team slugging percentage, which set a new record previously held by the 1927 Yankees. It would stand until the 2019 season when the Astros (.495) and Twins (.494) both surpassed them. They also had 649 extra-base hits, the most ever by one team in a single season.
In May 2003, the Red Sox settled a lawsuit in federal court filed by seven men who claimed to have been sexually abused as boys by Red Sox clubhouse attendant Donald James Fitzpatrick at the team's spring training site in Winter Haven, Florida between 1971 and 1991. The lawsuit requested $3.15 million in damages but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
This was the first season with designated hitter David Ortiz, as he signed a contract for the Red Sox during the offseason. He would stay with the Red Sox until his retirement in 2016.

## The search for a new general manager

Lucchino initially attempted to hire J. P. Ricciardi, the general manager of the Blue Jays, but Ricciardi rejected the offer and instead signed a long-term contract with the Blue Jays.
On November 10, 2002, Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane, accepted an offer to become the new general manager of the Red Sox. Beane had for several years publicly expressed his interest in joining the Red Sox, and his contract with Oakland included a stipulation that would allow Beane to consider an offer from the Red Sox. Beane had yet to sign the contract with the Red Sox, a contract in which he would be guaranteed $12.5 million over five years, the most anyone had been given to run a baseball team. The following day, however, Beane shocked the Red Sox when he declared that he would not accept their offer; the move to Boston would limit the amount of time that Beane would have to spend with his daughter.
On November 25, 2002, Theo Epstein, 28, was hired as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Epstein's hiring made him the youngest general manager in major league history.

## Offseason

* October 9, 2002: Brandon Lyon was selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Toronto Blue Jays.
* November 6, 2002: Chris Coste signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
* December 6, 2002: Wayne Gomes was released by the Boston Red Sox.
* December 12, 2002: The Red Sox acquired second baseman Todd Walker from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two minor leaguers.
* December 15, 2002: Jeremy Giambi was acquired by the Red Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Josh Hancock.
* December 31, 2002: Ramiro Mendoza signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
* January 10, 2003: Bill Mueller was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
* January 22, 2003: David Ortiz was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
* February 15, 2003: Kevin Millar was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Florida Marlins.
* March 7, 2003: The Red Sox signed Shea Hillenbrand, Casey Fossum, Javier Lopez, Jorge de la Rosa, Brandon Lyon, Andy Shibilo, Anastacio Martínez, César Crespo, Earl Snyder, and Freddy Sanchez; released Juan Peña.
* March 10, 2003: The Red Sox optioned Jorge de la Rosa, Anastacio Martínez, Ángel Santos, César Crespo, and Freddy Sanchez to Pawtucket; assigned Kevin Youkilis and Hansel Izquierdo to minor-league camp.
* March 12, 2003: The Red Sox placed Benny Agbayani and Willie Banks on waivers.
* March 14, 2003: The Red Sox optioned Andy Shibilo to Pawtucket; assigned Justin Kaye, Kris Foster, Tom Davey, Kevin Tolar, Brian Loyd and Andy Dominique to minor-league camp.
* March 18, 2003: The Red Sox traded Javier López to Colorado for future considerations.
* March 21, 2003: The Red Sox assigned Earl Snyder, Julio Zuleta, and Lou Collier to minor-league camp.
* March 22, 2003: The Red Sox optioned Ryan Rupe to Pawtucket and returned Jeff Smith to minor-league camp for reassignment.
* March 26, 2003: The Red Sox waived Frank Castillo and returned Adrian Brown to Tampa Bay.
* March 28, 2003: The Red Sox claimed Dicky Gonzalez off of waivers from Montreal.
* March 30, 2003: The Red Sox designated Dicky Gonzalez for assignment and purchased Steve Woodard for assignment.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 101 | 61 | .623 | — | 50‍–‍32 | 51‍–‍29 |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | 6 | 53‍–‍28 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 15 | 41‍–‍40 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 71 | 91 | .438 | 30 | 40‍–‍40 | 31‍–‍51 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 63 | 99 | .389 | 38 | 36‍–‍45 | 27‍–‍54 |

