Summary
The 1902 Boston Americans season was the second season for the professional baseball franchise that later became known as the Boston Red Sox. The Americans finished third in the American League (AL) with a record of 77 wins and 60 losses, 6+1⁄2 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics. The team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds.
| 1902 Boston Americans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Huntington Avenue Grounds |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 77–60 (.562) |
| League place | 3rd (6+1⁄2 GB) |
| Owners | Charles Somers |
| President | Charles Somers |
| Managers | Jimmy Collins |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference |
Offseason and Spring Training edit
The Americans bolstered their pitching by recruiting Bill Dinneen, who jumped from the Boston Beaneaters.[1] Dinneen and Cy Young would become the "one-two" pitching combination for the Boston Americans.[2]
Prior to the regular season, the team held spring training in Augusta, Georgia.[3]
Transactions edit
- November 21, 1901: The Americans make a trade with the Cleveland Blues, with catcher Osee Schrecongost sent to Cleveland in return for George LaChance.[4]
- December 16, 1901: It is reported that Jack Warner, catcher with the New York Giants, met with Jimmy Collins and signed a contract with the Boston Americans.[5]
- December 17, 1901: Charlie Hickman signs with the Boston Americans.[6]
- February 24, 1902: Outfielder Patsy Dougherty announces that he has signed to play for the Boston Americans.[7]
- March 15, 1902: Pitcher Bert Husting, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1901 season, signs a $2700 contract to play for the Boston Americans.[8]
Regular Season edit
- April 19: The season opens with a 7–6 home win over the Baltimore Orioles.[9]
- June 28: A forfeit is declared in Boston's favor during a road game against the Orioles.[9] With Boston leading, 9–4 in the eighth inning, umpire Tom Connolly called a Baltimore runner out for missing second base.[10] The call was argued by Baltimore manager John McGraw, resulting in his ejection.[11] After McGraw refused to leave the field, Connolly forfeited the game to Boston.[12]
- July 8: In their highest-scoring game of the year, Boston loses at home to the Philadelphia Athletics, 22–9.[9]
- July 9: The team's longest game of the season ends as a 4–2 loss in 15 innings to the visiting Athletics.[9]
- July 19: The team's longest losing streak of the season, six games between July 12 and 18, comes to an end with a victory over the visiting Chicago White Stockings.[9]
- July 29: The team's longest winning streak of the season, eight games between July 19 and 28, comes to an end with a loss to the visiting Detroit Tigers.[9]
- September 29: The season ends with a 9–5 road win over the Orioles.[9] This was the last game the Orioles played at Oriole Park in Baltimore; in 1903, they relocated to New York City as the Highlanders, then in 1913 became known as the New York Yankees.
Transactions edit
- July 23: Manager Jimmy Collins signs pitcher Tully Sparks.[13]
Statistical leaders edit
The offense was led by Buck Freeman, who hit 11 home runs and had 121 RBIs, and Patsy Dougherty with a .342 batting average. The pitching staff was led by Cy Young, who made 45 appearances (43 starts) and pitched 41 complete games with a 32–11 record and 2.15 ERA, while striking out 160 in 384+2⁄3 innings.
Season standings edit
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Athletics | 83 | 53 | 0.610 | — | 56–17 | 27–36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 78 | 58 | 0.574 | 5 | 49–21 | 29–37 |
| Boston Americans | 77 | 60 | 0.562 | 6½ | 43–27 | 34–33 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 74 | 60 | 0.552 | 8 | 48–20 | 26–40 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | 69 | 67 | 0.507 | 14 | 40–25 | 29–42 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 75 | 0.449 | 22 | 40–28 | 21–47 |
| Detroit Tigers | 52 | 83 | 0.385 | 30½ | 34–33 | 18–50 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 50 | 88 | 0.362 | 34 | 32–31 | 18–57 |
The team had one game end in a tie; August 18 vs. Detroit Tigers.[9] Tie games are not counted in league standings, but player statistics during tie games are counted.[14]
Record vs. opponents edit
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BLA | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Baltimore | — | 4–16 | 8–11–1 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 6–13 | 2–18–1 | 11–9–1 | |||||
| Boston | 16–4 | — | 12–8 | 6–14 | 11–7–1 | 9–11 | 15–5 | 8–11 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–8–1 | 8–12 | — | 12–7 | 12–7–1 | 10–10 | 9–9–1 | 12–7–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 11–9 | 14–6 | 7–12 | — | 8–10 | 8–12 | 9–10–1 | 12–8 | |||||
