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 (6 GB)
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
BB-reference
Seasons

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

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

Regular season

Season standings

AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10161 0.623 — 50–32 51–29
Boston Red Sox 9567 0.586 6 53–28 42–39
Toronto Blue Jays 8676 0.531 15 41–40 45–36
Baltimore Orioles 7191 0.438 30 40–40 31–51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6399 0.389 38 36–45 27–54

Record vs. opponents

2003 American League record

Sources:
Team ANA BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Anaheim —1–83–63–46–36–16–35–43–68–128–116–39–102–711–7
Baltimore 8–1—9–102–43–33–33–43–46–13–12–74–58–117–28–115–13
Boston 6–310–9—5–44–28–15–12–49–103–45–212–75–410–911–7
Chicago 4–34–24–5—11–811–811–89–104–24–52–73–33–46–310–8
Cleveland 3–63–32–48–11—12–76–139–102–53–63–65–24–52–46–12
Detroit 1–63–31–88–117–12—5–144–151–53–61–82–41–62–74–14
Kansas City 3–64–31–58–1113–614–5—11–82–42–74–54–37–21–59–9
Minnesota 4–54–34–210–910–915–48–11—0–78–13–66–05–43–310–8
New York 6–313–6–110–92–45–25–14–27–0—3–65–414–54–510–913–5
Oakland 12–87–24–35–46–36–37–21–86–3—7–126–315–45–29–9
Seattle 11–85–42–57–26–38–15–46–34–512–7—4–510–103–410–8
Tampa Bay 3–611–87–123–32–54–23–40–65–143–65–4—3–611–83–15
Texas 10–92–74–54–35–46–12–74–55–44–1510–106–3—5–44–14
Toronto 7–211–89–103–64–27–25–13–39–102–54–38–114–5—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

Opening Day lineup

18Johnny DamonCF
12Todd Walker2B
  5Nomar Garciaparra    SS
24Manny RamírezLF
15Kevin Millar1B
29Shea Hillenbrand3B
25Jeremy GiambiDH
  7Trot NixonRF
33Jason VaritekC
45Pedro MartínezP