### Record vs. opponents

2003 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 1–8 | 3–6 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 6–1 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 8–12 | 8–11 | 6–3 | 9–10 | 2–7 | 11–7 |
| Baltimore | 8–1 | — | 9–10 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 6–13–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 8–11 | 7–2 | 8–11 | 5–13 |
| Boston | 6–3 | 10–9 | — | 5–4 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 12–7 | 5–4 | 10–9 | 11–7 |
| Chicago | 4–3 | 4–2 | 4–5 | — | 11–8 | 11–8 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 10–8 |
| Cleveland | 3–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–11 | — | 12–7 | 6–13 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 5–2 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 6–12 |
| Detroit | 1–6 | 3–3 | 1–8 | 8–11 | 7–12 | — | 5–14 | 4–15 | 1–5 | 3–6 | 1–8 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 2–7 | 4–14 |
| Kansas City | 3–6 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 8–11 | 13–6 | 14–5 | — | 11–8 | 2–4 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 7–2 | 1–5 | 9–9 |
| Minnesota | 4–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 15–4 | 8–11 | — | 0–7 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 6–0 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 10–8 |
| New York | 6–3 | 13–6–1 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 7–0 | — | 3–6 | 5–4 | 14–5 | 4–5 | 10–9 | 13–5 |
| Oakland | 12–8 | 7–2 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 1–8 | 6–3 | — | 7–12 | 6–3 | 15–4 | 5–2 | 9–9 |
| Seattle | 11–8 | 5–4 | 2–5 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 12–7 | — | 4–5 | 10–10 | 3–4 | 10–8 |
| Tampa Bay | 3–6 | 11–8 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 0–6 | 5–14 | 3–6 | 5–4 | — | 3–6 | 11–8 | 3–15 |
| Texas | 10–9 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 4–15 | 10–10 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 4–14 |
| Toronto | 7–2 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 7–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 8–11 | 4–5 | — | 10–8 |
Red Sox vs. National League :
| Team | NL Central | NL Central | NL Central | NL Central | NL Central | NL Central | | |
| Team | CHC | CIN | HOU | MIL | PIT | STL | FLA | PHI |
| Boston | — | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |

### Notable transactions

* April 11, 2003: Bill Haselman signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
* May 29, 2003: Byung-Hyun Kim was acquired by the Red Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Shea Hillenbrand.
* June 28, 2003: Gabe Kapler was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Colorado Rockies.
* July 22, 2003: Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Gonzalez were acquired by the Red Sox from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martínez.
* July 30, 2003: Chad Fox was released by the Red Sox. Scott Williamson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Cincinnati Reds.
* July 31, 2003: Freddy Sanchez and Mike Gonzalez were traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jeff Suppan. The Red Sox also re-acquired Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martínez.
* August 4, 2003: David McCarty was acquired off waivers by the Red Sox from the Oakland Athletics.
* August 28, 2003: Lou Merloni was acquired by the Red Sox from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league pitcher Rene Miniel.

### Opening Day lineup

| 18 | Johnny Damon | CF |
| 12 | Todd Walker | 2B |
| 5 | Nomar Garciaparra | SS |
| 24 | Manny Ramírez | LF |
| 15 | Kevin Millar | 1B |
| 29 | Shea Hillenbrand | 3B |
| 25 | Jeremy Giambi | DH |
| 7 | Trot Nixon | RF |
| 33 | Jason Varitek | C |
| 45 | Pedro Martínez | P |

