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2003 Boston Red Sox season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2003 Boston Red Sox
American League Wild Card Winners
The Red Sox celebrate their clinching of the 2003 AL Wild Card with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox celebrate their clinching of the 2003 AL Wild Card with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston
Record95–67 (.586)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersJohn W. Henry (New England Sports Ventures)
PresidentLarry Lucchino
General managerTheo Epstein
ManagerGrady Little
TelevisionWSBK-TV
(Sean McDonough, Jerry Remy)
NESN
(Don Orsillo, Jerry Remy)
RadioWEEI
(Jerry Trupiano, Joe Castiglione)
WROL
(Luis Tiant, Uri Berenguer, Juan Pedro Villamán)
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference
← 2002 Seasons 2004 →

The 2003 Boston Red Sox season was the 103rd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, six games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the AL championship. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, and defeated the American League West champion Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. The Red Sox then lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.

The Red Sox led the major leagues in nearly all offensive categories, including runs scored (961), batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.360), and perhaps most impressively, a .491 team slugging percentage, which set a new record previously held by the 1927 Yankees. It would stand until the 2019 season when the Astros (.495) and Twins (.494) both surpassed them.[1] They also had 649 extra-base hits, the most ever by one team in a single season.[2][3]

In May 2003, the Red Sox settled a lawsuit in federal court filed by seven men who claimed to have been sexually abused as boys by Red Sox clubhouse attendant Donald James Fitzpatrick at the team's spring training site in Winter Haven, Florida between 1971 and 1991. The lawsuit requested $3.15 million in damages but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.[4]

This was the first season with designated hitter David Ortiz, as he signed a contract for the Red Sox during the offseason. He would stay with the Red Sox until his retirement in 2016.

The Search for a new General Manager

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Lucchino initially attempted to hire J. P. Ricciardi, the general manager of the Blue Jays, but Ricciardi rejected the offer and instead signed a long-term contract with the Blue Jays.[5]

On November 10, 2002, Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane, accepted an offer to become the new general manager of the Red Sox.[6] Beane had for several years publicly expressed his interest in joining the Red Sox, and his contract with Oakland included a stipulation that would allow Beane to consider an offer from the Red Sox.[6] Beane had yet to sign the contract with the Red Sox, a contract in which he would be guaranteed $12.5 million over five years, the most anyone had been given to run a baseball team.[7] The following day, however, Beane shocked the Red Sox when he declared that he would not accept their offer; the move to Boston would limit the amount of time that Beane would have to spend with his daughter.[6]

On November 25, 2002, Theo Epstein, 28, was hired as general manager of the Boston Red Sox.[8] Epstein's hiring made him the youngest general manager in major league history.[8]

Offseason

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Regular season

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Season standings

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AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 101 61 .623 — 50‍–‍32 51‍–‍29
Boston Red Sox 95 67 .586 6 53‍–‍28 42‍–‍39
Toronto Blue Jays 86 76 .531 15 41‍–‍40 45‍–‍36
Baltimore Orioles 71 91 .438 30 40‍–‍40 31‍–‍51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 63 99 .389 38 36‍–‍45 27‍–‍54