Roster

2003 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Designated hitters

 Manager

Coaches

Game log

2003 Game Log
March (0-1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1March 31@Devil Rays6–4McClung (1–0)Fox (0–1)—34,3910–1
April (18-8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
2April 1@Devil Rays9–8 16Lyon (1–0)Sosa (0–1)—11,5241–1
3April 2@Devil Rays7–5Lowe (1–0)Parque (0–1)Fox (1)10,0582–1
4April 3@Devil Rays14–5Fossum (1–0)Bierbrodt (0–1)—12,1103–1
5April 4@Orioles8–7Burkett (1–0)Ponson (0–1)—27,2564–1
6April 5@Orioles2–1Ryan (2–0)Fox (0–2)—41,8214–2
7April 6@Orioles12–2Wakefield (1–0)López (0–1)—30,0465–2
8April 8@Blue Jays8–4Hendrickson (1–1)Lowe (1–1)—13,1475–3
9April 9@Blue Jays10–5Sturtze (2–0)Fossum (1–1)—13,0995–4
10April 10@Blue Jays8–7Timlin (1–0)Politte (0–1)—13,7796–4
–April 11OriolesPostponed6–4
–April 12OriolesPostponed6–4
11April 12Orioles13–6Johnson (1–0)Martínez (1–1)—32,0296–5
12April 13Orioles2–0Lowe (2–1)López (0–2)Wakefield (1)32,3687–5
13April 15Devil Rays6–5Timlin (2–0)Levine (1–1)—29,6178–5
14April 16Devil Rays6–4Fox (1–2)Carter (3–1)Lyon (1)26,6889–5
15April 17Devil Rays6–0Martínez (1–1)Kennedy (0–1)—30,90910–5
16April 18Blue Jays7–3Wakefield (2–0)Tam (0–1)—19,54511–5
17April 19Blue Jays7–2Derek Lowe (3–1)Sturtze (2–1)—32,32912–5
18April 20Blue Jays6–5Timlin (3–0)Politte (0–2)—29,57913–5
19April 21Blue Jays11–6Lidle (3–2)Burkett (1–1)—34,37013–6
20April 22@Rangers5–4Martínez (2–1)Park (1–3)Fox (2)20,15814–6
21April 23@Rangers6–1Thomson (1–2)Wakefield (2–1)—20,04214–7
22April 24@Rangers16–5Dickey (1–1)Lowe (3–2)—21,06314–8
23April 25@Angels5–2Fossum (2–1)Washburn (1–3)Fox (3)37,20315–8
24April 26@Angels3–1Shields (1–0)Burkett (1–2)Percival (3)43,51415–9
25April 27@Angels6–4 14Mendoza (1–0)Callaway (1–3)Shiell (1)43,69016–9
26April 29Royals7–2Wakefield (3–1)George (3–2)—40,34817–9
27April 30Royals5–4Embree (1–0)MacDougal (1–2)—31,33418–9
May (13-14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
28May 1Royals6–5Shiell (1–0)Grimsley (1–2)Lyon (2)31,95019–9
29May 2Twins11–7Santana (1–0)Mendoza (1–1)—31,31719–10
30May 3Twins9–1Martínez (3–1)Fiore (1–1)—33,06120–10
31May 4Twins9–4Rogers (4–1)Timlin (3–1)—32,88720–11
32May 5@ Royals7–6Lopez (4–0)Lyon (1–1)—21,23220–12
33May 6@ Royals7–3Fossum (3–1)Affeldt (2–1)—15,84821–12
34May 7@ Royals9–6Woodard (1–0)Lopez (4–1)Lyon (3)28,26822–12
35May 9@ Twins5–0Santana (2–0)Martínez (3–2)—28,43622–13
36May 10@ Twins6–5Wakefield (4–1)Rincón (1–1)Lyon (4)26,34623–13
37May 11@ Twins9–8Radke (4–3)Lowe (3–3)Guardado (8)15,64123–14
38May 13Rangers5–4Embree (2–0)Cordero (1–4)Lyon (5)31,95624–14
39May 14Rangers7–1Fossum (4–1)Benoit (1–1)—32,48525–14
40May 15Rangers12–3Martínez (4–2)Benes (0–2)—33,80126–14
41May 16Angels6–5Rodríguez (4–1)Embree (2–1)Percival (6)33,17026–15
42May 17Angels6–2Washburn (4–4)Timlin (3–2)Percival (7)33,32726–16
43May 18Angels5–3Burkett (2–2)Lackey (2–4)Person (1)33,34727–16
44May 19Yankees7–3Wells (6–1)Fossum (4–2)—35,09927–17
45May 20Yankees10–7Embree (3–1)Contreras (1–1)Lyon (6)35,00728–17
46May 21Yankees4–2Clemens (6–2)Wakefield (4–2)Rivera (4)35,00328–18
47May 23Indians9–2Lowe (4–3)Rodríguez (2–5)—32,67329–18
48May 24Indians12–3Burkett (3–2)Anderson (2–5)—32,64330–18
49May 25Indians6–4Davis (4–4)Fossum (4–3)Báez (9)34,31830–19
50May 26@ Yankees8–4Wakefield (5–2)Clemens (6–3)—55,09331–19
51May 27@ Yankees11–3Pettitte (5–5)Chen (0–1)—44,76931–20
52May 28@ Yankees6–5Rivera (1–0)Lyon (1–2)—44,61731–21
53May 30@ Blue Jays13–2Davis (3–3)Burkett (3–3)—21,38131–22
54May 31@ Blue Jays10–7Sturtze (5–4)Fossum (4–4)Politte (9)28,80931–23
June (16-10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