### Game log

2003 Game Log :
March (0–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1March 31@Devil Rays6–4McClung (1–0)Fox (0–1)—34,3910–1 :
April (18–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
2April 1@Devil Rays9–8 (16)Lyon (1–0)Sosa (0–1)—11,5241–1
3April 2@Devil Rays7–5Lowe (1–0)Parque (0–1)Fox (1)10,0582–1
4April 3@Devil Rays14–5Fossum (1–0)Bierbrodt (0–1)—12,1103–1
5April 4@Orioles8–7Burkett (1–0)Ponson (0–1)—27,2564–1
6April 5@Orioles2–1Ryan (2–0)Fox (0–2)—41,8214–2
7April 6@Orioles12–2Wakefield (1–0)López (0–1)—30,0465–2
8April 8@Blue Jays8–4Hendrickson (1–1)Lowe (1–1)—13,1475–3
9April 9@Blue Jays10–5Sturtze (2–0)Fossum (1–1)—13,0995–4
10April 10@Blue Jays8–7Timlin (1–0)Politte (0–1)—13,7796–4
–April 11OriolesPostponed6–4
–April 12OriolesPostponed6–4
11April 12Orioles13–6Johnson (1–0)Martínez (1–1)—32,0296–5
12April 13Orioles2–0Lowe (2–1)López (0–2)Wakefield (1)32,3687–5
13April 15Devil Rays6–5Timlin (2–0)Levine (1–1)—29,6178–5
14April 16Devil Rays6–4Fox (1–2)Carter (3–1)Lyon (1)26,6889–5
15April 17Devil Rays6–0Martínez (1–1)Kennedy (0–1)—30,90910–5
16April 18Blue Jays7–3Wakefield (2–0)Tam (0–1)—19,54511–5
17April 19Blue Jays7–2Derek Lowe (3–1)Sturtze (2–1)—32,32912–5
18April 20Blue Jays6–5Timlin (3–0)Politte (0–2)—29,57913–5
19April 21Blue Jays11–6Lidle (3–2)Burkett (1–1)—34,37013–6
20April 22@Rangers5–4Martínez (2–1)Park (1–3)Fox (2)20,15814–6
21April 23@Rangers6–1Thomson (1–2)Wakefield (2–1)—20,04214–7
22April 24@Rangers16–5Dickey (1–1)Lowe (3–2)—21,06314–8
23April 25@Angels5–2Fossum (2–1)Washburn (1–3)Fox (3)37,20315–8
24April 26@Angels3–1Shields (1–0)Burkett (1–2)Percival (3)43,51415–9
25April 27@Angels6–4 (14)Mendoza (1–0)Callaway (1–3)Shiell (1)43,69016–9
26April 29Royals7–2Wakefield (3–1)George (3–2)—40,34817–9
27April 30Royals5–4Embree (1–0)MacDougal (1–2)—31,33418–9 :
May (13–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
28May 1Royals6–5Shiell (1–0)Grimsley (1–2)Lyon (2)31,95019–9
29May 2Twins11–7Santana (1–0)Mendoza (1–1)—31,31719–10
30May 3Twins9–1Martínez (3–1)Fiore (1–1)—33,06120–10
31May 4Twins9–4Rogers (4–1)Timlin (3–1)—32,88720–11
32May 5@ Royals7–6Lopez (4–0)Lyon (1–1)—21,23220–12
33May 6@ Royals7–3Fossum (3–1)Affeldt (2–1)—15,84821–12
34May 7@ Royals9–6Woodard (1–0)Lopez (4–1)Lyon (3)28,26822–12
35May 9@ Twins5–0Santana (2–0)Martínez (3–2)—28,43622–13
36May 10@ Twins6–5Wakefield (4–1)Rincón (1–1)Lyon (4)26,34623–13
37May 11@ Twins9–8Radke (4–3)Lowe (3–3)Guardado (8)15,64123–14
38May 13Rangers5–4Embree (2–0)Cordero (1–4)Lyon (5)31,95624–14
39May 14Rangers7–1Fossum (4–1)Benoit (1–1)—32,48525–14
40May 15Rangers12–3Martínez (4–2)Benes (0–2)—33,80126–14
41May 16Angels6–5Rodríguez (4–1)Embree (2–1)Percival (6)33,17026–15
