1902 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1902 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1902 in baseball.
1902 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationApril 19 – September 29, 1902 (AL)
April 17 – October 5, 1902 (NL)
Games140
Teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL championsPhiladelphia Athletics
  AL runners-upSt. Louis Browns
NL championsPittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-upBrooklyn Superbas
Locations of teams for the 1902 American League season
American League
Locations of teams for the 1902 National League season
National League

The 1902 major league baseball season was contested from April 17 through October 5, 1902. It was the second season for the American League (AL), with the Philadelphia Athletics winning the AL pennant. In the National League (NL), in operation since 1876, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the NL pennant for the second consecutive season. There was no postseason.

Prior to the season, the Milwaukee Brewers moved and became the St. Louis Browns; the franchise would remain in St. Louis through 1953, and in 1954 moved again to become the modern Baltimore Orioles. This season would be the last of this season's Baltimore Orioles, who would fold following the conclusion of the season. The Cleveland Blues renamed as the Cleveland Bronchos.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1902 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the 1901 season. This format would last until 1904, which saw an increase of games played.

National League Opening Day took place on April 17 with every team playing, while American League Opening Day did not take place until April 19, with a one-off game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Americans, with the rest of the season beginning April 23. The American League would see its final day of the season on September 29, while the National League would see its final day of the season on October 5.

Teams

League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[1]
American League Baltimore Orioles Baltimore, Maryland Oriole Park Unknown John McGraw
Wilbert Robinson
Boston Americans Boston, Massachusetts Huntington Avenue Grounds 11,500 Jimmy Collins
Chicago White Stockings Chicago, Illinois South Side Park 14,000 Clark Griffith
Cleveland Bronchos Cleveland, Ohio League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Bill Armour
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Bennett Park 8,500 Frank Dwyer
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Columbia Park 9,500 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 8,000 Jimmy McAleer
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. American League Park 7,000 Tom Loftus
National League Boston Beaneaters Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 6,600 Al Buckenberger
Brooklyn Superbas New York, New York Washington Park 12,000 Ned Hanlon
Chicago Orphans Chicago, Illinois West Side Park 13,000 Frank Selee
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Palace of the Fans 12,000 Bid McPhee
Frank Bancroft
Joe Kelley
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 Horace Fogel
Heinie Smith
John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Bill Shettsline
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania[A] Exposition Park 16,000 Fred Clarke
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri League Park (St. Louis) 15,200 Patsy Donovan

Sunday games

Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams to play at ballparks in a different locality.

Team City Ballpark Capacity Games played
Cleveland Bronchos[2] Dayton, Ohio Fairview Park Unknown 1
Fort Wayne, Indiana Jail Flats Unknown 2
Canton, Ohio Mahaffey Park Unknown 1
Columbus, Ohio Neil Park 6,000 1
Detroit Tigers[3] Springwells Township, Michigan[B] Burns Park 3,700[4] 10
  1. ^
    In today's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  2. ^
    In today's Detroit, Michigan.

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Athletics 83 53 .610 — 56‍–‍17 27‍–‍36
St. Louis Browns 78 58 .574 5 49‍–‍21 29‍–‍37
Boston Americans 77 60 .562 6½ 43‍–‍27 34‍–‍33
Chicago White Stockings 74 60 .552 8 48‍–‍20 26‍–‍40
Cleveland Bronchos 69 67 .507 14 40‍–‍25 29‍–‍42
Washington Senators 61 75 .449 22 40‍–‍28 21‍–‍47
Detroit Tigers 52 83 .385 30½ 34‍–‍33 18‍–‍50
Baltimore Orioles 50 88 .362 34 32‍–‍31 18‍–‍57

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 103 36 .741 — 56‍–‍15 47‍–‍21
Brooklyn Superbas 75 63 .543 27½ 45‍–‍23 30‍–‍40
Boston Beaneaters 73 64 .533 29 42‍–‍27 31‍–‍37
Cincinnati Reds 70 70 .500 33½ 35‍–‍35 35‍–‍35
Chicago Orphans 68 69 .496 34 31‍–‍38 37‍–‍31
St. Louis Cardinals 56 78 .418 44½ 28‍–‍38 28‍–‍40
Philadelphia Phillies 56 81 .409 46 29‍–‍39 27‍–‍42
New York Giants 48 88 .353 53½ 24‍–‍44 24‍–‍44

Tie games

23 tie games (8 in AL, 15 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

American League

  • Baltimore Orioles, 1
  • Boston Americans, 1
  • Chicago White Stockings, 4
  • Cleveland Bronchos, 1
  • Detroit Tigers, 2
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 1
  • St. Louis Browns, 4
  • Washington Senators, 2

National League

  • Boston Beaneaters, 5
  • Brooklyn Superbas, 3
  • Chicago Orphans, 6
  • Cincinnati Reds, 1
  • New York Giants, 5
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 3
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 6