Record vs. opponents

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2003 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team ANA BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Anaheim — 1–8 3–6 3–4 6–3 6–1 6–3 5–4 3–6 8–12 8–11 6–3 9–10 2–7 11–7
Baltimore 8–1 — 9–10 2–4 3–3 3–3 3–4 3–4 6–13–1 2–7 4–5 8–11 7–2 8–11 5–13
Boston 6–3 10–9 — 5–4 4–2 8–1 5–1 2–4 9–10 3–4 5–2 12–7 5–4 10–9 11–7
Chicago 4–3 4–2 4–5 — 11–8 11–8 11–8 9–10 4–2 4–5 2–7 3–3 3–4 6–3 10–8
Cleveland 3–6 3–3 2–4 8–11 — 12–7 6–13 9–10 2–5 3–6 3–6 5–2 4–5 2–4 6–12
Detroit 1–6 3–3 1–8 8–11 7–12 — 5–14 4–15 1–5 3–6 1–8 2–4 1–6 2–7 4–14
Kansas City 3–6 4–3 1–5 8–11 13–6 14–5 — 11–8 2–4 2–7 4–5 4–3 7–2 1–5 9–9
Minnesota 4–5 4–3 4–2 10–9 10–9 15–4 8–11 — 0–7 8–1 3–6 6–0 5–4 3–3 10–8
New York 6–3 13–6–1 10–9 2–4 5–2 5–1 4–2 7–0 — 3–6 5–4 14–5 4–5 10–9 13–5
Oakland 12–8 7–2 4–3 5–4 6–3 6–3 7–2 1–8 6–3 — 7–12 6–3 15–4 5–2 9–9
Seattle 11–8 5–4 2–5 7–2 6–3 8–1 5–4 6–3 4–5 12–7 — 4–5 10–10 3–4 10–8
Tampa Bay 3–6 11–8 7–12 3–3 2–5 4–2 3–4 0–6 5–14 3–6 5–4 — 3–6 11–8 3–15
Texas 10–9 2–7 4–5 4–3 5–4 6–1 2–7 4–5 5–4 4–15 10–10 6–3 — 5–4 4–14
Toronto 7–2 11–8 9–10 3–6 4–2 7–2 5–1 3–3 9–10 2–5 4–3 8–11 4–5 — 10–8
Red Sox vs. National League
Team NL Central  
CHC CIN HOU MIL PIT STL FLA PHI
Boston — — 3–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2

Notable transactions

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Opening Day lineup

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18 Johnny Damon CF
12 Todd Walker 2B
  5 Nomar Garciaparra     SS
24 Manny Ramírez LF
15 Kevin Millar 1B
29 Shea Hillenbrand 3B
25 Jeremy Giambi DH
  7 Trot Nixon RF
33 Jason Varitek C
45 Pedro Martínez P

Roster

[edit]
2003 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated hitters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