55June 1@ Blue Jays11–8Halladay (7–2)White (0–1)—26,89031–24
–June 3@ PiratesPostponed31–24
56June 4@ Pirates11–4Kim (2–5)Benson (5–6)—N/A32–24
57June 4@ Pirates8–3Lowe (5–3)D'Amico (4–6)—27,76933–24
58June 5@ Pirates5–4Boehringer (3–1)Mendoza (1–2)Williams (16)33,37233–25
59June 6@ Brewers9–3Durocher (2–0)Almonte (0–1)—20,19533–26
60June 7@ Brewers11–10Lyon (2–2)DeJean (2–4)Timlin (1)34,24234–26
61June 8@ Brewers9–1Lowe (6–3)Rusch (1–9)—20,78435–26
62June 10Cardinals9–7Kline (3–4)Lyon (2–3)Eldred (8)34,93735–27
63June 11Cardinals13–1Burkett (4–3)Tomko (2–5)—33,45336–27
64June 12Cardinals8–7 13Yan (2–1)Mendoza (1–3)—34,38936–28
65June 13Astros4–3Rupe (1–0)Stone (4–2)Lyon (7)33,24437–28
66June 14Astros8–4Lowe (7–3)Redding (4–5)—34,56238–28
67June 15Astros3–2 14Shiell (2–0)Bland (1–2)—34,08539–28
68June 16@ White Sox4–2Buehrle (3–10)Rupe (1–1)Gordon (1)30,77939–29
69June 17@ White Sox7–4Burkett (5–3)Colón (6–7)Lyon (8)19,88740–29
70June 18@ White Sox3–1Loaiza (10–2)Wakefield (5–3)Koch (9)18,70840–30
71June 19@ White Sox4–3 10Lyon (3–3)Koch (2–3)—17,22541–30
--June 20@ PhilliesPostponed41–30
72June 21@ Phillies6–5 13Mesa (3–4)Seánez (0–1)—35,51241–31
73June 22@ Phillies5–0Myers (6–6)Kim (2–6)—60,96041–32
74June 23Tigers3–1Wakefield (6–3)Bonderman (2–11)Timlin (2)33,81442–32
75June 24Tigers10–1Lowe (8–3)Cornejo (3–6)—33,84843–32
76June 25Tigers11–2Burkett (6–3)Maroth (2–12)—33,58744–32
77June 26Tigers6–4Martínez (5–2)Roney (0–2)Lyon (9)34,41545–32
78June 27Marlins25–8Kim (3–6)Pavano (6–9)—34,76446–32
79June 28Marlins10–9Bump (1–0)Lyon (3–4)Looper (14)34,80446–33
80June 29Marlins11–7Lowe (9–3)Penny (6–6)—34,47647–33
July (16-11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1@ Devil Rays4–3 11Carter (5–3)Lyon (3–5)—12,12247–34
82July 2@ Devil Rays5–4Martínez (6–2)Colomé (1–4)Kim (1)14,34548–34
83July 3@ Devil Rays6–5 10Harper (1–4)Timlin (3–3)—12,83848–35
84July 4@ Yankees10–3Lowe (10–3)Wells (10–3)—55,14449–35
85July 5@ Yankees10–2Mendoza (2–3)Clemens (8–6)—54,94850–35
86July 6@ Yankees7–1Pettitte (10–6)Burkett (6–4)—54,91850–36
87July 7@ Yankees2–1Rivera (3–0)Kim (3–7)—55,01650–37
88July 8@ Blue Jays2–1 12Jones (2–4)Tam (0–3)Kim (2)20,02251–37
89July 9@ Blue Jays8–7Lyon (4–5)Tam (0–4)Kim (3)23,55152–37
90July 10@ Blue Jays7–1Mendoza (3–3)Lidle (10–8)—20,11353–37
91July 11@ Tigers5–3Burkett (7–4)Maroth (4–13)Kim (4)26,53854–37
92July 12@ Tigers4–2 11Jones (3–4)Rodney (0–1)Kim (5)23,20655–37
93July 13@ Tigers3–0Ledezma (3–2)Wakefield (6–4)Mears (4)23,82955–38
94July 17Blue Jays5–2Halladay (14–2)Lowe (10–4)—34,52155–39
95July 18Blue Jays4–1Escobar (6–6)Wakefield (6–5)Miller (1)34,13655–40
96July 19Blue Jays5–4 10Kim (4–7)López (1–3)—34,81256–40
97July 20Blue Jays9–4Martínez (7–2)Wasdin (0–1)—34,32157–40
98July 21Tigers14–5Burkett (8–4)Bonderman (3–14)Fossum (1)33,82358–40
99July 22Tigers7–4Lowe (11–4)Maroth (5–14)—33,57059–40
100July 23Devil Rays10–4Wakefield (7–5)Harper (1–6)—33,44660–40
101July 24Devil Rays15–9Zambrano (7–5)Mendoza (3–4)—33,52160–41
102July 25Yankees4–3Rivera (5–0)Kim (4–8)—34,87360–42
103July 26Yankees5–4Kim (5–8)Benítez (3–4)—34,35661–42
104July 27Yankees6–4Fossum (5–4)Hammond (2–1)Kim (6)34,78762–42
105July 29@ Rangers14–7Wakefield (8–5)García (1–1)—24,63263–42
106July 30@ Rangers9–2Ellis (1–1)Mendoza (3–5)—25,35463–43
107July 31@ Rangers7–3 11Ramirez (2–0)Jones (3–5)—27,10863–44
August (15-14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
108August 1@ Orioles2–1Hentgen (4–5)Burkett (8–5)Julio (25)41,18863–45
109August 2@ Orioles11–2Lopez (4–6)Lowe (11–5)—49,33463–46
110August 3@ Orioles7–5Wakefield (9–5)Helling (6–8)Kim (7)42,08564–46
