1902 Major League Baseball season
The 1902 major league baseball season was contested from April 17 through October 5, 1902. It was the second season for the American League, with the Philadelphia Athletics winning the AL pennant. In the National League, in operation since 1876, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the [List of National League (baseball)|National League pennant winners|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
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 season. This format would last until, 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
Sunday games
Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing several teams to play at ballparks in a different locality.| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Games played |
| Cleveland Bronchos | Dayton, Ohio | Fairview Park | Unknown | 1 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | Fort Wayne, Indiana | Jail Flats | Unknown | 2 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | Canton, Ohio | Mahaffey Park | Unknown | 1 |
| Cleveland Bronchos | Columbus, Ohio | Neil Park | 6,000 | 1 |
| Detroit Tigers | Springwells Township, Michigan | Burns Park | 3,700 | 10 |
Standings
Tie games
23 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind, 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
League leaders
Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.Across both leagues, Sammy Strang tied as a leader in runs at 109.
American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Nap Lajoie | .378 |
| OPS | Ed Delahanty | 1.043 |
| HR | Socks Seybold | 16 |
| RBI | Buck Freeman | 121 |
| R | Topsy Hartsel Dave Fultz | 109 |
| H | Charlie Hickman | 193 |
| SB | Topsy Hartsel | 47 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Cy Young | 32 |
| L | Bill Dinneen | 21 |
| ERA | Ed Siever | 1.91 |
| K | Rube Waddell | 210 |
| IP | Cy Young | 384.2 |
| SV | Jack Powell | 2 |
| WHIP | Bill Bernhard | 0.942 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ginger Beaumont | .357 |
| OPS | Honus Wagner | .857 |
| HR | Tommy Leach | 6 |
| RBI | Honus Wagner | 91 |
| R | Honus Wagner | 105 |
| H | Ginger Beaumont | 193 |
| SB | Honus Wagner | 42 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jack Chesbro | 28 |
| L | Stan Yerkes | 21 |
| ERA | Jack Taylor | 1.29 |
| K | Vic Willis | 225 |
| IP | Vic Willis | 410.0 |
| SV | Vic Willis | 3 |
| WHIP | Jack Taylor | 0.953 |
Milestones
Pitchers
No-hitters
- Nixey Callahan :
- *Callahan threw his first career no-hitter and the first no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Detroit Tigers 3-0 in game 1 of a doubleheader on September 20. Fraser walked two and struck out two.
Miscellaneous
- Dummy Hoy / Dummy Taylor :
- *Hoy bats against Taylor on May 16, becoming the first deaf matchup in major league history.
- Cleveland Bronchos:
- *Set a major league record in a game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 2, committing 6 errors in a single inning.
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 before again relocating to Baltimore, Maryland where they remain to this day as the Baltimore Orioles.The Cincinnati Reds leave League Park and move to the Palace of the Fans, where they would go on to play for ten seasons through.
Regarding games that were rescheduled to Sunday, and existing blue laws, the Cleveland Bronchos play five games across four parks:
- Fairview Park in Dayton, Ohio.
- Jail Flats in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- Mahaffey Park in Canton, Ohio.
- Neil Park in Columbus, Ohio.