The 1904 major league baseball season was contested from April 14 to October 10, 1904. The Boston Americans and New York Giants finished atop the standings for the American League and National League, respectively. There was no postseason: with still no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues, the Giants declined to meet the Americans in the 1904 World Series. Going into the season, the Americans were the defending World Series from the season.
The St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers played 11 consecutive games against each other in SeptemberâÂÂthe first six in Detroit and the final five in St. LouisâÂÂthe most games played consecutively between two teams in major league history. The Chicago White Stockings shortened their name to the Chicago White Sox.
The 1904 schedule consisted of 154 games (an increase from 140 from the previous season) for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This format was an adjustment to the 140-game, 20-games-each format that had been in place from the season. This format would last until .
Opening Day took place on April 14 with all but the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals playing. The National League and American League would see their final day of the regular season on October 9 & 10, respectively.
Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing the New York Highlanders, in a rescheduled game, to play at a ballpark in a different locality.
29 tie games (18 in AL, 11 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.
No postseason was held this year. With still no formal arrangement in place between the two leagues regarding the staging of the World Series, the New York Giants refused to play against the Boston Americans or any other team from what they considered an inferior league.
Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
<sup>1</sup> Modern (1901âÂÂpresent) single-season wins record
The Washington Senators leave American League Park (where they played three seasons) and move into a new American League Park, where they would go on to play seven seasons through .
The New York Highlanders play one game at Wiedenmeyer's Park in Newark, New Jersey on Sunday, July 17, as a makeup between them and the Detroit Tigers and to avoid New York City's blue laws.