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2003 Game Log
March (0–1)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 March 31 @Devil Rays 6–4 McClung (1–0) Fox (0–1) — 34,391 0–1
April (18–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
2 April 1 @Devil Rays 9–8 (16) Lyon (1–0) Sosa (0–1) — 11,524 1–1
3 April 2 @Devil Rays 7–5 Lowe (1–0) Parque (0–1) Fox (1) 10,058 2–1
4 April 3 @Devil Rays 14–5 Fossum (1–0) Bierbrodt (0–1) — 12,110 3–1
5 April 4 @Orioles 8–7 Burkett (1–0) Ponson (0–1) — 27,256 4–1
6 April 5 @Orioles 2–1 Ryan (2–0) Fox (0–2) — 41,821 4–2
7 April 6 @Orioles 12–2 Wakefield (1–0) López (0–1) — 30,046 5–2
8 April 8 @Blue Jays 8–4 Hendrickson (1–1) Lowe (1–1) — 13,147 5–3
9 April 9 @Blue Jays 10–5 Sturtze (2–0) Fossum (1–1) — 13,099 5–4
10 April 10 @Blue Jays 8–7 Timlin (1–0) Politte (0–1) — 13,779 6–4
– April 11 Orioles Postponed 6–4
– April 12 Orioles Postponed 6–4
11 April 12 Orioles 13–6 Johnson (1–0) Martínez (1–1) — 32,029 6–5
12 April 13 Orioles 2–0 Lowe (2–1) López (0–2) Wakefield (1) 32,368 7–5
13 April 15 Devil Rays 6–5 Timlin (2–0) Levine (1–1) — 29,617 8–5
14 April 16 Devil Rays 6–4 Fox (1–2) Carter (3–1) Lyon (1) 26,688 9–5
15 April 17 Devil Rays 6–0 Martínez (1–1) Kennedy (0–1) — 30,909 10–5
16 April 18 Blue Jays 7–3 Wakefield (2–0) Tam (0–1) — 19,545 11–5
17 April 19 Blue Jays 7–2 Derek Lowe (3–1) Sturtze (2–1) — 32,329 12–5
18 April 20 Blue Jays 6–5 Timlin (3–0) Politte (0–2) — 29,579 13–5
19 April 21 Blue Jays 11–6 Lidle (3–2) Burkett (1–1) — 34,370 13–6
20 April 22 @Rangers 5–4 Martínez (2–1) Park (1–3) Fox (2) 20,158 14–6
21 April 23 @Rangers 6–1 Thomson (1–2) Wakefield (2–1) — 20,042 14–7
22 April 24 @Rangers 16–5 Dickey (1–1) Lowe (3–2) — 21,063 14–8
23 April 25 @Angels 5–2 Fossum (2–1) Washburn (1–3) Fox (3) 37,203 15–8
24 April 26 @Angels 3–1 Shields (1–0) Burkett (1–2) Percival (3) 43,514 15–9
25 April 27 @Angels 6–4 (14) Mendoza (1–0) Callaway (1–3) Shiell (1) 43,690 16–9
26 April 29 Royals 7–2 Wakefield (3–1) George (3–2) — 40,348 17–9
27 April 30 Royals 5–4 Embree (1–0) MacDougal (1–2) — 31,334 18–9
May (13–14)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
28 May 1 Royals 6–5 Shiell (1–0) Grimsley (1–2) Lyon (2) 31,950 19–9
29 May 2 Twins 11–7 Santana (1–0) Mendoza (1–1) — 31,317 19–10
30 May 3 Twins 9–1 Martínez (3–1) Fiore (1–1) — 33,061 20–10
31 May 4 Twins 9–4 Rogers (4–1) Timlin (3–1) — 32,887 20–11
32 May 5 @ Royals 7–6 Lopez (4–0) Lyon (1–1) — 21,232 20–12
33 May 6 @ Royals 7–3 Fossum (3–1) Affeldt (2–1) — 15,848 21–12
34 May 7 @ Royals 9–6 Woodard (1–0) Lopez (4–1) Lyon (3) 28,268 22–12
35 May 9 @ Twins 5–0 Santana (2–0) Martínez (3–2) — 28,436 22–13
36 May 10 @ Twins 6–5 Wakefield (4–1) Rincón (1–1) Lyon (4) 26,346 23–13
37 May 11 @ Twins 9–8 Radke (4–3) Lowe (3–3) Guardado (8) 15,641 23–14
38 May 13 Rangers 5–4 Embree (2–0) Cordero (1–4) Lyon (5) 31,956 24–14
39 May 14 Rangers 7–1 Fossum (4–1) Benoit (1–1) — 32,485 25–14
40 May 15 Rangers 12–3 Martínez (4–2) Benes (0–2) — 33,801 26–14
41 May 16 Angels 6–5 Rodríguez (4–1) Embree (2–1) Percival (6) 33,170 26–15
