Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since , ending the Curse of the Bambino. With 262 hits, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners breaks George Sisler's record of 257. Suzuki also sets the record for most singles in a season, with 225. 2004 also marked the final year of the Montreal Expos, who relocated at season's end to Washington, D.C., and become known as the Washington Nationals. For the first time in Japanese professional baseball history, players in Nippon Professional Baseball went on strike for two days because of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment.
Champions
Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions
League Eastern Division Champion Central Division Champion Western Division Champion Wild Card Qualifier American League New York Yankees Minnesota Twins Anaheim Angels Boston Red Sox National League Atlanta Braves St. Louis Cardinals Los Angeles Dodgers Houston Astros World Series Champion – Boston Red Sox Postseason – October 4 to October 27
Click on any series score to link to that series' page. Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series. American League has home field advantage during World Series as a result of American League victory in 2004 All-Star Game. American/National League is seeded 1-3/2-4 as a result of A/NL regular season champion (New York Yankees)/(St. Louis Cardinals) and A/NL wild card (Boston Red Sox)(Houston Astros) coming from the same division. Postseason MVPs World Series MVP – Manny Ramírez ALCS MVP – David Ortiz NLCS MVP – Albert Pujols All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP Home Run Derby, July 12 – Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles
Other champions Caribbean Series: Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic) College World Series: Cal State-Fullerton Cuban National Series: Industriales def. Villa Clara Japan Series: Seibu Lions over Chunichi Dragons (4-3) Korean Series: Hyundai Unicorns over Samsung Lions Big League World Series: District 1 - Easley, South Carolina Junior League World Series: Palma Ceia/Bayshore LL - Tampa, Florida Little League World Series: Pabao, Willemstad, Curaçao Senior League World Series: Freehold Township LL - Freehold Township, New Jersey Summer Olympic Games at Athens, Greece: Cuba (Gold), Australia (Silver), Japan (Bronze) European Cup: Neptunus (Netherlands) over Fortitudo Bologna (Italy) Taiwan Series: Sinon Bulls over Uni-President Lions
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Dennis Eckersley Paul Molitor Most Valuable Player Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels, OF (AL) Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, OF (NL) Cy Young Award Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins (AL) Roger Clemens, Houston Astros (NL) Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics, SS (AL) Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates, OF (NL) Manager of the Year Award Buck Showalter, Texas Rangers (AL) Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves (NL) Woman Executive of the Year (major or minor league): Carolyn McKee, Asheville Tourists, South Atlantic League
Statistical leaders American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG Ichiro Suzuki SEA .372 Barry Bonds SF .362 HR Manny Ramírez BOS 43 Adrián Beltré LAD 48 RBI Miguel Tejada BAL 150Vinny Castilla COL 131 Wins Curt Schilling BOS 21 Roy Oswalt HOU 20 ERA Johan Santana MIN 2.61 Jake Peavy SD 2.27 Ks Johan Santana MIN 265 Randy Johnson AZ 290
Notable seasons Barry Bonds of the Giants has another outstanding year. He sets the all-time record for highest on-base percentage at .609, breaking his previous record of .582, set in . He also posts a slugging average of .812, the fourth-highest ever, and also breaks his previous OPS record of 1.381, set in 2002, with a 2004 OPS of 1.422. Bonds also set a record for most walks in a season, with 232. Finally, with 120 intentional walks, he almost doubles his previous record of 68. Adam Dunn's 195 strikeouts break Bobby Bonds' previous record of 189. With 262 hits, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners breaks George Sisler's record of 257. Suzuki also sets the record for most singles in a season, with 225.
Major league baseball final standings
American League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st New York Yankees 101 61 .623 -- 2nd Boston Red Sox * 98 64 .605 3.0 3rd Baltimore Orioles 78 84 .481 23.0 4th Tampa Bay Devil Rays 70 91 .435 30.5 5th Toronto Blue Jays 67 94 .416 33.5 Central Division 1st Minnesota Twins 92 70 .568 -- 2nd Chicago White Sox 83 79 .512 9.0 3rd Cleveland Indians 80 82 .494 12.0 4th Detroit Tigers 72 90 .444 20.0 5th Kansas City Royals 58 104 .358 34.0 West Division 1st Anaheim Angels 92 70 .568 -- 2nd Oakland Athletics 91 71 .562 1.0 3rd Texas Rangers 89 73 .549 3.0 4th Seattle Mariners 63 99 .389 29.0
National League Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB East Division 1st Atlanta Braves 96 66 .593 -- 2nd Philadelphia Phillies 86 76 .531 10.0 3rd Florida Marlins 83 79 .512 13.0 4th New York Mets 71 91 .438 25.0 5th Montreal Expos 67 95 .414 29.0 Central Division 1st St. Louis Cardinals 105 57 .648 -- 2nd Houston Astros * 92 70 .568 13.0 3rd Chicago Cubs 89 73 .549 16.0 4th Cincinnati Reds 76 86 .469 29.0 5th Pittsburgh Pirates 72 89 .447 32.5 6th Milwaukee Brewers 67 94 .416 37.5 West Division 1st Los Angeles Dodgers 93 69 .574 -- 2nd San Francisco Giants 91 71 .562 2.0 3rd San Diego Padres 87 75 .537 6.0 4th Colorado Rockies 68 94 .420 25.0 5th Arizona Diamondbacks 51 111 .315 42.0
The asterisk denotes the club that won the wild card for its respective league.
