# 1904 Boston Americans season

The 1904 Boston Americans season was the fourth season for the professional baseball franchise that later became known as the Boston Red Sox. The Americans finished first in the American League (AL) with a record of 95 wins and 59 losses, 1+1⁄2 games ahead of the New York Highlanders. The team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds. The Americans were set to play the National League (NL) champion New York Giants in the 1904 World Series; however, the Giants refused to play.

## Offseason
### Transactions

* December 7, 1903: It is reported that the Boston Americans will trade catcher Jake Stahl to the Washington Senators.
* December 23, 1903: The Boston Americans trade pitcher Tom Hughes to the New York Highlanders for pitcher Jesse Tannehill.
Prior to the regular season, the team held spring training in Macon, Georgia.

## Regular season

* April 14: The regular season opens with an 8–2 loss to the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park in New York City.
* April 18: In the home opener, the Americans defeat the visiting Washington Senators, 5–0.
* May 5: Cy Young throws the first no-hitter in franchise history; it was also a perfect game. The Americans beat the Philadelphia Athletics by a score of 3–0 in Boston.
* June 12: In their longest game of the season, the Americans defeat the St. Louis Browns, 2–1 in 16 innings, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
* June 18: The team's highest scoring game of the season ends as a 13–10 win in 11 innings, on the road against the Chicago White Sox.
* August 17: Jesse Tannehill throws a no-hitter against the White Sox at South Side Park in Chicago.
* October 10: The regular season ends with a doubleheader on the road against the Highlanders; Boston won the first game, 3–2, while New York won the second game, 1–0 in 10 innings.

### Statistical leaders

The offense was led by Buck Freeman, who hit 7 home runs and had 84 RBIs, and Freddy Parent with a .291 batting average. The pitching staff was led by Cy Young, who made 43 appearances (41 starts) and pitched 40 complete games with a 26–16 record and 1.97 ERA, while striking out 200 in 380 innings. The team had two other 20-game winners; Bill Dinneen (23–14) and Jesse Tannehill (21–11).

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Americans | 95 | 59 | .617 | — | 49‍–‍30 | 46‍–‍29 |
| New York Highlanders | 92 | 59 | .609 | 1½ | 46‍–‍29 | 46‍–‍30 |
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 65 | .578 | 6 | 50‍–‍27 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Cleveland Naps | 86 | 65 | .570 | 7½ | 44‍–‍31 | 42‍–‍34 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 70 | .536 | 12½ | 47‍–‍31 | 34‍–‍39 |
| St. Louis Browns | 65 | 87 | .428 | 29 | 32‍–‍43 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Detroit Tigers | 62 | 90 | .408 | 32 | 34‍–‍40 | 28‍–‍50 |
| Washington Senators | 38 | 113 | .252 | 55½ | 23‍–‍52 | 15‍–‍61 |
The team had three games end in a tie; September 13 at Philadelphia, September 14 vs. New York, and September 15 vs. New York. Both ties against New York were the second games of doubleheaders. Tie games are not counted in league standings, but player statistics during tie games are counted.

### Record vs. opponents

1904 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYH | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 13–9 | 9–13 | 16–6 | 12–10–2 | 13–9–1 | 12–10 | 20–2 |
| Chicago | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 14–8–1 | 12–10–1 | 8–14 | 14–8 | 18–4 |
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 14–8–2 | 9–11–1 | 11–10 | 13–9 | 18–4 |
| Detroit | 6–16 | 8–14–1 | 8–14–2 | — | 7–15 | 10–12–1 | 11–11–2 | 12–8–4 |
| New York | 10–12–2 | 10–12–1 | 11–9–1 | 15–7 | — | 12–9 | 16–6 | 18–4 |
| Philadelphia | 9–13–1 | 14–8 | 10–11 | 12–10–1 | 9–12 | — | 11–10–1 | 16–6–1 |
| St. Louis | 10–12 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 11–11–2 | 6–16 | 10–11–1 | — | 11–10–1 |
| Washington | 2–20 | 4–18 | 4–18 | 8–12–4 | 4–18 | 6–16–1 | 10–11–1 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

| Patsy Dougherty | LF |
| Jimmy Collins | 3B |
| Chick Stahl | CF |
| Buck Freeman | RF |
| Freddy Parent | SS |
| Candy LaChance | 1B |
| Hobe Ferris | 2B |
| Lou Criger | C |
| Cy Young | P |
Source:

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: Stats in brackets are derived from Retrosheet which differ from the stats found on MLB.com.

#### Starters by position

Note: Pos=Position; GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage
| Pos | Player | GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| C | Lou Criger | 98 | 299 | 34 | 63 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 27 (28) | .211 | .283 (.285) | .298 |
| 1B | Candy LaChance | 157 | 573 (572) | 55 | 130 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 47 | 23 | .227 | .265 (.267) | .283 |
| 2B | Hobe Ferris | 156 | 563 (566) | 50 | 120 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 63 | 23 (21) | .213 (.212) | .245 (.241) | .306 (.304) |
| SS | Freddy Parent | 155 | 591 (593) | 85 | 172 (173) | 22 | 9 | 6 | 77 | 28 (26) | .291 (.292) | .330 (.328) | .389 (.390) |
| 3B | Jimmy Collins | 156 | 631 (632) | 85 | 171 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 67 | 27 | .271 | .306 | .379 (.378) |
| RF | Buck Freeman | 157 | 597 (599) | 64 | 167 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 84 | 32 (31) | .280 (.279) | .329 (.327) | .412 (.411) |
| LF | Kip Selbach | 98 | 376 | 50 | 97 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 49 | .258 | .348 | .351 |
| CF | Chick Stahl | 157 | 588 | 83 | 170 | 27 | 19 | 3 | 67 | 65 | .289 | .367 | .415 |

#### Other batters

Note: Pos=Position; GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage
| Pos | Player | GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| C | Duke Farrell | 68 | 198 | 11 | 42 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 14 | .212 | .278 | .278 |
| LF | Patsy Dougherty | 49 | 195 | 33 | 53 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 25 | .272 | .357 | .338 |
| IF/OF | Bill O'Neill | 17 | 52 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | .192 | .208 | .212 |
| C | Tom Doran | 12 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .125 | .243 | .188 |
| IF | Bob Unglaub | 9 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .154 | .214 | .231 |

#### Pitchers

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage
| Player | GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Cy Young | 43 | 148 | 14 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .223 | .223 | .304 |
| Jesse Tannehill | 45 | 122 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 10 | .197 | .258 | .311 |
| Bill Dinneen | 37 | 120 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | .208 | .252 | .225 |
| Norwood Gibson | 33 | 92 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .065 | .149 | .065 |
| George Winter | 24 | 44 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .114 | .204 | .114 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: GP=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average
| Player | GP | GS | IP | H | BB | R | ER | SO | W | L | SV | ERA |
| Cy Young | 43 | 41 | 380 | 327 | 29 | 104 | 83 | 200 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 1.97 |
| Bill Dinneen | 37 | 37 | 335+2⁄3 | 283 | 66 | 115 | 82 | 153 | 23 | 14 | 0 | 2.20 |
| Jesse Tannehill | 33 | 31 | 281+2⁄3 | 256 | 33 | 89 | 64 | 116 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 2.04 |
| Norwood Gibson | 33 | 32 | 273 | 216 | 81 | 111 | 67 | 112 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 2.21 |
| George Winter | 20 | 16 | 135+2⁄3 | 126 | 27 | 47 | 35 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.32 |