1903 Philadelphia Athletics

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1903 Philadelphia Athletics / Franchise: Oakland Athletics / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 75-60, Finished 2nd in American League (1903 AL)

Managed by Connie Mack

Ballpark: Columbia Park

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

The 1903 Philadelphia Phillies rode the arm of ace pitcher Rube Waddell, acquired halfway through their pennant-winning season in 1902, to an early lead in the American League standings. They were slightly ahead of the Boston Americans on June 17th when Waddell went into a slump, losing his next five decisions, and never recovered. He had another five-game losing streak in August, including a pair of losses against Boston, that in effect clinched the pennant for their opponents. Boston finished well ahead of the A's with a lead of 14 1/2 games. Waddell finished the year at 21-16, being bested by teammate Eddie Plank, who went 23-16 with a slightly better ERA (2.38 to 2.44) in a handful more innings, although both men easily topped 300 innings that year. The third wheel was another future Hall of Famer, Chief Bender, who 17-14 at age 19, logging 270 innings with an ERA of 3.07. Weldon Henley was clearly a cut below the top three, with a record of 12-10 but an ERA of 3.91. The rest of the staff combined for just 2 wins and hardly saw any action all year.

Standings[edit]

American League W L T GB Pct.
Boston Pilgrims 91 47 3 -- .659
Philadelphia Athletics 75 60 2 14½ .556
Cleveland Naps 77 63 0 15 .550
New York Highlanders 72 62 2 17 .537
Detroit Tigers 65 71 1 25 .478
St. Louis Browns 65 74 0 26½ .468
Chicago White Sox 60 77 1 30½ .438
Washington Senators 43 94 3 47½ .314