111August 5Angels10–9Timlin (4–3)Donnelly (2–2)Kim (8)34,67865–46
112August 6Angels4–2Martínez (8–2)Sele (6–9)—35,04066–46
113August 7Angels9–3Burkett (9–5)Ortiz (13–9)—34,57067–46
114August 8Orioles10–4Helling (7–8)Lowe (11–6)—35,09967–47
115August 8Orioles4–2DuBose (1–1)Fossum (5–5)Julio (28)34,59567–48
116August 9Orioles6–4Embree (4–1)Driskill (3–5)Kim (9)34,88368–48
117August 10Orioles5–3Johnson (10–5)Suppan (10–8)Julio (29)34,23968–49
118August 11@ Athletics4–0Hudson (11–4)Martínez (8–3)—33,50468–50
119August 12@ Athletics5–3Zito (9–10)Burkett (9–6)Foulke (30)26,82368–51
120August 13@ Athletics7–3Lowe (12–6)Mulder (15–9)—44,86869–51
121August 14@ Athletics4–2 10Kim (6–8)Mecir (2–2)—37,29370–51
122August 15@ Mariners10–5Mateo (4–0)Timlin (4–4)Hasegawa (12)46,17170–52
123August 16@ Mariners5–1Martínez (9–3)Piñeiro (13–8)—46,10071–52
124August 17@ Mariners3–1García (11–12)Burkett (9–7)Hasegawa (13)46,10571–53
125August 19Athletics3–2Rincón (7–4)Williamson (5–4)Foulke (33)34,87971–54
126August 20Athletics8–6Bradford (7–3)Kim (6–9)Foulke (34)34,79871–55
127August 21Athletics14–5Fossum (6–5)Harden (3–3)—34,84472–55
128August 22Mariners6–4Suppan (11–8)Piñeiro (13–9)Kim (10)34,37973–55
129August 23Mariners7–6 10Timlin (5–4)Sasaki (1–2)—34,48874–55
130August 24Mariners6–1Lowe (13–6)Franklin (9–11)—34,34475–55
131August 25Mariners8–1Martínez (10–3)Meche (13–10)Arroyo (1)33,00776–55
132August 26Blue Jays12–9Towers (4–1)Sauerbeck (3–5)López (7)33,73176–56
133August 27Blue Jays6–3Timlin (6–4)Halladay (17–6)Kim (11)34,20677–56
134August 29Yankees10–5Lowe (14–6)Contreras (4–2)—34,85478–56
135August 30Yankees10–7Pettitte (17–7)Martínez (10–4)Rivera (30)34,35078–57
136August 31Yankees8–4Clemens (13–8)Wakefield (9–6)Rivera (31)34,48278–58
September (17-9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1@ Phillies13–9Kim (7–9)Mesa (5–7)—61,06879–58
138September 2@ White Sox2–1Burkett (10–7)Colón (12–12)Kim (12)23,94380–58
139September 3@ White Sox5–4 10Kim (8–9)Gordon (6–6)—20,08281–58
140September 5@ Yankees9–3Martínez (11–4)Pettitte (17–8)—55,26182–58
141September 6@ Yankees12–0Wakefield (10–6)Clemens (13–9)—55,23783–58
142September 7@ Yankees3–1Wells (13–6)Suppan (11–9)Rivera (33)55,21283–59
143September 8@ Orioles13–10Ligtenberg (2–2)Kim (8–10)—23,27683–60
144September 9@ Orioles9–2Lowe (15–6)Moss (10–11)—25,26584–60
145September 10@ Orioles5–0Martínez (12–4)Johnson (10–7)—25,14385–60
146September 12White Sox7–4Suppan (12–9)Wright (1–6)Kim (13)34,89086–60
147September 13White Sox3–1Colón (14–12)Wakefield (10–7)—34,41486–61
148September 14White Sox7–2Buehrle (13–13)Burkett (10–8)Marte (11)34,17486–62
149September 15Devil Rays8–2Lowe (16–6)Sosa (5–11)—33,38987–62
150September 16Devil Rays3–2Martínez (13–4)Harper (4–8)—33,61888–62
151September 17Devil Rays7–0Zambrano (11–9)Suppan (12–10)—33,80688–63
152September 18Devil Rays4–3Wakefield (11–7)Bell (4–4)Kim (14)34,04289–63
153September 19@ Indians2–0Burkett (11–8)Stanford (0–3)Embree (1)20,37490–63
154September 20@ Indians13–4Dave Lee (1–0)Lowe (16–7)—23,24290–64
155September 21@ Indians2–0Martínez (14–4)Cliff Lee (3–2)Kim (15)27,65591–64
156September 22Orioles7–5Suppan (13–10)Johnson (10–9)Kim (16)33,82192–64
157September 23Orioles6–5 10Kim (9–10)Ainsworth (5–5)—33,72393–64
158September 24Orioles7–3Hentgen (7–8)Burkett (11–9)—34,60793–65
159September 25Orioles14–3Lowe (17–7)Daal (4–11)—34,52694–65
160September 26@ Devil Rays7–2Burkett (12–9)González (6–11)—21,24095–65
161September 27@ Devil Rays5–4Gaudin (2–0)Suppan (13–11)Carter (25)25,63595–66
162September 28@ Devil Rays3–1Zambrano (12–10)Lyon (4–6)Carter (26)24,13895–67