42 May 17 Angels 6–2 Washburn (4–4) Timlin (3–2) Percival (7) 33,327 26–16
43 May 18 Angels 5–3 Burkett (2–2) Lackey (2–4) Person (1) 33,347 27–16
44 May 19 Yankees 7–3 Wells (6–1) Fossum (4–2) — 35,099 27–17
45 May 20 Yankees 10–7 Embree (3–1) Contreras (1–1) Lyon (6) 35,007 28–17
46 May 21 Yankees 4–2 Clemens (6–2) Wakefield (4–2) Rivera (4) 35,003 28–18
47 May 23 Indians 9–2 Lowe (4–3) Rodríguez (2–5) — 32,673 29–18
48 May 24 Indians 12–3 Burkett (3–2) Anderson (2–5) — 32,643 30–18
49 May 25 Indians 6–4 Davis (4–4) Fossum (4–3) Báez (9) 34,318 30–19
50 May 26 @ Yankees 8–4 Wakefield (5–2) Clemens (6–3) — 55,093 31–19
51 May 27 @ Yankees 11–3 Pettitte (5–5) Chen (0–1) — 44,769 31–20
52 May 28 @ Yankees 6–5 Rivera (1–0) Lyon (1–2) — 44,617 31–21
53 May 30 @ Blue Jays 13–2 Davis (3–3) Burkett (3–3) — 21,381 31–22
54 May 31 @ Blue Jays 10–7 Sturtze (5–4) Fossum (4–4) Politte (9) 28,809 31–23
June (16–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
55 June 1 @ Blue Jays 11–8 Halladay (7–2) White (0–1) — 26,890 31–24
– June 3 @ Pirates Postponed (makeup date: June 4 as part of a doubleheader) 31–24
56 June 4 @ Pirates 11–4 Kim (2–5) Benson (5–6) — N/A 32–24
57 June 4 @ Pirates 8–3 Lowe (5–3) D'Amico (4–6) — 27,769 33–24
58 June 5 @ Pirates 5–4 Boehringer (3–1) Mendoza (1–2) Williams (16) 33,372 33–25
59 June 6 @ Brewers 9–3 Durocher (2–0) Almonte (0–1) — 20,195 33–26
60 June 7 @ Brewers 11–10 Lyon (2–2) DeJean (2–4) Timlin (1) 34,242 34–26
61 June 8 @ Brewers 9–1 Lowe (6–3) Rusch (1–9) — 20,784 35–26
62 June 10 Cardinals 9–7 Kline (3–4) Lyon (2–3) Eldred (8) 34,937 35–27
63 June 11 Cardinals 13–1 Burkett (4–3) Tomko (2–5) — 33,453 36–27
64 June 12 Cardinals 8–7 (13) Yan (2–1) Mendoza (1–3) — 34,389 36–28
65 June 13 Astros 4–3 Rupe (1–0) Stone (4–2) Lyon (7) 33,244 37–28
66 June 14 Astros 8–4 Lowe (7–3) Redding (4–5) — 34,562 38–28
67 June 15 Astros 3–2 (14) Shiell (2–0) Bland (1–2) — 34,085 39–28
68 June 16 @ White Sox 4–2 Buehrle (3–10) Rupe (1–1) Gordon (1) 30,779 39–29
69 June 17 @ White Sox 7–4 Burkett (5–3) Colón (6–7) Lyon (8) 19,887 40–29
70 June 18 @ White Sox 3–1 Loaiza (10–2) Wakefield (5–3) Koch (9) 18,708 40–30
71 June 19 @ White Sox 4–3 10 Lyon (3–3) Koch (2–3) — 17,225 41–30
-- June 20 @ Phillies Postponed (makeup date: September 1) 41–30
72 June 21 @ Phillies 6–5 (13) Mesa (3–4) Seánez (0–1) — 35,512 41–31
73 June 22 @ Phillies 5–0 Myers (6–6) Kim (2–6) — 60,960 41–32
74 June 23 Tigers 3–1 Wakefield (6–3) Bonderman (2–11) Timlin (2) 33,814 42–32
75 June 24 Tigers 10–1 Lowe (8–3) Cornejo (3–6) — 33,848 43–32
76 June 25 Tigers 11–2 Burkett (6–3) Maroth (2–12) — 33,587 44–32
77 June 26 Tigers 6–4 Martínez (5–2) Roney (0–2) Lyon (9) 34,415 45–32
78 June 27 Marlins 25–8 Kim (3–6) Pavano (6–9) — 34,764 46–32
79 June 28 Marlins 10–9 Bump (1–0) Lyon (3–4) Looper (14) 34,804 46–33
80 June 29 Marlins 11–7 Lowe (9–3) Penny (6–6) — 34,476 47–33
July (16–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
81 July 1 @ Devil Rays 4–3 (11) Carter (5–3) Lyon (3–5) — 12,122 47–34
