2004 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 2004 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2004 in baseball.

The 2004 Major League Baseball season ended when the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game World Series sweep. The Red Sox championship ended an 86-year-long drought 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 ever to come back from a 3–0 postseason series deficit and win. This happened in the ALCS against the New York Yankees.

2004 MLB season
League	Major League Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Duration	March 30 – October 27, 2004
Number of games	162
Number of teams	30
TV partner(s)	Fox, ESPN
Draft
Top draft pick	Matt Bush
Picked by	San Diego Padres
Regular Season
Season MVP	AL: Vladimir Guerrero (ANA) NL: Barry Bonds (SF)
Postseason
AL champions	Boston Red Sox
AL runners-up	New York Yankees
NL champions	St. Louis Cardinals
NL runners-up	Houston Astros
World Series
Venue	Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Champions	Boston Red Sox
Runners-up	St. Louis Cardinals
World Series MVP	Manny Ramirez (BOS)

Angels

     Athletics

Mariners

Rangers

White Sox

Indians

Tigers      

Royals

Twins

Orioles

Red
Sox

Yankees

Devil Rays

Blue
Jays

Locations of AL teams for the 2000–2004 MLB seasons
West   Central   East

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Dodgers

Padres

  Giants

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Brewers

Pirates  

Cardinals

Braves

Marlins

Expos

Mets

     Phillies

Locations of NL teams for the 2004 MLB season
West   Central   East

The Montreal Expos would play their last season in Montreal, before relocating 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 AZ	290
SV	Mariano Rivera NYY	53	Armando Benítez FLA Jason Isringhausen STL	47
SB	Carl Crawford TB	59	Scott Podsednik MIL	70

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) New York Yankees	101	61	.623	—	57‍–‍24	44‍–‍37
(4) Boston Red Sox	98	64	.605	3	55‍–‍26	43‍–‍38
Baltimore Orioles	78	84	.481	23	38‍–‍43	40‍–‍41
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	70	91	.435	30½	41‍–‍39	29‍–‍52
Toronto Blue Jays	67	94	.416	33½	40‍–‍41	27‍–‍53

• v
• t
• e

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(3) Minnesota Twins	92	70	.568	—	49‍–‍32	43‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox	83	79	.512	9	46‍–‍35	37‍–‍44
Cleveland Indians	80	82	.494	12	44‍–‍37	36‍–‍45
Detroit Tigers	72	90	.444	20	38‍–‍43	34‍–‍47
Kansas City Royals	58	104	.358	34	33‍–‍47	25‍–‍57

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Anaheim Angels	92	70	.568	—	45‍–‍36	47‍–‍34
Oakland Athletics	91	71	.562	1	52‍–‍29	39‍–‍42
Texas Rangers	89	73	.549	3	51‍–‍30	38‍–‍43
Seattle Mariners	63	99	.389	29	38‍–‍44	25‍–‍55

National League

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Atlanta Braves	96	66	.593	—	49‍–‍32	47‍–‍34
Philadelphia Phillies	86	76	.531	10	42‍–‍39	44‍–‍37
Florida Marlins	83	79	.512	13	42‍–‍38	41‍–‍41
New York Mets	71	91	.438	25	38‍–‍43	33‍–‍48
Montreal Expos	67	95	.414	29	35‍–‍45	32‍–‍50

• v
• t
• e

NL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) St. Louis Cardinals	105	57	.648	—	53‍–‍28	52‍–‍29
(4) Houston Astros	92	70	.568	13	48‍–‍33	44‍–‍37
Chicago Cubs	89	73	.549	16	45‍–‍37	44‍–‍36
Cincinnati Reds	76	86	.469	29	40‍–‍41	36‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates	72	89	.447	32½	39‍–‍41	33‍–‍48
Milwaukee Brewers	67	94	.416	37½	36‍–‍45	31‍–‍49

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(3) Los Angeles Dodgers	93	69	.574	—	49‍–‍32	44‍–‍37
San Francisco Giants	91	71	.562	2	47‍–‍35	44‍–‍36
San Diego Padres	87	75	.537	6	42‍–‍39	45‍–‍36
Colorado Rockies	68	94	.420	25	38‍–‍43	30‍–‍51
Arizona Diamondbacks	51	111	.315	42	29‍–‍52	22‍–‍59

Postseason

Main article: 2004 Major League Baseball postseason

2004 was the last postseason until 2020 where both LCS went to 7 games.

Bracket

	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

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

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

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)

Walk-off home runs

There were a total of 80 walk-off home runs, which was then the MLB single-season record until 2018.^[1]