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Beaneaters Frank Selee Al Buckenberger
Chicago Orphans Tom Loftus Frank Selee
Cleveland Bronchos Jimmy McAleer Bill Armour
Detroit Tigers George Stallings Frank Dwyer
New York Giants George Davis Horace Fogel
St. Louis Browns Hugh Duffy Jimmy McAleer
Washington Senators Jim Manning Tom Loftus

In-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Baltimore Orioles John McGraw Wilbert Robinson
Cincinnati Reds Bid McPhee Frank Bancroft
Frank Bancroft Joe Kelley
New York Giants Horace Fogel Heinie Smith
Heinie Smith John McGraw

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

Across both leagues, Sammy Strang tied as a leader in runs at 109 (108 with the Chicago White Stockings of the AL and 1 with the Chicago Orphans of the NL).[5]

American League

Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Nap Lajoie (CLE/PHA) .378
OPS Ed Delahanty (WSH) 1.043
HR Socks Seybold (PHA) 16
RBI Buck Freeman (BOS) 121
R Topsy Hartsel (PHA)
Dave Fultz (PHA) 		109
H Charlie Hickman (CLE/BOS) 193
SB Topsy Hartsel (PHA) 47
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W Cy Young (BOS) 32
L Bill Dinneen (BOS) 21
ERA Ed Siever (DET) 1.91
K Rube Waddell (PHA) 210
IP Cy Young (BOS) 384.2
SV Jack Powell (SLB) 2
WHIP Bill Bernhard (CLE/PHA) 0.942

National League

Hitting leaders[8]
Stat Player Total
AVG Ginger Beaumont (PIT) .357
OPS Honus Wagner (PIT) .857
HR Tommy Leach (PIT) 6
RBI Honus Wagner (PIT) 91
R Honus Wagner (PIT) 105
H Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 193
SB Honus Wagner (PIT) 42
Pitching leaders[9]
Stat Player Total
W Jack Chesbro (PIT) 28
L Stan Yerkes (STL) 21
ERA Jack Taylor (CHC) 1.29
K Vic Willis (BSN) 225
IP Vic Willis (BSN) 410.0
SV Vic Willis (BSN) 3
WHIP Jack Taylor (CHC) 0.953

Milestones

Pitchers

No-hitters

See also: List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

Miscellaneous

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Philadelphia Athletics[12] 83 12.2% 420,078 103.6% 5,754
Boston Americans[13] 77 −2.5% 348,567 20.4% 4,909
Chicago White Stockings[14] 74 −10.8% 337,898 −4.6% 4,693
New York Giants[15] 48 −7.7% 302,875 1.8% 4,266
Cleveland Bronchos[16] 69 27.8% 275,395 109.6% 4,237
St. Louis Browns[17] 78 62.5% 272,283 95.8% 3,730
Chicago Orphans[18] 68 28.3% 263,700 28.6% 3,663
Pittsburgh Pirates[19] 103 14.4% 243,826 −3.2% 3,434
St. Louis Cardinals[20] 56 −26.3% 226,417 −40.4% 3,235
Cincinnati Reds[21] 70 34.6% 217,300 5.6% 3,104
Brooklyn Superbas[22] 75 −5.1% 199,868 0.8% 2,897
Detroit Tigers[23] 52 −29.7% 189,469 −27.0% 2,828
Washington Senators[24] 61 0.0% 188,158 16.4% 2,767
Baltimore Orioles[25] 50 −26.5% 174,606 23.0% 2,728
Boston Beaneaters[26] 73 5.8% 116,960 −20.2% 1,624
Philadelphia Phillies[27] 56 −32.5% 112,066 −52.3% 1,624

Venues

The St. Louis Browns, newly relocated from their inaugural major league season in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Brewers, leave Lloyd Street Grounds and move into Sportsman's Park where they would play for 52 seasons through 1953 before again relocating to Baltimore, Maryland where they remain to this day as the Baltimore Orioles.

The Cincinnati Reds leave League Park (where they played for 18 seasons) and move to the Palace of the Fans, where they would go on to play for ten seasons through 1911.

Regarding games that were rescheduled to Sunday, and existing blue laws, the Cleveland Bronchos play five games across four parks:[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "1902 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Cleveland Indians – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database". www.seamheads.com. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  3. ^ "Detroit Tigers – Seamheads.com Ballparks Database". www.seamheads.com. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  4. ^ "A new baseball park". Detroit Free Press. April 25, 1900. p. 6. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  5. ^ "1902 Major League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "1902 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "1902 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "1902 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "1902 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ^ "American League". St. Paul Globe. September 21, 1902. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  11. ^ Tom Schott, Nick Peters (2003). The Giants Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 241. ISBN 9781582616933.
  12. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  27. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
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