82 July 2 @ Devil Rays 5–4 Martínez (6–2) Colomé (1–4) Kim (1) 14,345 48–34
83 July 3 @ Devil Rays 6–5 (10) Harper (1–4) Timlin (3–3) — 12,838 48–35
84 July 4 @ Yankees 10–3 Lowe (10–3) Wells (10–3) — 55,144 49–35
85 July 5 @ Yankees 10–2 Mendoza (2–3) Clemens (8–6) — 54,948 50–35
86 July 6 @ Yankees 7–1 Pettitte (10–6) Burkett (6–4) — 54,918 50–36
87 July 7 @ Yankees 2–1 Rivera (3–0) Kim (3–7) — 55,016 50–37
88 July 8 @ Blue Jays 2–1 (12) Jones (2–4) Tam (0–3) Kim (2) 20,022 51–37
89 July 9 @ Blue Jays 8–7 Lyon (4–5) Tam (0–4) Kim (3) 23,551 52–37
90 July 10 @ Blue Jays 7–1 Mendoza (3–3) Lidle (10–8) — 20,113 53–37
91 July 11 @ Tigers 5–3 Burkett (7–4) Maroth (4–13) Kim (4) 26,538 54–37
92 July 12 @ Tigers 4–2 (11) Jones (3–4) Rodney (0–1) Kim (5) 23,206 55–37
93 July 13 @ Tigers 3–0 Ledezma (3–2) Wakefield (6–4) Mears (4) 23,829 55–38
94 July 17 Blue Jays 5–2 Halladay (14–2) Lowe (10–4) — 34,521 55–39
95 July 18 Blue Jays 4–1 Escobar (6–6) Wakefield (6–5) Miller (1) 34,136 55–40
96 July 19 Blue Jays 5–4 (10) Kim (4–7) López (1–3) — 34,812 56–40
97 July 20 Blue Jays 9–4 Martínez (7–2) Wasdin (0–1) — 34,321 57–40
98 July 21 Tigers 14–5 Burkett (8–4) Bonderman (3–14) Fossum (1) 33,823 58–40
99 July 22 Tigers 7–4 Lowe (11–4) Maroth (5–14) — 33,570 59–40
100 July 23 Devil Rays 10–4 Wakefield (7–5) Harper (1–6) — 33,446 60–40
101 July 24 Devil Rays 15–9 Zambrano (7–5) Mendoza (3–4) — 33,521 60–41
102 July 25 Yankees 4–3 Rivera (5–0) Kim (4–8) — 34,873 60–42
103 July 26 Yankees 5–4 Kim (5–8) Benítez (3–4) — 34,356 61–42
104 July 27 Yankees 6–4 Fossum (5–4) Hammond (2–1) Kim (6) 34,787 62–42
105 July 29 @ Rangers 14–7 Wakefield (8–5) García (1–1) — 24,632 63–42
106 July 30 @ Rangers 9–2 Ellis (1–1) Mendoza (3–5) — 25,354 63–43
107 July 31 @ Rangers 7–3 (11) Ramirez (2–0) Jones (3–5) — 27,108 63–44
August (15–14)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
108 August 1 @ Orioles 2–1 Hentgen (4–5) Burkett (8–5) Julio (25) 41,188 63–45
109 August 2 @ Orioles 11–2 Lopez (4–6) Lowe (11–5) — 49,334 63–46
110 August 3 @ Orioles 7–5 Wakefield (9–5) Helling (6–8) Kim (7) 42,085 64–46
111 August 5 Angels 10–9 Timlin (4–3) Donnelly (2–2) Kim (8) 34,678 65–46
112 August 6 Angels 4–2 Martínez (8–2) Sele (6–9) — 35,040 66–46
113 August 7 Angels 9–3 Burkett (9–5) Ortiz (13–9) — 34,570 67–46
114 August 8 Orioles 10–4 Helling (7–8) Lowe (11–6) — 35,099 67–47
115 August 8 Orioles 4–2 DuBose (1–1) Fossum (5–5) Julio (28) 34,595 67–48
116 August 9 Orioles 6–4 Embree (4–1) Driskill (3–5) Kim (9) 34,883 68–48
117 August 10 Orioles 5–3 Johnson (10–5) Suppan (10–8) Julio (29) 34,239 68–49
118 August 11 @ Athletics 4–0 Hudson (11–4) Martínez (8–3) — 33,504 68–50
119 August 12 @ Athletics 5–3 Zito (9–10) Burkett (9–6) Foulke (30) 26,823 68–51
120 August 13 @ Athletics 7–3 Lowe (12–6) Mulder (15–9) — 44,868 69–51
121 August 14 @ Athletics 4–2 (10) Kim (6–8) Mecir (2–2) — 37,293 70–51
122 August 15 @ Mariners 10–5 Mateo (4–0) Timlin (4–4) Hasegawa (12) 46,171 70–52
123 August 16 @ Mariners 5–1 Martínez (9–3) Piñeiro (13–8) — 46,100 71–52
