2004 Major League Baseball season
The 2004 Major League Baseball season ended when the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game World Series sweep. This season was particularly notable since the Red Sox championship broke the 86-year-long popular myth known as the Curse of the Bambino. The Red Sox were also the first team in MLB history and the third team from a major North American professional sports league to ever come back from a 3–0 postseason series deficit, in the ALCS against the New York Yankees.
| 2004 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 4 – October 27, 2004 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Matt Bush |
| Picked by | San Diego Padres |
| Regular Season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Vladimir Guerrero (ANA) NL: Barry Bonds (SF) |
| League Postseason | |
| AL champions | Boston Red Sox |
| AL runners-up | New York Yankees |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | Houston Astros |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Boston Red Sox |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| World Series MVP | Manny Ramirez (BOS) |
The Montreal Expos would play their last season in Montreal, before re-locating to Washington DC, becoming the Washington Nationals in 2005.
Statistical leaders
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ichiro Suzuki SEA | .372 | Barry Bonds SF | .362 |
| HR | Manny Ramírez BOS | 43 | Adrián Beltré LA | 48 |
| RBI | Miguel Tejada BAL | 150 | Vinny Castilla COL | 131 |
| Wins | Curt Schilling BOS | 21 | Roy Oswalt HOU | 20 |
| ERA | Johan Santana MIN | 2.61 | Jake Peavy SD | 2.27 |
| SO | Johan Santana MIN | 265 | Randy Johnson ARI | 290 |
| SV | Mariano Rivera NYY | 53 | Armando Benítez FLA Jason Isringhausen STL | 47 |
| SB | Carl Crawford TB | 59 | Scott Podsednik MIL | 70 |
Major league baseball final standings
American League
|
National League
|
Managers
American League
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Angels | Mike Scioscia | |
| Baltimore Orioles | Lee Mazzilli | |
| Boston Red Sox | Terry Francona | Won the World Series |
| Chicago White Sox | Ozzie Guillén | |
| Cleveland Indians | Eric Wedge | |
| Detroit Tigers | Alan Trammell | |
| Kansas City Royals | Tony Peña | |
| Minnesota Twins | Ron Gardenhire | |
| New York Yankees | Joe Torre | |
| Oakland Athletics | Ken Macha | |
| Seattle Mariners | Bob Melvin | |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Lou Piniella | |
| Texas Rangers | Buck Showalter | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | John Gibbons |
National League
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Bob Brenly | Replaced during the season by Al Pedrique |
| Atlanta Braves | Bobby Cox | |
| Chicago Cubs | Dusty Baker | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Dave Miley | |
| Colorado Rockies | Clint Hurdle | |
| Florida Marlins | Jack McKeon | |
| Houston Astros± | Jimy Williams | Replaced during the season by Phil Garner |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Jim Tracy | |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Ned Yost | |
| Montreal Expos | Frank Robinson | |
| New York Mets | Art Howe | |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Larry Bowa | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Lloyd McClendon | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Tony La Russa | Won the National League pennant |
| San Diego Padres | Bruce Bochy | |
| San Francisco Giants | Felipe Alou |
±hosted the MLB All Star Game
Postseason
Bracket
- World Series Champions – Boston Red Sox
- Playoffs – October 4 to 27, 2004.
| Division Series (ALDS, NLDS) |
League Championship Series (NLCS, ALCS) |
World Series | |||||||||||
| 1 | NY Yankees | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | NY Yankees | 3 | |||||||||||
| American League | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Anaheim | 0 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||
| AL4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| NL1 | St. Louis | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||
| National League | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||
- Playoff MVPs
- Manny Ramírez (WS)
- David Ortiz (ALCS)
- Albert Pujols (NLCS)
- All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9–4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP
Milestones
The following players reached major milestones in 2004:
Perfect game
Randy Johnson pitched the 17th perfect game in MLB history on May 18, 2004.
4000 strikeouts
Randy Johnson struck out Jeff Cirillo on June 29, 2004 for his 4000th strikeout.
500 Home Run Club
Ken Griffey, Jr – June 20
300 Wins Club
Greg Maddux – August 7, 2004
Single-Season Hits Record Broken
Ichiro Suzuki – 262 Hits (broke George Sisler's 84-year-old record of 257)
Awards
Other awards
- Hank Aaron Award: Manny Ramirez (BOS, American); Barry Bonds (SF, National).
- Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Edgar Martínez (SEA).
- Rolaids Relief Man Award: Mariano Rivera (NYY, American); Éric Gagné (LA, National).
Player of the Month
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Carlos Beltrán | Barry Bonds |
| May | Melvin Mora | Lance Berkman |
| June | Iván Rodríguez | Jim Thome |
| July | Mark Teixeira | Jim Edmonds |
| August | Ichiro Suzuki | Barry Bonds |
| September | Vladimir Guerrero | Adrián Beltré |
Pitcher of the Month
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Kevin Brown | Roger Clemens |
| May | Mark Buehrle | Jason Schmidt |
| June | Mark Mulder | Carl Pavano |
| July | Johan Santana | Russ Ortiz |
| August | Johan Santana | Jake Peavy |
| September | Johan Santana | Carlos Zambrano |
Rookie of the Month
| Month | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
| April | Gerald Laird | Khalil Greene |
| May | Kevin Youkilis | Terrmel Sledge |
| June | Bobby Crosby | Jason Bay |
| July | Robb Quinlan | Jason Bay |
| August | Frank Francisco | Khalil Greene |
| September | Ross Gload | Jason Bay |
References
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