42May 17Angels6–2Washburn (4–4)Timlin (3–2)Percival (7)33,32726–16
43May 18Angels5–3Burkett (2–2)Lackey (2–4)Person (1)33,34727–16
44May 19Yankees7–3Wells (6–1)Fossum (4–2)—35,09927–17
45May 20Yankees10–7Embree (3–1)Contreras (1–1)Lyon (6)35,00728–17
46May 21Yankees4–2Clemens (6–2)Wakefield (4–2)Rivera (4)35,00328–18
47May 23Indians9–2Lowe (4–3)Rodríguez (2–5)—32,67329–18
48May 24Indians12–3Burkett (3–2)Anderson (2–5)—32,64330–18
49May 25Indians6–4Davis (4–4)Fossum (4–3)Báez (9)34,31830–19
50May 26@ Yankees8–4Wakefield (5–2)Clemens (6–3)—55,09331–19
51May 27@ Yankees11–3Pettitte (5–5)Chen (0–1)—44,76931–20
52May 28@ Yankees6–5Rivera (1–0)Lyon (1–2)—44,61731–21
53May 30@ Blue Jays13–2Davis (3–3)Burkett (3–3)—21,38131–22
54May 31@ Blue Jays10–7Sturtze (5–4)Fossum (4–4)Politte (9)28,80931–23 :
June (16–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
55June 1@ Blue Jays11–8Halladay (7–2)White (0–1)—26,89031–24
–June 3@ PiratesPostponed (makeup date: June 4 as part of a doubleheader)31–24
56June 4@ Pirates11–4Kim (2–5)Benson (5–6)—N/A32–24
57June 4@ Pirates8–3Lowe (5–3)D'Amico (4–6)—27,76933–24
58June 5@ Pirates5–4Boehringer (3–1)Mendoza (1–2)Williams (16)33,37233–25
59June 6@ Brewers9–3Durocher (2–0)Almonte (0–1)—20,19533–26
60June 7@ Brewers11–10Lyon (2–2)DeJean (2–4)Timlin (1)34,24234–26
61June 8@ Brewers9–1Lowe (6–3)Rusch (1–9)—20,78435–26
62June 10Cardinals9–7Kline (3–4)Lyon (2–3)Eldred (8)34,93735–27
63June 11Cardinals13–1Burkett (4–3)Tomko (2–5)—33,45336–27
64June 12Cardinals8–7 (13)Yan (2–1)Mendoza (1–3)—34,38936–28
65June 13Astros4–3Rupe (1–0)Stone (4–2)Lyon (7)33,24437–28
66June 14Astros8–4Lowe (7–3)Redding (4–5)—34,56238–28
67June 15Astros3–2 (14)Shiell (2–0)Bland (1–2)—34,08539–28
68June 16@ White Sox4–2Buehrle (3–10)Rupe (1–1)Gordon (1)30,77939–29
69June 17@ White Sox7–4Burkett (5–3)Colón (6–7)Lyon (8)19,88740–29
70June 18@ White Sox3–1Loaiza (10–2)Wakefield (5–3)Koch (9)18,70840–30
71June 19@ White Sox4–3 10Lyon (3–3)Koch (2–3)—17,22541–30
--June 20@ PhilliesPostponed (makeup date: September 1)41–30
72June 21@ Phillies6–5 (13)Mesa (3–4)Seánez (0–1)—35,51241–31
73June 22@ Phillies5–0Myers (6–6)Kim (2–6)—60,96041–32
74June 23Tigers3–1Wakefield (6–3)Bonderman (2–11)Timlin (2)33,81442–32
75June 24Tigers10–1Lowe (8–3)Cornejo (3–6)—33,84843–32
76June 25Tigers11–2Burkett (6–3)Maroth (2–12)—33,58744–32
77June 26Tigers6–4Martínez (5–2)Roney (0–2)Lyon (9)34,41545–32
78June 27Marlins25–8Kim (3–6)Pavano (6–9)—34,76446–32
79June 28Marlins10–9Bump (1–0)Lyon (3–4)Looper (14)34,80446–33
80June 29Marlins11–7Lowe (9–3)Penny (6–6)—34,47647–33 :
July (16–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1@ Devil Rays4–3 (11)Carter (5–3)Lyon (3–5)—12,12247–34
82July 2@ Devil Rays5–4Martínez (6–2)Colomé (1–4)Kim (1)14,34548–34
