2003_Boston_Red_Sox_season

2003 Boston Red Sox season

Major League Baseball team season

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.

Quick Facts Boston Red Sox, League ...

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.

League

Division

Ballpark

City

Record

95–67 (.586)

Divisional place

2nd (6 GB)

Owners

John W. Henry (New England Sports Ventures)

President

Television

WSBK-TV
(Sean McDonough, Jerry Remy)
NESN
(Don Orsillo, Jerry Remy)

Radio

WEEI
(Jerry Trupiano, Joe Castiglione)
WROL
(Luis Tiant, Uri Berenguer, Juan Pedro Villamán)

Stats

ESPN.com
BB-reference

← 2002

Seasons

2004 →

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

October 9, 2002: Brandon Lyon was selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Toronto Blue Jays.^[9]
November 6, 2002: Chris Coste signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.^[10]
December 6, 2002: Wayne Gomes was released by the Boston Red Sox.^[11]
December 12, 2002: The Red Sox acquired second baseman Todd Walker from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two minor leaguers.^[12]
December 15, 2002: Jeremy Giambi was acquired by the Red Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Josh Hancock.^[13]
December 31, 2002: Ramiro Mendoza signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.^[14]
January 10, 2003: Bill Mueller was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.^[15]
January 22, 2003: David Ortiz was signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.^[16]
February 15, 2003: Kevin Millar was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Florida Marlins.^[17]

Regular season

Season standings

More information W, L ...

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	101	61	0.623	—	50–32	51–29
Boston Red Sox	95	67	0.586	6	53–28	42–39
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	0.531	15	41–40	45–36
Baltimore Orioles	71	91	0.438	30	40–40	31–51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	63	99	0.389	38	36–45	27–54

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ANA ...

2003 American League record v t e Sources:
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

More information Team, NL Central ...

Red Sox vs. National League
Team	NL Central
Team	CHC	CIN	HOU	MIL	PIT	STL	FLA	PHI
Boston	—	—	3–0	2–1	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–2

Notable transactions

April 11, 2003: Bill Haselman signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.^[18]
May 29, 2003: Byung-Hyun Kim was acquired by the Red Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Shea Hillenbrand.^[19]
June 28, 2003: Gabe Kapler was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Colorado Rockies.^[20]
July 22, 2003: Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Gonzalez were acquired by the Red Sox from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martínez.^[21]
July 30, 2003: Chad Fox was released by the Red Sox.^[22] Scott Williamson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Cincinnati Reds.^[23]
July 31, 2003: Freddy Sanchez and Mike Gonzalez were traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jeff Suppan. The Red Sox also re-acquired Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martínez.^[24]
August 4, 2003: David McCarty was acquired off waivers by the Red Sox from the Oakland Athletics.^[25]
August 28, 2003: Lou Merloni was acquired by the Red Sox from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league pitcher Rene Miniel.^[26]

Opening Day lineup

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

2003 Boston Red Sox

Roster

Pitchers

59 Héctor Almonte
61 Bronson Arroyo
19 John Burkett
52 Bruce Chen
43 Alan Embree
23 Casey Fossum
44 Chad Fox
46 Bob Howry
59 Todd Jones
51 Byung-hyun Kim
32 Derek Lowe
38 Brandon Lyon
45 Pedro Martínez
55,26 Ramiro Mendoza
31 Robert Person
30 Ryan Rupe
47 Scott Sauerbeck
17 Rudy Seánez
57 Jason Shiell
37 Jeff Suppan
50 Mike Timlin
51 Kevin Tolar
49 Tim Wakefield
59 Matt White
48 Scott Williamson
47 Steve Woodard

Catchers

44 Bill Haselman
28 Doug Mirabelli
33 Jason Varitek

Infielders

53 Andy Abad
16 Lou Collier
5 Nomar Garciaparra
29 Shea Hillenbrand
2 Damian Jackson
13 Lou Merloni
15 Kevin Millar
11 Bill Mueller
26 Freddy Sanchez
12 Todd Walker

Outfielders

17 Adrian Brown
18 Johnny Damon
29 Gabe Kapler
10 David McCarty
7 Trot Nixon
24 Manny Ramirez

Designated hitters

25 Jeremy Giambi
34 David Ortiz

Manager

3 Grady Little

Coaches

40 Tony Cloninger (Pitching)
39 Mike Cubbage (Third base)
35 Goose Gregson (Interim pitching)^[27]
22 Ron Jackson (Hitting)
60 Dana LeVangie (Bullpen catcher)
41 Jerry Narron (Bench)
54 Euclides Rojas (Bullpen)
17 Dave Wallace (Pitching)
20 Dallas Williams (First base)

Game log

More information #, Date ...

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					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					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

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

More information Pos, Player ...

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

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

More information Player, G ...

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

Starting pitchers

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

More information Player, G ...

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

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

More information Player, G ...

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

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

More information Player, G ...

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

ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics

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

More information Game, Visitor ...

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

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

More information Game, Score ...

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

Bill Mueller, Silver Slugger Award (3B)
Manny Ramirez, Silver Slugger Award (OF)

All-Star Game

Nomar Garciaparra, reserve SS
Manny Ramirez, starting OF (did not attend)
Jason Varitek, reserve C (fan vote selection)

Farm system

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

References

Season standings: American League East Standings on ESPN.com
Game logs: Boston Red Sox Game Log on baseball-reference.com
Batting Statistics: Boston Red Sox Batting Stats on ESPN.com
Pitching Statistics: Boston Red Sox Pitching Stats on ESPN.com

[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]
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]
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.

External links

2003 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
2003 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
2003 Boston Red Sox Draft Selections
2003 Boston Red Sox Division Series Magazine

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 2003_Boston_Red_Sox_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

2003_Boston_Red_Sox_season

The Search for a new General Manager

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

Opening Day lineup

Roster

Game log

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Other batters

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Postseason

ALDS vs. Oakland Athletics

ALCS vs. New York Yankees

Awards and honors

Farm system

References

Further reading

External links

Share this article: