Headline events of the year The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since , ending the Curse of the Bambino. With 262 hits, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners breaks George Sisler's record of 257. Suzuki also sets the record for most singles in a season, with 225. 2004 also marked the final year of the Montreal Expos, who relocated at season's end to Washington, D.C. and become known as the Washington Nationals. For the first time in Japanese professional baseball history, players in Nippon Professional Baseball went on strike for two days because of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions World Series Champion – Boston Red Sox Postseason – October 4 to October 27 Click on any series score to link to that series' page. Higher seed has home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series. American League has home field advantage during World Series as a result of American League victory in 2004 All-Star Game. American/National League is seeded 1-3/2-4 as a result of A/NL regular season champion (New York Yankees)/(St. Louis Cardinals) and A/NL wild card (Boston Red Sox)(Houston Astros) coming from the same division. Postseason MVPs World Series MVP – Manny Ramírez ALCS MVP – David Ortiz NLCS MVP – Albert Pujols All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP Home Run Derby, July 12 – Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles Other champions Caribbean Series: Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic) College World Series: Cal State-Fullerton Cuban National Series: Industriales def. Villa Clara Japan Series: Seibu Lions over Chunichi Dragons (4-3) Korean Series: Hyundai Unicorns over Samsung Lions Big League World Series: District 1 - Easley, South Carolina Junior League World Series: Palma Ceia/Bayshore LL - Tampa, Florida Little League World Series: Pabao, Willemstad, Curaçao Senior League World Series: Freehold Township LL - Freehold Township, New Jersey Summer Olympic Games at Athens, Greece: Cuba (Gold), Australia (Silver), Japan (Bronze) European Cup: Neptunus (Netherlands) over Fortitudo Bologna (Italy) Taiwan Series: Sinon Bulls over Uni-President Lions Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Dennis Eckersley Paul Molitor Most Valuable Player Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels, OF (AL) Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, OF (NL) Cy Young Award Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins (AL) Roger Clemens, Houston Astros (NL) Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics, SS (AL) Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates, OF (NL) Manager of