83July 3@ Devil Rays6–5 (10)Harper (1–4)Timlin (3–3)—12,83848–35
84July 4@ Yankees10–3Lowe (10–3)Wells (10–3)—55,14449–35
85July 5@ Yankees10–2Mendoza (2–3)Clemens (8–6)—54,94850–35
86July 6@ Yankees7–1Pettitte (10–6)Burkett (6–4)—54,91850–36
87July 7@ Yankees2–1Rivera (3–0)Kim (3–7)—55,01650–37
88July 8@ Blue Jays2–1 (12)Jones (2–4)Tam (0–3)Kim (2)20,02251–37
89July 9@ Blue Jays8–7Lyon (4–5)Tam (0–4)Kim (3)23,55152–37
90July 10@ Blue Jays7–1Mendoza (3–3)Lidle (10–8)—20,11353–37
91July 11@ Tigers5–3Burkett (7–4)Maroth (4–13)Kim (4)26,53854–37
92July 12@ Tigers4–2 (11)Jones (3–4)Rodney (0–1)Kim (5)23,20655–37
93July 13@ Tigers3–0Ledezma (3–2)Wakefield (6–4)Mears (4)23,82955–38
94July 17Blue Jays5–2Halladay (14–2)Lowe (10–4)—34,52155–39
95July 18Blue Jays4–1Escobar (6–6)Wakefield (6–5)Miller (1)34,13655–40
96July 19Blue Jays5–4 (10)Kim (4–7)López (1–3)—34,81256–40
97July 20Blue Jays9–4Martínez (7–2)Wasdin (0–1)—34,32157–40
98July 21Tigers14–5Burkett (8–4)Bonderman (3–14)Fossum (1)33,82358–40
99July 22Tigers7–4Lowe (11–4)Maroth (5–14)—33,57059–40
100July 23Devil Rays10–4Wakefield (7–5)Harper (1–6)—33,44660–40
101July 24Devil Rays15–9Zambrano (7–5)Mendoza (3–4)—33,52160–41
102July 25Yankees4–3Rivera (5–0)Kim (4–8)—34,87360–42
103July 26Yankees5–4Kim (5–8)Benítez (3–4)—34,35661–42
104July 27Yankees6–4Fossum (5–4)Hammond (2–1)Kim (6)34,78762–42
105July 29@ Rangers14–7Wakefield (8–5)García (1–1)—24,63263–42
106July 30@ Rangers9–2Ellis (1–1)Mendoza (3–5)—25,35463–43
107July 31@ Rangers7–3 (11)Ramirez (2–0)Jones (3–5)—27,10863–44 :
August (15–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
108August 1@ Orioles2–1Hentgen (4–5)Burkett (8–5)Julio (25)41,18863–45
109August 2@ Orioles11–2Lopez (4–6)Lowe (11–5)—49,33463–46
110August 3@ Orioles7–5Wakefield (9–5)Helling (6–8)Kim (7)42,08564–46
111August 5Angels10–9Timlin (4–3)Donnelly (2–2)Kim (8)34,67865–46
112August 6Angels4–2Martínez (8–2)Sele (6–9)—35,04066–46
113August 7Angels9–3Burkett (9–5)Ortiz (13–9)—34,57067–46
114August 8Orioles10–4Helling (7–8)Lowe (11–6)—35,09967–47
115August 8Orioles4–2DuBose (1–1)Fossum (5–5)Julio (28)34,59567–48
116August 9Orioles6–4Embree (4–1)Driskill (3–5)Kim (9)34,88368–48
117August 10Orioles5–3Johnson (10–5)Suppan (10–8)Julio (29)34,23968–49
118August 11@ Athletics4–0Hudson (11–4)Martínez (8–3)—33,50468–50
119August 12@ Athletics5–3Zito (9–10)Burkett (9–6)Foulke (30)26,82368–51
120August 13@ Athletics7–3Lowe (12–6)Mulder (15–9)—44,86869–51
121August 14@ Athletics4–2 (10)Kim (6–8)Mecir (2–2)—37,29370–51
122August 15@ Mariners10–5Mateo (4–0)Timlin (4–4)Hasegawa (12)46,17170–52
123August 16@ Mariners5–1Martínez (9–3)Piñeiro (13–8)—46,10071–52
124August 17@ Mariners3–1García (11–12)Burkett (9–7)Hasegawa (13)46,10571–53
