Year In Review : 1904 National League
Off the field...
The first section of the New York Subway system was opened between City Hall and 145th Street. The original system consisted of twenty-eight stations along 9.1 miles of track with the IRT extending to the Bronx in 1905, Brooklyn in 1908 and Queens in 1915. Since then, it has expanded to over two-hundred thirty miles of routes and over four-hundred miles of single track.
In the American League...
On May 11th, Sam Crawford of the Detroit Tigers broke Boston Red Sox ace Cy Young's consecutive streak of no-hit innings at 24 1/3 (seventy-six batters without a hit) after managing a one-out single en route to a 1-0 victory.
Boston Americans (Red Sox) shortstop Bill O'Neill set an unwanted Major League record and became the only player in the twentieth century to record six errors during a thirteen-inning, 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Browns.
After pitching a record setting season with forty-one wins and four-hundred fifty-four innings in fifty-five games, New York Highlanders (Yankees) ace Jack Chesbro "crashed and burned" after losing control of a spitball that sailed over his catcher's head and allowed the American League pennant losing run to score from third.
In the National League...
New York Giants' Dan McGann stole five bases on May 27th during 3-1 win over the cross-town rival Brooklyn Dodgers. The record stood for seventy years until Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers matched the mark in August of 1974. Atlanta Braves outfielder Otis Nixon eventually topped the feat with six steals (against the Montreal Expos) in 1991.
Frank Chance of the Chicago Cubs set a painful Major League mark after being hit four times in one day during a May 30th double header against the Cincinnati Reds. In the first game, "The Peerless Leader " actually lost consciousness after being tagged in the head by Jack Harper.
In October, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Taylor tossed his thirty-ninth consecutive complete game of the season setting a modern Major League record. The streak started on April 15th and finished with an astounding three-hundred fifty-two innings pitched.
Around the league...
John T. Brush, president of the National League champion New York Giants, refused to play the returning American League champion Boston Americans. He was quoted as stating that he refused to compete with a "representative of the inferior American League". Surprisingly, Brush regretted the decision and later that year proposed to continue with the series as originally conceived. His about-face spawned the "Brush Rules," a set of guidelines relating to the on-field play and off-field finances of the World Series, which exists to this day.
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