# 1902 Major League Baseball season

The 1902 major league baseball season was contested from April 17 through October 5, 1902. It was the second season for the American League (AL), with the Philadelphia Athletics winning the AL pennant. In the National League (NL), in operation since 1876, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the NL pennant for the second consecutive season. There was no postseason.
Prior to the season, the Milwaukee Brewers moved and became the St. Louis Browns; the franchise would remain in St. Louis through 1953, and in 1954 moved again to become the modern Baltimore Orioles. This season would be the last of this season's Baltimore Orioles, who would fold following the conclusion of the season. The Cleveland Blues renamed as the Cleveland Bronchos.

## Schedule

The 1902 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 format would last until 1904, which saw an increase of games played.
National League Opening Day took place on April 17 with every team playing, while American League Opening Day did not take place until April 19, with a one-off game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Americans, with the rest of the season beginning April 23. The American League would see its final day of the season on September 29, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 5.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park | Unknown | John McGraw |
| American League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Oriole Park | Unknown | Wilbert Robinson |
| American League | Boston Americans | Boston, Massachusetts | Huntington Avenue Grounds | 11,500 | Jimmy Collins |
| American League | Chicago White Stockings | Chicago, Illinois | South Side Park | 14,000 | Clark Griffith |
| American League | Cleveland Bronchos | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | Bill Armour |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Bennett Park | 8,500 | Frank Dwyer |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Columbia Park | 9,500 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 8,000 | Jimmy McAleer |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | American League Park | 7,000 | Tom Loftus |
| National League | Boston Beaneaters | Boston, Massachusetts | South End Grounds | 6,600 | Al Buckenberger |
| National League | Brooklyn Superbas | New York, New York | Washington Park | 12,000 | Ned Hanlon |
| National League | Chicago Orphans | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | Frank Selee |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Palace of the Fans | 12,000 | Bid McPhee |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Palace of the Fans | 12,000 | Frank Bancroft |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Palace of the Fans | 12,000 | Joe Kelley |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | Horace Fogel |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | Heinie Smith |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 16,000 | John McGraw |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Bill Shettsline |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Allegheny, Pennsylvania | Exposition Park | 16,000 | Fred Clarke |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | League Park (St. Louis) | 15,200 | Patsy Donovan |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 53 | .610 | — | 56‍–‍17 | 27‍–‍36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 78 | 58 | .574 | 5 | 49‍–‍21 | 29‍–‍37 |
| Boston Americans | 77 | 60 | .562 | 6½ | 43‍–‍27 | 34‍–‍33 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 74 | 60 | .552 | 8 | 48‍–‍20 | 26‍–‍40 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | 69 | 67 | .507 | 14 | 40‍–‍25 | 29‍–‍42 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 75 | .449 | 22 | 40‍–‍28 | 21‍–‍47 |
| Detroit Tigers | 52 | 83 | .385 | 30½ | 34‍–‍33 | 18‍–‍50 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 50 | 88 | .362 | 34 | 32‍–‍31 | 18‍–‍57 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 103 | 36 | .741 | — | 56‍–‍15 | 47‍–‍21 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 75 | 63 | .543 | 27½ | 45‍–‍23 | 30‍–‍40 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 73 | 64 | .533 | 29 | 42‍–‍27 | 31‍–‍37 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 70 | 70 | .500 | 33½ | 35‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍35 |
| Chicago Orphans | 68 | 69 | .496 | 34 | 31‍–‍38 | 37‍–‍31 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 56 | 78 | .418 | 44½ | 28‍–‍38 | 28‍–‍40 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | 81 | .409 | 46 | 29‍–‍39 | 27‍–‍42 |
| New York Giants | 48 | 88 | .353 | 53½ | 24‍–‍44 | 24‍–‍44 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Beaneaters | Frank Selee | Al Buckenberger |
| Chicago Orphans | Tom Loftus | Frank Selee |
| Cleveland Bronchos | Jimmy McAleer | Bill Armour |
| Detroit Tigers | George Stallings | Frank Dwyer |
| New York Giants | George Davis | Horace Fogel |
| St. Louis Browns | Hugh Duffy | Jimmy McAleer |
| Washington Senators | Jim Manning | Tom Loftus |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Baltimore Orioles | John McGraw | Wilbert Robinson |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bid McPhee | Frank Bancroft |
| Cincinnati Reds | Frank Bancroft | Joe Kelley |
| New York Giants | Horace Fogel | Heinie Smith |
| New York Giants | Heinie Smith | John McGraw |

## League leaders

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

### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Nap Lajoie (CLE/PHA) | .378 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty (WSH) | 1.043 |
| HR | Socks Seybold (PHA) | 16 |
| RBI | Buck Freeman (BSA) | 121 |
| R | Topsy Hartsel (PHA) Dave Fultz (PHA) | 109 |
| H | Charlie Hickman (CLE/BSA) | 193 |
| SB | Topsy Hartsel (PHA) | 47 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Cy Young (BSA) | 32 |
| L | Bill Dinneen (BSA) | 21 |
| ERA | Ed Siever (DET) | 1.91 |
| K | Rube Waddell (PHA) | 210 |
| IP | Cy Young (BSA) | 384.2 |
| SV | Jack Powell (SLB) | 2 |
| WHIP | Bill Bernhard (CLE/PHA) | 0.942 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ginger Beaumont (PIT) | .357 |
| OPS | Honus Wagner (PIT) | .857 |
| HR | Tommy Leach (PIT) | 6 |
| RBI | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 91 |
| R | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 105 |
| H | Ginger Beaumont (PIT) | 193 |
| SB | Honus Wagner (PIT) | 42 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jack Chesbro (PIT) | 28 |
| L | Stan Yerkes (SLC) | 21 |
| ERA | Jack Taylor (CHO) | 1.29 |
| K | Vic Willis (BSB) | 225 |
| IP | Vic Willis (BSB) | 410.0 |
| SV | Vic Willis (BSB) | 3 |
| WHIP | Jack Taylor (CHO) | 0.953 |

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 12.2% | 420,078 | 103.6% | 5,754 |
| Boston Americans | 77 | −2.5% | 348,567 | 20.4% | 4,909 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 74 | −10.8% | 337,898 | −4.6% | 4,693 |
| New York Giants | 48 | −7.7% | 302,875 | 1.8% | 4,266 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | 69 | 27.8% | 275,395 | 109.6% | 4,237 |
| St. Louis Browns | 78 | 62.5% | 272,283 | 95.8% | 3,730 |
| Chicago Orphans | 68 | 28.3% | 263,700 | 28.6% | 3,663 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 103 | 14.4% | 243,826 | −3.2% | 3,434 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 56 | −26.3% | 226,417 | −40.4% | 3,235 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 70 | 34.6% | 217,300 | 5.6% | 3,104 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 75 | −5.1% | 199,868 | 0.8% | 2,897 |
| Detroit Tigers | 52 | −29.7% | 189,469 | −27.0% | 2,828 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 0.0% | 188,158 | 16.4% | 2,767 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 50 | −26.5% | 174,606 | 23.0% | 2,728 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 73 | 5.8% | 116,960 | −20.2% | 1,624 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | −32.5% | 112,066 | −52.3% | 1,624 |