125August 19Athletics3–2Rincón (7–4)Williamson (5–4)Foulke (33)34,87971–54
126August 20Athletics8–6Bradford (7–3)Kim (6–9)Foulke (34)34,79871–55
127August 21Athletics14–5Fossum (6–5)Harden (3–3)—34,84472–55
128August 22Mariners6–4Suppan (11–8)Piñeiro (13–9)Kim (10)34,37973–55
129August 23Mariners7–6 (10)Timlin (5–4)Sasaki (1–2)—34,48874–55
130August 24Mariners6–1Lowe (13–6)Franklin (9–11)—34,34475–55
131August 25Mariners8–1Martínez (10–3)Meche (13–10)Arroyo (1)33,00776–55
132August 26Blue Jays12–9Towers (4–1)Sauerbeck (3–5)López (7)33,73176–56
133August 27Blue Jays6–3Timlin (6–4)Halladay (17–6)Kim (11)34,20677–56
134August 29Yankees10–5Lowe (14–6)Contreras (4–2)—34,85478–56
135August 30Yankees10–7Pettitte (17–7)Martínez (10–4)Rivera (30)34,35078–57
136August 31Yankees8–4Clemens (13–8)Wakefield (9–6)Rivera (31)34,48278–58 :
September (17–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1@ Phillies13–9Kim (7–9)Mesa (5–7)—61,06879–58
138September 2@ White Sox2–1Burkett (10–7)Colón (12–12)Kim (12)23,94380–58
139September 3@ White Sox5–4 (10)Kim (8–9)Gordon (6–6)—20,08281–58
140September 5@ Yankees9–3Martínez (11–4)Pettitte (17–8)—55,26182–58
141September 6@ Yankees12–0Wakefield (10–6)Clemens (13–9)—55,23783–58
142September 7@ Yankees3–1Wells (13–6)Suppan (11–9)Rivera (33)55,21283–59
143September 8@ Orioles13–10Ligtenberg (2–2)Kim (8–10)—23,27683–60
144September 9@ Orioles9–2Lowe (15–6)Moss (10–11)—25,26584–60
145September 10@ Orioles5–0Martínez (12–4)Johnson (10–7)—25,14385–60
146September 12White Sox7–4Suppan (12–9)Wright (1–6)Kim (13)34,89086–60
147September 13White Sox3–1Colón (14–12)Wakefield (10–7)—34,41486–61
148September 14White Sox7–2Buehrle (13–13)Burkett (10–8)Marte (11)34,17486–62
149September 15Devil Rays8–2Lowe (16–6)Sosa (5–11)—33,38987–62
150September 16Devil Rays3–2Martínez (13–4)Harper (4–8)—33,61888–62
151September 17Devil Rays7–0Zambrano (11–9)Suppan (12–10)—33,80688–63
152September 18Devil Rays4–3Wakefield (11–7)Bell (4–4)Kim (14)34,04289–63
153September 19@ Indians2–0Burkett (11–8)Stanford (0–3)Embree (1)20,37490–63
154September 20@ Indians13–4Dave Lee (1–0)Lowe (16–7)—23,24290–64
155September 21@ Indians2–0Martínez (14–4)Cliff Lee (3–2)Kim (15)27,65591–64
156September 22Orioles7–5Suppan (13–10)Johnson (10–9)Kim (16)33,82192–64
157September 23Orioles6–5 (10)Kim (9–10)Ainsworth (5–5)—33,72393–64
158September 24Orioles7–3Hentgen (7–8)Burkett (11–9)—34,60793–65
159September 25Orioles14–3Lowe (17–7)Daal (4–11)—34,52694–65
160September 26@ Devil Rays7–2Burkett (12–9)González (6–11)—21,24095–65
161September 27@ Devil Rays5–4Gaudin (2–0)Suppan (13–11)Carter (25)25,63595–66
162September 28@ Devil Rays3–1Zambrano (12–10)Lyon (4–6)Carter (26)24,13895–67 :

## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Jason Varitek | 142 | 451 | 123 | .273 | 25 | 85 |
| 1B | Kevin Millar | 148 | 544 | 150 | .276 | 25 | 96 |
| 2B | Todd Walker | 144 | 587 | 166 | .283 | 13 | 85 |
| SS | Nomar Garciaparra | 156 | 658 | 198 | .301 | 28 | 105 |
| 3B | Bill Mueller | 146 | 524 | 171 | .326 | 19 | 85 |
| LF | Manny Ramirez | 154 | 569 | 185 | .325 | 37 | 104 |
| CF | Johnny Damon | 145 | 608 | 166 | .273 | 12 | 67 |
| RF | Trot Nixon | 134 | 441 | 135 | .306 | 28 | 87 |
| DH | David Ortiz | 128 | 448 | 129 | .288 | 31 | 101 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Shea Hillenbrand | 49 | 185 | 56 | .303 | 3 | 38 |
| Doug Mirabelli | 62 | 163 | 42 | .258 | 6 | 18 |
| Damian Jackson | 109 | 161 | 42 | .261 | 1 | 13 |
| Gabe Kapler | 68 | 158 | 46 | .291 | 4 | 23 |
| Jeremy Giambi | 50 | 127 | 25 | .197 | 5 | 15 |
| Freddy Sanchez | 20 | 34 | 8 | .235 | 0 | 2 |
| Lou Merloni | 15 | 30 | 7 | .233 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave McCarty | 16 | 27 | 11 | .407 | 1 | 6 |
| Andy Abad | 9 | 17 | 2 | .118 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrian Brown | 9 | 15 | 3 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Haselman | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Collier | 4 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Derek Lowe | 33 | 203.1 | 17 | 7 | 4.47 | 110 |
| Tim Wakefield | 35 | 202.1 | 11 | 5 | 4.09 | 169 |
| Pedro Martinez | 29 | 186.2 | 14 | 4 | 2.22 | 206 |
| John Burkett | 32 | 181.2 | 12 | 9 | 5.15 | 107 |
| Casey Fossum | 19 | 79.0 | 6 | 5 | 5.47 | 63 |
| Jeff Suppan | 11 | 63.0 | 3 | 4 | 5.57 | 32 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Bruce Chen | 5 | 12.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.11 | 12 |
| Ryan Rupe | 4 | 10.0 | 1 | 1 | 6.30 | 7 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Byung-Hyun Kim | 49 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 3.18 | 69 |
| Mike Timlin | 72 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3.55 | 65 |
| Alan Embree | 65 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4.25 | 45 |
| Ramiro Mendoza | 37 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6.75 | 36 |
| Brandon Lyon | 37 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 4.12 | 50 |
| Todd Jones | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.52 | 31 |
| Scott Sauerbeck | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.48 | 18 |
| Scott Williamson | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.20 | 21 |
| Jason Shiell | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.63 | 23 |
| Chad Fox | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4.50 | 19 |
| Rudy Seánez | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.23 | 9 |
| Steve Woodard | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.09 | 12 |
| Robert Person | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.71 | 10 |
| Héctor Almonte | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.22 | 6 |
| Bronson Arroyo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.08 | 14 |
| Kevin Tolar | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3 |
| Bob Howry | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.46 | 4 |
| Matt White | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27.00 | 0 |

