1904 Leaders & Numbers

Both leagues’ move to 154-game schedules fattened the statbook, though you couldn’t tell that from the viewpoint of the hitters—who increasingly were getting the short shrift in the deadball era. Honus Wagner did his complete best to continue his reign over National League pitching, while the Cleveland trio of Nap Lajoie, Elmer Flick and Bill Bradley did all it could to breathe offensive fire into the American League. Rookie Harry Lumley got carted over from the Pacific Coast League and outhomered his Brooklyn teammates, 9-6. Dan McGann, hit 37 times by pitchers five years earlier, was treated less brutally at the plate but still led the league in hit batsmen. Pitchers didn’t need to plunk the hitters to achieve dominance; Joe McGinnity didn’t even need a bullpen, but he became one for other Giants pitchers—leading the NL in saves. Jack Chesbro was McGinnity’s incredible equal as an innings hog. Bill Dinneen, part of Boston’s five-man starting rotation—and its five-man pitching staff—was a 20-game winner for the last time, five years before starting a second career as an umpire. Kid Nichols, returning after a two-year absence from the majors to be pitcher-manager-part owner of a minor league team in Kansas City, provided one last hurrah for his outstanding career. It was clearly The Year of the Jack among pitchers, thanks to the firm showings of Chesbro, Harper, Powell and Taylor.

The Ten Best National League Hitters, 1904
Name Team G BA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HB SB
1. Honus Wagner Pittsburgh 132 .349 490 97 171 44 14 4 75 59 4 53
2. Sam Mertes New York 148 .276 532 83 147 28 11 4 78 54 3 47
3. Frank Chance Chicago 124 .310 451 89 140 16 10 6 49 36 16 42
4. Harry Lumley Brooklyn 150 .279 577 79 161 23 18 9 78 41 4 30
5. Dan McGann New York 141 .286 517 81 148 22 6 6 71 36 18 42
6. Jake Beckley St. Louis 142 .325 551 72 179 22 9 1 67 35 9 17
7. Art Devlin New York 130 .281 474 81 133 16 8 1 66 62 6 33
8. Ginger Beaumont Pittsburgh 153 .301 615 97 185 12 12 3 54 34 1 28
9. Joe Kelley Cincinnati 123 .281 449 75 126 21 13 0 63 49 6 15
10. Cozy Dolan Cincinnati 129 .284 465 88 132 8 10 6 51 39 2 19
The Ten Best American League Hitters, 1904
Name Team G BA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HB SB
1. Nap Lajoie Cleveland 140 .376 553 92 208 49 15 5 102 27 8 29
2. Elmer Flick Cleveland 150 .306 579 97 177 31 17 6 56 51 9 38
3. Bill Bradley Cleveland 154 .300 609 94 183 32 8 6 83 26 5 23
4. Chick Stahl Boston 157 .290 587 83 170 27 19 3 67 64 7 11
5. Danny Murphy Philadelphia 150 .287 577 78 160 30 17 7 77 22 5 22
6. Freddy Parent Boston 155 .291 591 85 172 22 9 6 77 28 6 20
7. Willie Keeler New York 143 .343 543 78 186 14 8 2 40 35 7 21
8. Harry Davis Philadelphia 102 .309 404 54 125 21 11 10 62 23 2 12
9. Charley Hickman Cleveland-Detroit 128 .274 481 52 132 28 16 6 67 24 2 12
10. Patsy Dougherty Boston-New York 155 .280 647 113 181 18 14 6 26 44 3 21
The Ten Best National League Pitchers, 1904
Name Team ERA W L PCT SV G GS IP TB ER BB WP HB BK
1. Joe McGinnity New York 1.61 35 8 .814 5 51 44 408 331 73 86 2 13 1
2. Kid Nichols St. Louis 2.02 21 13 .618 1 36 35 317 277 71 50 3 5 0
3. Christy Mathewson New York 2.03 33 12 .733 1 48 46 367.2 327 83 78 10 4 1
4. Jake Weimer Chicago 1.91 20 14 .588 0 37 37 307 232 65 97 4 7 2
5. Noodles Hahn Cincinnati 2.06 16 18 .471 0 35 34 297.2 267 68 35 2 7 1
6. Three Finger Brown Chicago 1.86 15 10 .600 1 26 23 212.1 158 44 50 5 6 0
7. Jack Taylor St. Louis 2.22 20 19 .513 1 41 39 352 312 87 82 6 13 0
8. Dummy Taylor New York 2.34 21 15 .583 0 37 36 296.1 249 77 75 7 9 1
9. Jack Harper Cincinnati 2.30 23 9 .719 0 35 35 293.2 268 75 85 12 9 0
10. Sam Leever Pittsburgh 2.17 18 11 .621 0 34 32 253.1 230 61 54 2 5 2
The Ten Best American League Pitchers, 1904
Name Team ERA W L PCT SV G GS IP TB ER BB WP HB BK
1. Jack Chesbro New York 1.82 41 12 .774 0 55 51 454.2 350 92 88 9 7 0
2. Cy Young Boston 1.97 26 16 .619 1 43 41 380 345 83 29 4 4 0
3. Rube Waddell Philadelphia 1.62 25 19 .568 0 46 46 383 322 69 91 8 15 0
4. Frank Owen Chicago 1.94 21 15 .583 1 37 36 315 249 68 61 6 11 1
5. Addie Joss Cleveland 1.59 14 10 583 0 25 24 192.1 160 34 30 3 7 1
6. Eddie Plank Philadelphia 2.17 26 17 .605 0 44 43 357.1 317 86 86 6 19 0
7. Bill Dinneen Boston 2.20 23 14 .622 0 37 37 335.2 307 82 63 6 2 0
8. Jack Powell New York 2.44 23 19 .548 0 47 45 390.1 385 92 92 12 10 0
9. Jesse Tannehill Boston 2.04 21 11 .656 0 33 31 281.2 271 64 33 3 15 0
10. Harry Howell St. Louis 2.19 13 21 .382 0 34 33 299.2 257 73 60 1 13 0

Brown type indicates league leader.
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