| Detroit | 10–10 | 7–11–1 | 7–12–1 | 10–8 | — | 4–16 | 5–15 | 9–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 13–6 | 11–9 | 10–10 | 12–8 | 16–4 | — | 9–10–1 | 12–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 18–2–1 | 5–15 | 9–9–1 | 10–9–1 | 15–5 | 10–9–1 | — | 11–9 | |||||
| Washington | 9–11–1 | 11–8 | 7–12–1 | 8–12 | 11–9 | 6–12 | 9–11 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup edit
| Freddy Parent | SS |
| Chick Stahl | CF |
| Jimmy Collins | 3B |
| Buck Freeman | RF |
| Charlie Hickman | LF |
| Candy LaChance | 1B |
| Hobe Ferris | 2B |
| Lou Criger | C |
| Cy Young | P |
Roster edit
| 1902 Boston Americans | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Player stats edit
Batting edit
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Starters by position edit
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Lou Criger | 83 | 266 | 68 | .256 | 0 | 28 |
| 1B | Candy LaChance | 138 | 541 | 151 | .279 | 6 | 56 |
| 2B | Hobe Ferris | 133 | 496 | 121 | .244 | 8 | 63 |
| SS | Freddy Parent | 138 | 567 | 156 | .275 | 3 | 62 |
| 3B | Jimmy Collins | 108 | 429 | 138 | .322 | 6 | 61 |
| OF | Patsy Dougherty | 108 | 438 | 150 | .342 | 0 | 34 |
| OF | Buck Freeman | 138 | 564 | 174 | .309 | 11 | 121 |
| OF | Chick Stahl | 127 | 508 | 164 | .323 | 2 | 58 |
Other batters edit
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Gleason | 71 | 240 | 54 | .225 | 2 | 25 |
| Jack Warner | 65 | 222 | 52 | .234 | 0 | 12 |
| Charlie Hickman | 28 | 108 | 32 | .296 | 3 | 16 |
| Gary Wilson | 3 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 1 |
| All pitchers | 138 | 485 | 94 | .194 | 1 | 35 |
Pitching edit
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Starting pitchers edit
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cy Young | 45 | 384+2⁄3 | 32 | 11 | 2.15 | 160 |
| Bill Dinneen | 42 | 371+1⁄3 | 21 | 21 | 2.93 | 136 |
| George Winter | 20 | 168+1⁄3 | 11 | 9 | 2.99 | 51 |
| Tully Sparks | 17 | 142+2⁄3 | 7 | 9 | 3.47 | 37 |
| Tom Hughes | 9 | 49+1⁄3 | 3 | 3 | 3.28 | 15 |
| Bert Husting | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 4 |
Other pitchers edit
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Prentiss | 7 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 5.27 | 9 |
| Doc Adkins | 4 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4.05 | 3 |
| Nick Altrock | 3 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2.00 | 5 |
| Pep Deininger | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 9.75 | 2 |
Relief pitchers edit
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Williams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.30 | 7 |
| Fred Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.25 | 2 |
References edit
- ^ McNeil, William F. (2012). Red Sox Roll Call: 200 Memorable Players, 1901-2011. Jefferson, South Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7864-6471-5.
- ^ Redmount, Robert S. (1998). The Red Sox Encyclopedia. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 1-58261-012-6.
- ^ "Captain Collins Developing a Team of Heavy Hitters". The Boston Post. April 7, 1902. p. 8. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "LaChance's Change". Meriden Daily Journal. November 21, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "Freedman Must Go". The Providence News. December 16, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "Charley Hickman Jumps". The Meriden Daily Journal. December 17, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "Baseball Gossip". The Pittsburgh Press. February 24, 1902. p. 8. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "Husting Signed With Boston". Spokane Daily Chronicle. March 15, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The 1902 Boston Americans Regular Season Game Log". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ "Forfeits". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ "John McGraw". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ "M'Graw Shows Yellow Again". Chicago Tribune. June 29, 1902. p. 11. Retrieved November 3, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baseball Notes". The Boston Globe. July 24, 1902. p. 5.
- ^ Hershberger, Richard (December 28, 2015). "Tie Games in Baseball". ordinary-times.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ Murnane, T. H. (April 20, 1902). "Two Boston Clubs Win". The Boston Globe. p. 4. Retrieved November 13, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Murnane, T. H. (April 20, 1902). "Box Score". The Boston Globe. p. 4. Retrieved November 13, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
External links edit
- 1902 Boston Americans team page at Baseball Reference
- 1902 Boston Americans season at baseball-almanac.com