2003 Boston Red Sox 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.

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
Seasons

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. They also had 649 extra-base hits, the most ever by one team in a single season.

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.

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.

On November 10, 2002, Oakland Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane, accepted an offer to become the new general manager of the Red Sox. 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. 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. 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.

On November 25, 2002, Theo Epstein, 28, was hired as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Epstein's hiring made him the youngest general manager in major league history.

Offseason

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

Regular season

Season standings

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	101	61	.623	—	50‍–‍32	51‍–‍29
Boston Red Sox	95	67	.586	6	53‍–‍28	42‍–‍39
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	.531	15	41‍–‍40	45‍–‍36
Baltimore Orioles	71	91	.438	30	40‍–‍40	31‍–‍51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	63	99	.389	38	36‍–‍45	27‍–‍54

Record vs. opponents

2003 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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

Red Sox vs. National League

Team	NL Central
	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.
• May 29, 2003: Byung-Hyun Kim was acquired by the Red Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Shea Hillenbrand.
• June 28, 2003: Gabe Kapler was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Colorado Rockies.
• 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.
• July 30, 2003: Chad Fox was released by the Red Sox. Scott Williamson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Cincinnati Reds.
• 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.
• August 4, 2003: David McCarty was acquired off waivers by the Red Sox from the Oakland Athletics.
• August 28, 2003: Lou Merloni was acquired by the Red Sox from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league pitcher Rene Miniel.

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) 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

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 (makeup date: June 4 as part of a doubleheader) 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 (makeup date: September 1) 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 2	October 8	Yankee Stadium	56,281
2	Boston Red Sox – 2, New York Yankees – 6	October 9	Yankee Stadium	56,295
3	New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 3	October 11	Fenway Park	34,209
4	New York Yankees – 2, Boston Red Sox – 3	October 13	Fenway Park	34,599
5	New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 2	October 14	Fenway Park	34,619
6	Boston Red Sox – 9, New York Yankees – 6	October 15	Yankee Stadium	56,277
7	Boston Red Sox – 5, New York Yankees – 6 (11 innings)	October 16	Yankee Stadium	56,279

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

See also: Minor League Baseball

The Portland Sea Dogs replaced the Trenton Thunder as the Red Sox' Double-A affiliate. The Red Sox fielded two teams in the Dominican Summer League, while not participating in the Venezuelan Summer League, following the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–03.

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

Source:

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

Further reading

• Dunne, James (June 30, 2020). "2003 Draft Retrospective: The picks". SoxProspects.com. Retrieved June 30, 2020.

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