## Postseason
### ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics

As the AL wild card, the Red Sox entered the first round of the playoffs against the Oakland Athletics. Despite losing the first two games in Oakland, Boston rebounded with two dramatic wins in the late innings at Fenway Park to even the series. When the series returned to Oakland, the Red Sox held off a late Oakland charge to win the series in five games. In doing so, they joined the 1995 Mariners and 1999 Red Sox in coming back from a two-game deficit to win a best-of-five ALDS.
Boston wins the series, 3–2
| Game | Visitor | Score | Home | Score | Date | Series |
| 1 (12 innings) | Boston | 4 | Oakland | 5 | October 1 | 1–0 (OAK) |
| 2 | Boston | 1 | Oakland | 5 | October 2 | 2–0 (OAK) |
| 3 (11 innings) | Oakland | 1 | Boston | 3 | October 4 | 2–1 (OAK) |
| 4 | Oakland | 4 | Boston | 5 | October 5 | 2–2 |
| 5 | Boston | 4 | Oakland | 3 | October 6 | 3–2 (BOS) |

### ALCS vs. New York Yankees

The stage was set for a classic showdown with longtime division rival, the New York Yankees. The teams split the first two games in the Bronx before the real drama unfolded in Game 3 at Fenway Park. A highly anticipated matchup between Sox ace Pedro Martínez and former Sox' pitcher Roger Clemens turned ugly early on. Karim García was hit in the back by a Martínez fastball. Words were exchanged and Martínez threateningly gestured towards Yankee catcher Jorge Posada. When Garcia was forced out at second, he slid hard into Todd Walker. The following inning, Manny Ramírez took exception to a high Clemens pitch and charged the mound. Both benches cleared, but the resulting brawl turned surreal when 72-year-old Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer charged Martínez. Martínez sidestepped and threw Zimmer to the ground. After a thirteen-minute delay, Clemens struck out Ramírez and proceeded to pitch effectively as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead. The Red Sox won Game 4, but the Yankees won Game 5 to take the series' lead back to New York. But Boston proved resilient, and their offense came alive for the first time in the series to the tune of nine runs on sixteen hits to force a seventh game. With a 4–0 lead early on and Martínez pitching, Boston appeared to be on the brink of winning the pennant. But when Martinez started to get tired in the end of the 6th inning, instead of taking him out as he always had in that situation, manager Grady Little not only left him in to finish the inning, but sent him out in the seventh and the eighth. despite allowing several baserunners. Predictably, the Yankees tied the game 5–5 with three eighth-inning runs off Martínez, sending the game on into the October night. Yankee closer Mariano Rivera pitched three scoreless innings, and in the bottom of the eleventh, Aaron Boone turned on the first offering from Tim Wakefield and sent it into the frenzied bleachers of Yankee Stadium, sending the Yankees on to the World Series for the fifth time in six years. This game further cemented the legend many believed was The Curse of the Bambino.
New York wins the series, 4–3
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 2 | October 8 | Yankee Stadium | 56,281 |
| 2 | Boston Red Sox – 2, New York Yankees – 6 | October 9 | Yankee Stadium | 56,295 |
| 3 | New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 3 | October 11 | Fenway Park | 34,209 |
| 4 | New York Yankees – 2, Boston Red Sox – 3 | October 13 | Fenway Park | 34,599 |
| 5 | New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 2 | October 14 | Fenway Park | 34,619 |
| 6 | Boston Red Sox – 9, New York Yankees – 6 | October 15 | Yankee Stadium | 56,277 |
| 7 | Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 6 (11 innings) | October 16 | Yankee Stadium | 56,279 |

## Awards and honors

* Bill Mueller, Silver Slugger Award (3B)
* Manny Ramirez, Silver Slugger Award (OF)

### All-Star Game

* Nomar Garciaparra, reserve SS
* Manny Ramirez, starting OF (did not attend)
* Jason Varitek, reserve C (fan vote selection)

## Farm system

The Portland Sea Dogs replaced the Trenton Thunder as the Red Sox' Double-A affiliate. The Red Sox fielded two teams in the Dominican Summer League, while not participating in the Venezuelan Summer League, following the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–03.
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Buddy Bailey |
| AA | Portland Sea Dogs | Eastern League | Ron Johnson |
| A-Advanced | Sarasota Red Sox | Florida State League | Tim Leiper |
| A | Augusta GreenJackets | South Atlantic League | Russ Morman |
| A-Short Season | Lowell Spinners | New York–Penn League | Jon Deeble and Lynn Jones |
| Rookie | GCL Red Sox | Gulf Coast League | Ralph Treuel |
| Rookie | DSL Red Sox 1 | Dominican Summer League | Nelson Paulino |
| Rookie | DSL Red Sox 2 | Dominican Summer League | |
Source: