The end of the curse. An absolute shocker of a season, ends the 86 year drought of the Boston Red Sox, starting with a 3-0 comeback in the ALCS. This would catapult the Boston Red Sox into arguably the best franchise of the 21st century, claiming 4 World Series championships in the past two decades. Here is a look at 3 cool stats of the 2004 Major League Baseball season.
1.) Scott Podsednik, Milwaukee Brewers: 70 Stolen Bases
All three of these stats will be based on players with extreme speed, and Podsednik sure could fly. The 28-year old Scott Podsednik swiped 70 bags, something that has rarely been exceeded since. He also was only caught 13 times, which shows that he was still selective. The season after, Scott was caught 23 times, and the season after that he was thrown out 19 times. His 70-steal season was actually the biggest outlier, as we finished his career stealing 309 bags, and being caught 104 times!
2.) Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 19 Triples
Since the year 2000, only a small handful of players have exceeded what Crawford was able to accomplish in 2004. The speedy outfielder was known for his ability to find gaps and steal bases, and he managed to do so for several different franchises. Truthfully, triples occurred much more frequently in the late 1800s and early 1900’s, so having someone manage to put up 19 is truly impressive. Crawford finished his career with 123 triples, nearly matching his home run mark of 136, which is unheard of in present day.
3.) Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners: 262 Hits
Ichiro has had a lot of success and records in his career and is undoubtably a Hall of Famer in 2025. No record has been more impressive than what he accomplished in 2004, breaking George Sisler’s single season hits record with 262. After being a superstar in Japan, Ichiro managed to come to the states and never missed a beat. Suzuki had at least 212 hits in each of his first 10 seasons, and his batting average never dipped below .300. His record of 262 hits has not been approached, with the next closest active MLB player, Jose Altuve, reaching just 225.
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