| 1904 New York Highlanders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Hilltop Park |
| City | New York,New York |
| Record | 92–59 (.609) |
| League place | 2nd |
| Owners | William Devery andFrank Farrell |
| Managers | Clark Griffith |
The 1904New York Highlanders season, the team's second, finished with the team in second place in theAmerican League with a record of 92–59. The team was managed byClark Griffith and played home games atHilltop Park.
The first verified use of the alternate nickname "Yankees" (a synonym for "Americans", the team being American Leaguers) occurred on April 7, 1904, when a spring training story fromRichmond, Virginia carried the headline "Yankees Will Start Home From South To-Day." TheNew York Evening Journal screamed: "YANKEES BEAT BOSTON".[3] The casual use of that nickname suggests it was already in the popular lexicon, although "Highlanders" would continue to be the primary (and equally unofficial) nickname for several more years.
The Highlanders were in the thick of the American Leaguepennant race throughout the season, leading by two games as late as September 20.[4] This led to theNew York Giants announcement that they would not play in the World Series, since they considered the Highlanders to be only a "minor league" team.[5]
On the final day of the season atHilltop Park, New York pitcherJack Chesbro threw a wild pitch in the ninth inning, giving theBoston Americans the win, and the 1904 AL pennant. Even though it was Boston who stole the pennant on the final day, the Giants stuck to their word and their refusal prevented the World Series from being played.
It would be a century later, in 2004, the next time Boston directly eliminated the Yankees from title contention, when they did so in the final game of the2004 ALCS, a hundred years later in a repeat of sorts of the events of that year, the beginning of along rivalry between the two clubs.
| 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 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |||||
| 1904 New York Highlanders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
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 | Deacon McGuire | 101 | 322 | 67 | .208 | 0 | 20 |
| 1B | John Ganzel | 130 | 465 | 121 | .260 | 6 | 48 |
| 2B | Jimmy Williams | 146 | 559 | 147 | .263 | 2 | 74 |
| 3B | Wid Conroy | 140 | 489 | 119 | .243 | 1 | 52 |
| SS | Kid Elberfeld | 122 | 445 | 117 | .263 | 2 | 46 |
| OF | Willie Keeler | 143 | 543 | 186 | .343 | 2 | 40 |
| OF | John Anderson | 143 | 558 | 155 | .278 | 3 | 82 |
| OF | Patsy Dougherty | 106 | 452 | 128 | .283 | 6 | 22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Fultz | 97 | 339 | 93 | .274 | 2 | 32 |
| Red Kleinow | 58 | 209 | 43 | .206 | 0 | 16 |
| Jack Thoney | 36 | 128 | 24 | .188 | 0 | 12 |
| Champ Osteen | 28 | 107 | 21 | .196 | 2 | 9 |
| Monte Beville | 9 | 22 | 6 | .273 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Unglaub | 6 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 2 |
| Orth Collins | 5 | 17 | 6 | .353 | 0 | 1 |
| Frank McManus | 4 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Elmer Bliss | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Chesbro | 55 | 454.2 | 41 | 12 | 1.82 | 239 |
| Jack Powell | 47 | 390.1 | 23 | 19 | 2.44 | 202 |
| Al Orth | 20 | 137.2 | 11 | 6 | 2.68 | 37 |
| Tom Hughes | 19 | 136.1 | 7 | 11 | 3.70 | 75 |
| Clark Griffith | 16 | 100.1 | 7 | 5 | 2.87 | 36 |
| Ned Garvin | 2 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 2.25 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Clarkson | 13 | 66.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.02 | 43 |
| Ambrose Puttmann | 9 | 49.1 | 2 | 0 | 2.74 | 26 |
| Barney Wolfe | 7 | 33.2 | 0 | 3 | 3.21 | 8 |