Awards

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Jason Bay (PIT)	Bobby Crosby (OAK)
Cy Young Award	Roger Clemens (HOU)	Johan Santana (MIN)
Manager of the Year	Bobby Cox (ATL)	Buck Showalter (TEX)
Most Valuable Player	Barry Bonds (SF)	Vladimir Guerrero (ANA)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Greg Maddux (CHC)	Kenny Rogers (TEX)
Catcher	Mike Matheny (STL)	Iván Rodríguez (DET)
1st Base	Todd Helton (COL)	Darin Erstad (ANA)
2nd Base	Luis Castillo (FLA)	Bret Boone (SEA)
3rd Base	Scott Rolen (STL)	Eric Chavez (OAK)
Shortstop	Cesar Izturis (LA)	Derek Jeter (NYY)
Outfield	Andruw Jones (ATL) Jim Edmonds (STL) Steve Finley (AZ/LA)	Torii Hunter (MIN) Ichiro Suzuki (SEA) Vernon Wells (TOR)
Silver Slugger Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher/Designated Hitter	Liván Hernández (MTL)	David Ortiz (BOS)
Catcher	Johnny Estrada (ATL)	Víctor Martínez (CLE) Iván Rodríguez (DET)
1st Base	Albert Pujols (STL)	Mark Teixeira (TEX)
2nd Base	Mark Loretta (SD)	Alfonso Soriano (TEX)
3rd Base	Adrián Beltré (LA)	Melvin Mora (BAL)
Shortstop	Jack Wilson (PIT)	Miguel Tejada (BAL)
Outfield	Bobby Abreu (PHI) Barry Bonds (SF) Jim Edmonds (STL)	Vladimir Guerrero (ANA) Manny Ramirez (BOS) Gary Sheffield (NYY)

Other awards

• Edgar Martínez Award (Best designated hitter): David Ortiz (BOS)
• 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).
• Warren Spahn Award (Best left-handed pitcher): Johan Santana (MIN)

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

Home field attendance and payroll

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game	Est. payroll	%±
New York Yankees[2]	101	0.0%	3,775,292	8.9%	46,609	$184,193,950	20.6%
Los Angeles Dodgers[3]	93	9.4%	3,488,283	11.1%	43,065	$92,902,001	−12.3%
Anaheim Angels[4]	92	19.5%	3,375,677	10.3%	41,675	$100,534,667	27.2%
San Francisco Giants[5]	91	−9.0%	3,256,854	−0.2%	39,718	$82,019,166	−1.0%
Philadelphia Phillies[6]	86	0.0%	3,250,092	43.8%	40,125	$93,219,167	31.7%
Chicago Cubs[7]	89	1.1%	3,170,154	7.0%	38,660	$90,560,000	13.4%
Houston Astros[8]	92	5.7%	3,087,872	25.8%	38,122	$75,397,000	6.1%
St. Louis Cardinals[9]	105	23.5%	3,048,427	4.7%	37,635	$84,340,333	0.7%
San Diego Padres[10]	87	35.9%	3,016,752	48.6%	37,244	$55,384,833	22.5%
Seattle Mariners[11]	63	−32.3%	2,940,731	−10.0%	35,863	$81,515,834	−6.3%
Boston Red Sox[12]	98	3.2%	2,837,294	4.2%	35,028	$127,298,500	27.4%
Baltimore Orioles[13]	78	9.9%	2,744,018	11.8%	33,877	$51,623,333	−30.1%
Arizona Diamondbacks[14]	51	−39.3%	2,519,560	−10.2%	31,106	$69,780,750	−13.5%
Texas Rangers[15]	89	25.4%	2,513,685	20.0%	31,033	$55,050,417	−46.8%
Colorado Rockies[16]	68	−8.1%	2,338,069	0.2%	28,865	$65,445,167	−2.6%
Atlanta Braves[17]	96	−5.0%	2,327,565	−3.1%	28,735	$90,182,500	−15.1%
New York Mets[18]	71	7.6%	2,318,951	8.3%	28,629	$102,035,970	−12.9%
Cincinnati Reds[19]	76	10.1%	2,287,250	−2.9%	28,238	$46,915,250	−21.0%
Oakland Athletics[20]	91	−5.2%	2,201,516	−0.7%	27,179	$59,425,667	18.2%
Milwaukee Brewers[21]	67	−1.5%	2,062,382	21.3%	25,462	$27,528,500	−32.2%
Chicago White Sox[22]	83	−3.5%	1,930,537	−0.5%	23,834	$65,212,500	27.8%
Detroit Tigers[23]	72	67.4%	1,917,004	40.1%	23,667	$46,832,000	−4.8%
Minnesota Twins[24]	92	2.2%	1,911,490	−1.8%	23,599	$53,890,000	−2.9%
Toronto Blue Jays[25]	67	−22.1%	1,900,041	5.6%	23,457	$50,017,000	−2.4%
Cleveland Indians[26]	80	17.6%	1,814,401	4.9%	22,400	$34,319,300	−29.4%
Florida Marlins[27]	83	−8.8%	1,723,105	32.2%	21,539	$42,143,042	−14.8%
Kansas City Royals[28]	58	−30.1%	1,661,478	−6.7%	20,768	$47,609,000	17.5%
Pittsburgh Pirates[29]	72	−4.0%	1,580,031	−3.5%	19,750	$32,227,929	−41.2%
Tampa Bay Devil Rays[30]	70	11.1%	1,274,911	20.4%	15,936	$29,856,667	52.1%
Montreal Expos[31]	67	−19.3%	749,550	−26.9%	9,369	$41,197,500	−20.7%

Television coverage

This was the fourth season that national television coverage was split between ESPN and Fox Sports. ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected weeknight and Sunday night games, and selected Division Series playoff games. Fox televised Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

See also

• 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season