Events
January January 6 – Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor are elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility. Eckersley, who spent a 24-year career with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, is one of only a few pitchers to excel as both a starter and a closer, becoming the only pitcher in Major League history to collect 100 complete games and 100 saves, while posting ten or more wins 10 times, including a 20-win season, a no-hitter in 1977, and winning the American League MVP and Cy Young Awards in 1992.Dennis Eckersley biography. Baseball Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved on February 26. 2018. A versatile player, able to cover positions across infield and outfield, Molitor is only the third player with at least 3,000 hits 600 doubles and 500 stolen bases, being the others Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. Besides, Molitor collected seven consecutive hits with the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series, including the first five-hit game ever in a Series. At the age of 37, after signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, Molitor collected 111 RBI, becoming the oldest player in Major League history to post his first 100-RBI season. Then when Toronto defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the 1993 World Series, he was named MVP after hitting a .500 average (12-for-24) with two home runs and eighth RBI, while tying a Series record with 10 runs scored.Paul Molitor biography. Baseball Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved on February 26. 2018. January 12 – Roger Clemens signs a contract with the Houston Astros, ending his retirement after the 2003 season.
February February 15 – Alex Rodriguez is traded by the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later.
March March 4 – Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day in every ballpark on April 15, commemorating and honoring the anniversary of the debut of Jackie Robinson, who became the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in the 1947 season. Previously, Robinson's uniform number "42" was retired for all time in a ceremony at Shea Stadium in April 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of his achievement. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation, also known as the baseball color line. March 21 – Veterans Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 to 2003, is demolished in a 62-second implosion. It hosted the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball from 1971 to 2003 and the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League from 1971 to January 2003. Likewise, the 1976 and 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Games were held at the venue, and the Vet also hosted the annual Army-Navy football game seventeen times between 1980 and 2001.
April April 8 – In the first-ever regular-season game at San Diego's Petco Park, the San Diego Padres defeat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3, in ten innings. April 12 – Barry Bonds ties his godfather Willie Mays for third on the all-time career home run list with his 660th home run coming in the fifth inning off of Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Kinney. April 12 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, in the first game played at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. April 13 – Pitcher Dennis Eckersley, catcher-manager Bill Carrigan and infielders Wade Boggs, Billy Goodman and Pete Runnels are selected for induction into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. The club's Hall of Fame selection committee conducts its voting at a meeting last fall. April 14 – At Yankee Stadium, Kevin Brown of the New York Yankees wins his 200th career game, the Yankees defeating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5-1. Brown's victory follows teammate Mike Mussina's 200th career victory in the team's most recent game three days earlier, the Yankees having defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-4. The Yankees become the first team to have two pitchers record their 200th career victories in the same season, and their duo reaches their milestones in consecutive games. April 18 – At Wrigley Field, Sammy Sosa sets the record for most home runs in a Chicago Cub uniform. In the first inning of the Cubs' 11-10, 10-inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Sosa, who entered the game tied with Ernie Banks with 512 home runs as a Cub, homers off Paul Wilson; he will hit another home run off Wilson in the third inning. At the end of the season, Sosa will be traded to the Baltimore Orioles, after hitting 545 home runs as a Cub. April 27 – Chad Moeller becomes the fifth Milwaukee Brewers player to hit for the cycle, the first to do it at home, and the first since Paul Molitor did it on May 15, against the Minnesota Twins.
May May 8 – At Fenway Park, Pokey Reese has the first two-homer game of his career in the Boston Red Sox' 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Curt Schilling pitches his first AL complete game, and the 80th of his career, while striking out eight. Reese hits an inside-the-park home run and one of the conventional type over the Green Monster, to snap a 172 at-bat homerless streak dating to April 4, 2003. The last Red Sox player to hit a conventional homer and an inside-the-park homer in the same game was Tony Armas on September 24, , at Tiger Stadium. May 12 – In one of the most remarkable at-bats in major league history, Alex Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches and then hits the 18th pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Clement. The homer extends the Los Angeles Dodgers lead to 4-0. The Dodger Stadium crowd cheers each foul ball as the total starts to be displayed on the scoreboard. May 18 – Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson becomes only the 17th person in major league history to throw a perfect game, throwing 13 strikeouts on his way to a 2-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves.