1904 New York Highlanders

1904 New York Highlanders
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Major league affiliations
American League (Since 1901)
1904 Uniform
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Location
Hilltop Park (Since 1903) New York, New York (Since 1903)
1904 Information
Owner(s)	William Devery and Frank Farrell since Mar. 9, 1903
Manager(s)	Clark Griffith since Mar. 9, 1903
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Local radio	{{{radio}}}
Baseball-Reference	1904 New York Highlanders

Season Highlights

The 1904 New York Highlanders played their second season in New York and fourth overall, finishing in 2nd place in the American League with a record of 92-59. They were managed by Clark Griffith and played their home games at Hilltop Park, except for their game of July 17th, which was played in Wiedenmeyer's Park in Newark, NJ.

The name

The first verified use of the alternate nickname "Yankees" (a synonym for "Americans", the team being American Leaguers) occurred on April 7th, when a spring training story from Richmond, Virginia carried the headline "Yankees Will Start Home From South To-Day." The New York Evening Journal screamed: "YANKEES BEAT BOSTON". The casual use of that nickname suggests it was already in the popular lexicon, although "Highlanders" would continue to be the primary (and equally unofficial) nickname for several more years.

New York's most notable point came on the final day of the season at Hilltop Park. New York pitcher Jack Chesbro threw a wild pitch in the 9th inning, giving the Boston Americans the win, and the American League pennant. It would be another 100 years before the Red Sox would defeat the Yankees in a pennant-deciding game.

Earlier in the year, New York's dominant hold of first place led to the New York Giants' announcement that they would not play in the World Series, since they considered the Highlanders to be only a "minor league" team. Even though it was Boston who stole the pennant on the final day, the Giants stuck to their word and their refusal prevented the World Series from being played. It also marked the first time that the Boston team, who would later formally become the Red Sox in 1908, would beat the New York AL team in a pennant-deciding game. The second time the Boston team would accomplish this came a full century later, in the final game of the 2004 ALCS.

Final Standings

American League	W	L	T	GB	Pct.
Boston Americans	95	59	3	--	.617
New York Highlanders	92	59	4	1½	.609
Chicago White Sox	89	65	2	6	.578
Cleveland Naps	86	65	3	7½	.570
Philadelphia Athletics	81	70	4	12½	.536
St. Louis Browns	65	87	4	29	.428
Detroit Tigers	62	90	10	32	.408
Washington Senators	38	113	6	55½	.252

External links

• 1904 New York Highlanders team page at www.baseball-almanac.com