124 August 17 @ Mariners 3–1 García (11–12) Burkett (9–7) Hasegawa (13) 46,105 71–53
125 August 19 Athletics 3–2 Rincón (7–4) Williamson (5–4) Foulke (33) 34,879 71–54
126 August 20 Athletics 8–6 Bradford (7–3) Kim (6–9) Foulke (34) 34,798 71–55
127 August 21 Athletics 14–5 Fossum (6–5) Harden (3–3) — 34,844 72–55
128 August 22 Mariners 6–4 Suppan (11–8) Piñeiro (13–9) Kim (10) 34,379 73–55
129 August 23 Mariners 7–6 (10) Timlin (5–4) Sasaki (1–2) — 34,488 74–55
130 August 24 Mariners 6–1 Lowe (13–6) Franklin (9–11) — 34,344 75–55
131 August 25 Mariners 8–1 Martínez (10–3) Meche (13–10) Arroyo (1) 33,007 76–55
132 August 26 Blue Jays 12–9 Towers (4–1) Sauerbeck (3–5) López (7) 33,731 76–56
133 August 27 Blue Jays 6–3 Timlin (6–4) Halladay (17–6) Kim (11) 34,206 77–56
134 August 29 Yankees 10–5 Lowe (14–6) Contreras (4–2) — 34,854 78–56
135 August 30 Yankees 10–7 Pettitte (17–7) Martínez (10–4) Rivera (30) 34,350 78–57
136 August 31 Yankees 8–4 Clemens (13–8) Wakefield (9–6) Rivera (31) 34,482 78–58
September (17–9)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
137 September 1 @ Phillies 13–9 Kim (7–9) Mesa (5–7) — 61,068 79–58
138 September 2 @ White Sox 2–1 Burkett (10–7) Colón (12–12) Kim (12) 23,943 80–58
139 September 3 @ White Sox 5–4 (10) Kim (8–9) Gordon (6–6) — 20,082 81–58
140 September 5 @ Yankees 9–3 Martínez (11–4) Pettitte (17–8) — 55,261 82–58
141 September 6 @ Yankees 12–0 Wakefield (10–6) Clemens (13–9) — 55,237 83–58
142 September 7 @ Yankees 3–1 Wells (13–6) Suppan (11–9) Rivera (33) 55,212 83–59
143 September 8 @ Orioles 13–10 Ligtenberg (2–2) Kim (8–10) — 23,276 83–60
144 September 9 @ Orioles 9–2 Lowe (15–6) Moss (10–11) — 25,265 84–60
145 September 10 @ Orioles 5–0 Martínez (12–4) Johnson (10–7) — 25,143 85–60
146 September 12 White Sox 7–4 Suppan (12–9) Wright (1–6) Kim (13) 34,890 86–60
147 September 13 White Sox 3–1 Colón (14–12) Wakefield (10–7) — 34,414 86–61
148 September 14 White Sox 7–2 Buehrle (13–13) Burkett (10–8) Marte (11) 34,174 86–62
149 September 15 Devil Rays 8–2 Lowe (16–6) Sosa (5–11) — 33,389 87–62
150 September 16 Devil Rays 3–2 Martínez (13–4) Harper (4–8) — 33,618 88–62
151 September 17 Devil Rays 7–0 Zambrano (11–9) Suppan (12–10) — 33,806 88–63
152 September 18 Devil Rays 4–3 Wakefield (11–7) Bell (4–4) Kim (14) 34,042 89–63
153 September 19 @ Indians 2–0 Burkett (11–8) Stanford (0–3) Embree (1) 20,374 90–63
154 September 20 @ Indians 13–4 Dave Lee (1–0) Lowe (16–7) — 23,242 90–64
155 September 21 @ Indians 2–0 Martínez (14–4) Cliff Lee (3–2) Kim (15) 27,655 91–64
156 September 22 Orioles 7–5 Suppan (13–10) Johnson (10–9) Kim (16) 33,821 92–64
157 September 23 Orioles 6–5 (10) Kim (9–10) Ainsworth (5–5) — 33,723 93–64
158 September 24 Orioles 7–3 Hentgen (7–8) Burkett (11–9) — 34,607 93–65
159 September 25 Orioles 14–3 Lowe (17–7) Daal (4–11) — 34,526 94–65
160 September 26 @ Devil Rays 7–2 Burkett (12–9) González (6–11) — 21,240 95–65
161 September 27 @ Devil Rays 5–4 Gaudin (2–0) Suppan (13–11) Carter (25) 25,635 95–66
162 September 28 @ Devil Rays 3–1 Zambrano (12–10) Lyon (4–6) Carter (26) 24,138 95–67

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Jason Varitek 142 451 123 .273 25 85
1B Kevin Millar 148 544 150 .276 25 96
2B Todd Walker 144 587 166 .283 13 85
SS Nomar Garciaparra 156 658 198 .301 28 105
3B Bill Mueller 146 524 171 .326 19 85
LF Manny Ramirez 154 569 185 .325 37 104
CF Johnny Damon 145 608 166 .273 12 67
RF Trot Nixon 134 441 135 .306 28 87
DH David Ortiz 128 448 129 .288 31 101

Other batters

[edit]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Shea Hillenbrand 49 185 56 .303 3 38
Doug Mirabelli 62 163 42 .258 6 18
Damian Jackson 109 161 42 .261 1 13
Gabe Kapler 68 158 46 .291 4 23
Jeremy Giambi 50 127 25 .197 5 15
Freddy Sanchez 20 34 8 .235 0 2
Lou Merloni 15 30 7 .233 0 1
Dave McCarty 16 27 11 .407 1 6
Andy Abad 9 17 2 .118 0 0
Adrian Brown 9 15 3 .200 0 1
Bill Haselman 4 3 0 .000 0 0
Lou Collier 4 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

[edit]

Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Derek Lowe 33 203.1 17 7 4.47 110
Tim Wakefield 35 202.1 11 5 4.09 169
Pedro Martinez 29 186.2 14 4 2.22 206
John Burkett 32 181.2 12 9 5.15 107
Casey Fossum 19 79.0 6 5 5.47 63
Jeff Suppan 11 63.0 3 4 5.57 32

Other pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bruce Chen 5 12.1 0 1 5.11 12
Ryan Rupe 4 10.0 1 1 6.30 7

Relief pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Byung-Hyun Kim 49 8 5 16 3.18 69
Mike Timlin 72 6 4 2 3.55 65
Alan Embree 65 4 1 1 4.25 45
Ramiro Mendoza 37 3 5 0 6.75 36
Brandon Lyon 37 4 6 9 4.12 50
Todd Jones 26 2 1 0 5.52 31
Scott Sauerbeck 26 0 1 0 6.48 18
Scott Williamson 24 0 1 0 6.20 21
Jason Shiell 17 2 0 1 4.63 23
Chad Fox 17 1 2 3 4.50 19
Rudy Seánez 9 0 1 0 6.23 9
Steve Woodard 7 1 0 0 5.09 12
Robert Person 7 0 0 1 7.71 10
Héctor Almonte 7 0 1 0 8.22 6
Bronson Arroyo 6 0 0 1 2.08 14
Kevin Tolar 6 0 0 0 9.00 3
Bob Howry 4 0 0 0 12.46 4
Matt White 3 0 1 0 27.00 0

Postseason

[edit]

ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics

[edit]
Main article: 2003 American League Division Series

As the AL wild card, the Red Sox entered the first round of the playoffs against the Oakland Athletics. Despite losing the first two games in Oakland, Boston rebounded with two dramatic wins in the late innings at Fenway Park to even the series. When the series returned to Oakland, the Red Sox held off a late Oakland charge to win the series in five games. In doing so, they joined the 1995 Mariners and 1999 Red Sox in coming back from a two-game deficit to win a best-of-five ALDS.

Boston wins the series, 3–2

Game Visitor Score Home Score Date Series
1 (12 innings) Boston 4 Oakland 5 October 1 1–0 (OAK)
2 Boston 1 Oakland 5 October 2 2–0 (OAK)
3 (11 innings) Oakland 1 Boston 3 October 4 2–1 (OAK)
4 Oakland 4 Boston 5 October 5 2–2
5 Boston 4 Oakland 3 October 6 3–2 (BOS)

ALCS vs. New York Yankees

[edit]
Main article: 2003 American League Championship Series

The stage was set for a classic showdown with longtime division rival, the New York Yankees. The teams split the first two games in the Bronx before the real drama unfolded in Game 3 at Fenway Park. A highly anticipated matchup between Sox ace Pedro Martínez and former Sox' pitcher Roger Clemens turned ugly early on. Karim García was hit in the back by a Martínez fastball. Words were exchanged and Martínez threateningly gestured towards Yankee catcher Jorge Posada. When Garcia was forced out at second, he slid hard into Todd Walker. The following inning, Manny Ramírez took exception to a high Clemens pitch and charged the mound. Both benches cleared, but the resulting brawl turned surreal when 72-year-old Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer charged Martínez. Martínez sidestepped and threw Zimmer to the ground. After a thirteen-minute delay, Clemens struck out Ramírez and proceeded to pitch effectively as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead. The Red Sox won Game 4, but the Yankees won Game 5 to take the series' lead back to New York. But Boston proved resilient, and their offense came alive for the first time in the series to the tune of nine runs on sixteen hits to force a seventh game. With a 4–0 lead early on and Martínez pitching, Boston appeared to be on the brink of winning the pennant. But when Martinez started to get tired in the end of the 6th inning, instead of taking him out as he always had in that situation, manager Grady Little not only left him in to finish the inning, but sent him out in the seventh and the eighth. despite allowing several baserunners. Predictably, the Yankees tied the game 5–5 with three eighth-inning runs off Martínez, sending the game on into the October night. Yankee closer Mariano Rivera pitched three scoreless innings, and in the bottom of the eleventh, Aaron Boone turned on the first offering from Tim Wakefield and sent it into the frenzied bleachers of Yankee Stadium, sending the Yankees on to the World Series for the fifth time in six years. This game further cemented the legend many believed was The Curse of the Bambino.