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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
CJason Varitek142451123.2732585
1BKevin Millar148544150.2762596
2BTodd Walker144587166.2831385
SSNomar Garciaparra156658198.30128105
3BBill Mueller146524171.3261985
LFManny Ramirez154569185.32537104
CFJohnny Damon145608166.2731267
RFTrot Nixon134441135.3062887
DHDavid Ortiz128448129.28831101

Other batters

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 Hillenbrand4918556.303338
Doug Mirabelli6216342.258618
Damian Jackson10916142.261113
Gabe Kapler6815846.291423
Jeremy Giambi5012725.197515
Freddy Sanchez20348.23502
Lou Merloni15307.23301
Dave McCarty162711.40716
Andy Abad9172.11800
Adrian Brown9153.20001
Bill Haselman430.00000
Lou Collier410.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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 Lowe33203.11774.47110
Tim Wakefield35202.11154.09169
Pedro Martinez29186.21442.22206
John Burkett32181.21295.15107
Casey Fossum1979.0655.4763
Jeff Suppan1163.0345.5732

Other pitchers

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 Chen512.1015.1112
Ryan Rupe410.0116.307

Relief pitchers

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 Kim4985163.1869
Mike Timlin726423.5565
Alan Embree654114.2545
Ramiro Mendoza373506.7536
Brandon Lyon374694.1250
Todd Jones262105.5231
Scott Sauerbeck260106.4818
Scott Williamson240106.2021
Jason Shiell172014.6323
Chad Fox171234.5019
Rudy Seánez90106.239
Steve Woodard71005.0912
Robert Person70017.7110
Héctor Almonte70108.226
Bronson Arroyo60012.0814
Kevin Tolar60009.003
Bob Howry400012.464
Matt White301027.000

Postseason

ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics

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)Boston4Oakland5October 11–0 (OAK)
2Boston1Oakland5October 22–0 (OAK)
3 (11 innings)Oakland1Boston3October 42–1 (OAK)
4Oakland4Boston5October 52–2
5Boston4Oakland3October 63–2 (BOS)

ALCS vs. New York Yankees

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

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 2October 8Yankee Stadium56,281[28]
2Boston Red Sox – 2, New York Yankees – 6October 9Yankee Stadium56,295[29]
3New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 3October 11Fenway Park34,209[30]
4New York Yankees – 2, Boston Red Sox – 3October 13Fenway Park34,599[31]
5New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 2October 14Fenway Park34,619[32]
6Boston Red Sox – 9, New York Yankees – 6October 15Yankee Stadium56,277[33]
7Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 6 (11 innings)October 16Yankee Stadium56,279[34]

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

Farm system

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

  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.
  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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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

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