# 1903 Major League Baseball season

The 1903 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1903. The regular season ended on 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, capturing their first championship in franchise history.
The 1903 season saw the return of a postseason championship series, the World Series, following the one-off 1900 Chronicle-Telegraph Cup. It was also the first inter-league series since the 1890 World's Championship Series between the National League and defunct-since-1891 American Association. The 1903 World Series would also mark the first championship series that is still celebrated today, as all previous series are considered pre-modern and these early contests are discussed by MLB and baseball historians separately.
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 American League would not return to Baltimore until the St. Louis Browns relocated their as a new Baltimore Orioles in 1954. The Chicago Orphans and Cleveland Bronchos were renamed as the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Naps, respectively.

## 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

The 1903 season saw the following rule changes:
* The pitcher's mound height was capped at 15 inches.
* 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.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| 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 | Jimmy Callahan |
| American League | Cleveland Naps | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park (Cleveland) | 9,000 | Bill Armour |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Bennett Park | 8,500 | Ed Barrow |
| American League | New York Highlanders | New York, New York | Hilltop Park | 16,000 | Clark Griffith |
| 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 Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | West Side Park | 13,000 | Frank Selee |
| 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 | John McGraw |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | National League Park | 18,000 | Chief Zimmer |
| 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 |
| Boston Americans | 91 | 47 | .659 | — | 49‍–‍20 | 42‍–‍27 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 75 | 60 | .556 | 14½ | 44‍–‍21 | 31‍–‍39 |
| Cleveland Naps | 77 | 63 | .550 | 15 | 49‍–‍25 | 28‍–‍38 |
| New York Highlanders | 72 | 62 | .537 | 17 | 41‍–‍26 | 31‍–‍36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 65 | 71 | .478 | 25 | 37‍–‍28 | 28‍–‍43 |
| St. Louis Browns | 65 | 74 | .468 | 26½ | 38‍–‍32 | 27‍–‍42 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 60 | 77 | .438 | 30½ | 41‍–‍28 | 19‍–‍49 |
| Washington Senators | 43 | 94 | .314 | 47½ | 29‍–‍40 | 14‍–‍54 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 91 | 49 | .650 | — | 46‍–‍24 | 45‍–‍25 |
| New York Giants | 84 | 55 | .604 | 6½ | 41‍–‍27 | 43‍–‍28 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | 56 | .594 | 8 | 45‍–‍28 | 37‍–‍28 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 65 | .532 | 16½ | 41‍–‍35 | 33‍–‍30 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 70 | 66 | .515 | 19 | 40‍–‍33 | 30‍–‍33 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 58 | 80 | .420 | 32 | 31‍–‍35 | 27‍–‍45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 49 | 86 | .363 | 39½ | 25‍–‍33 | 24‍–‍53 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 43 | 94 | .314 | 46½ | 22‍–‍45 | 21‍–‍49 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | 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.

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Baltimore Orioles | Wilbert Robinson | Team folded |
| Chicago White Stockings | Clark Griffith | Jimmy Callahan |
| Detroit Tigers | Frank Dwyer | Ed Barrow |
| New York Highlanders | Team enfranchised | Clark Griffith |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Bill Shettsline | Chief Zimmer |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Nap Lajoie (CLE) | .344 |
| OPS | Nap Lajoie (CLE) | .896 |
| HR | Buck Freeman (BSA) | 13 |
| RBI | Buck Freeman (BSA) | 104 |
| 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 |
| WHIP | Addie Joss (CLE) | 0.948 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Honus Wagner (PIT) | .355 |
| OPS | Fred Clarke (PIT) | .946 |
| 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 |
| WHIP | Deacon Phillippe (PIT) | 1.030 |

## Home field attendance

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