New York wins the series, 4–3

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 2 October 8 Yankee Stadium 56,281[28]
2 Boston Red Sox – 2, New York Yankees – 6 October 9 Yankee Stadium 56,295[29]
3 New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 3 October 11 Fenway Park 34,209[30]
4 New York Yankees – 2, Boston Red Sox – 3 October 13 Fenway Park 34,599[31]
5 New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 2 October 14 Fenway Park 34,619[32]
6 Boston Red Sox – 9, New York Yankees – 6 October 15 Yankee Stadium 56,277[33]
7 Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 6 (11 innings) October 16 Yankee Stadium 56,279[34]

Awards and honors

[edit]
All-Star Game

Farm system

[edit]
See also: Minor League Baseball

The Portland Sea Dogs replaced the Trenton Thunder as the Red Sox' Double-A affiliate. The Red Sox fielded two teams in the Dominican Summer League, while not participating in the Venezuelan Summer League, following the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–03.[35]

Level Team League Manager
AAA Pawtucket Red Sox International League Buddy Bailey
AA Portland Sea Dogs Eastern League Ron Johnson
A-Advanced Sarasota Red Sox Florida State League Tim Leiper
A Augusta GreenJackets South Atlantic League Russ Morman
A-Short Season Lowell Spinners New York–Penn League Jon Deeble and Lynn Jones
Rookie GCL Red Sox Gulf Coast League Ralph Treuel
Rookie DSL Red Sox 1 Dominican Summer League Nelson Paulino
Rookie DSL Red Sox 2 Dominican Summer League  

Source:[36][37][38]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2003 MLB Summary". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  2. ^ "Red Sox announce 2004 Major League coaching staff". Boston Red Sox. January 9, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2017.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "MLB Team Hitting Statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Rousos, Rick (May 28, 2003). "Red Sox Settle $3.15 Million Sex Abuse Lawsuit". The Ledger. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Golenbock, Peter (2015). Red Sox Century: The Rich and Colorful History of the Boston Red Sox (4th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-62937-050-7.
  6. ^ a b c Stout, Glenn; Johnson, Richard A. (2004). Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 454.
  7. ^ Lewis, Michael (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. New York, New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 278.
  8. ^ a b Shpigel, Ben (November 1, 2005). "Red Sox General Manager Ends a Memorable Run". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  9. ^ Brandon Lyon Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  10. ^ Chris Coste Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ^ Wayne Gomes Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ^ Todd Walker Statistics and History - Baseball–Reference.com
  13. ^ Jeremy Giambi Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  14. ^ Ramiro Mendoza Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  15. ^ Bill Mueller Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  16. ^ David Ortiz Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  17. ^ Kevin Millar Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  18. ^ Bill Haselman Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  19. ^ Byung-Hyun Kim Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  20. ^ Gabe Kapler Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com
  21. ^ Scott Sauerbeck Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  22. ^ Chad Fox Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  23. ^ Scott Williamson Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  24. ^ Freddy Sanchez Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  25. ^ Dave McCarty Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  26. ^ Lou Merloni Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com
  27. ^ Nowlin, Bill; Silverman, Matthew (June 28, 2016). Red Sox by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Boston Red Sox by Uniform Number. Sports Publishing. ASIN B01GNC7FQA.
  28. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 1 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  29. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 2 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  30. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 3 – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  31. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 4 – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  32. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 5 – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  33. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 6 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  34. ^ "2003 ALCS Game 7 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  35. ^ Edes, Gordon (April 16, 2003). "Red Sox Notebook". The Boston Globe. p. F3. Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  37. ^ "Red Sox minor league system at a glance". The Boston Globe. February 2, 2003. p. 42. Retrieved March 11, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Boston Red Sox Media Guide. 2003. p. 390. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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