| 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 | American League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston | |
| Record | 95–67 (.586) | |
| Divisional place | 2nd | |
| Owners | John W. Henry (New England Sports Ventures) | |
| President | Larry Lucchino | |
| General manager | Theo Epstein | |
| Manager | Grady Little | |
| 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 Baseball Reference | |
| ||
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.
- ^ "2003 MLB Summary". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ "Red Sox announce 2004 Major League coaching staff". Boston Red Sox. January 9, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2017.[dead link]
- ^ "MLB Team Hitting Statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Rousos, Rick (May 28, 2003). "Red Sox Settle $3.15 Million Sex Abuse Lawsuit". The Ledger. Retrieved September 29, 2021.