1974 Major League Baseball season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1974 Major League Baseball season: The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one.
| 1974 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 4 – October 17, 1974 |
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Bill Almon |
| Picked by | San Diego Padres |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Jeff Burroughs (TEX) NL: Steve Garvey (LAD) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | Oakland Athletics |
| AL runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| NL champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Oakland Athletics |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| World Series MVP | Rollie Fingers (OAK) |
Two notable personal milestones were achieved during the 1974 season. The first came on April 8, when Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves blasted his 715th career home run, breaking the all-time career home run mark of 714 set by Babe Ruth. Aaron would finish his career with 755 home runs, a record that would stand until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007. The second milestone came on September 10, when the St. Louis Cardinals' Lou Brock stole his 105th base off pitcher Dick Ruthven and catcher Bob Boone of the Philadelphia Phillies. This broke the single-season stolen base record of 104, set by Maury Wills in 1962. Brock stole 118 bases for the season, a record that would stand until 1982, when Rickey Henderson stole 130.
Standings
American League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 46–35 | 45–36 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 73 | .549 | 2 | 47–34 | 42–39 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 78 | .519 | 7 | 46–35 | 38–43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14 | 40–41 | 37–44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 15 | 40–41 | 36–45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 72 | 90 | .444 | 19 | 36–45 | 36–45 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 49–32 | 41–40 |
| Texas Rangers | 84 | 76 | .525 | 5 | 42–38 | 42–38 |
| Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | .506 | 8 | 48–33 | 34–47 |
| Chicago White Sox | 80 | 80 | .500 | 9 | 46–34 | 34–46 |
| Kansas City Royals | 77 | 85 | .475 | 13 | 40–41 | 37–44 |
| California Angels | 68 | 94 | .420 | 22 | 36–45 | 32–49 |
National League
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 52–29 | 36–45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 75 | .534 | 1½ | 44–37 | 42–38 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 82 | .494 | 8 | 46–35 | 34–47 |
| Montreal Expos | 79 | 82 | .491 | 8½ | 42–38 | 37–44 |
| New York Mets | 71 | 91 | .438 | 17 | 36–45 | 35–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 66 | 96 | .407 | 22 | 32–49 | 34–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 52–29 | 50–31 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 98 | 64 | .605 | 4 | 50–31 | 48–33 |
| Atlanta Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 14 | 46–35 | 42–39 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 21 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | .444 | 30 | 37–44 | 35–46 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | .370 | 42 | 36–45 | 24–57 |
Postseason
Bracket
| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | Baltimore | 1 | |||||||
| West | Oakland | 3 | |||||||
| AL | Oakland | 4 | |||||||
| NL | Los Angeles | 1 | |||||||
| East | Pittsburgh | 1 | |||||||
| West | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||
Awards and honors
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Jeff Burroughs, Texas Rangers (AL)
- Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
- Cy Young Award
- Rookie of the Year
- Mike Hargrove, Texas Rangers (AL)
- Bake McBride, St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
- Gold Glove Award
- George Scott (1B) (AL)
- Bobby Grich (2B) (AL)
- Brooks Robinson (3B) (AL)
- Mark Belanger (SS) (AL)
- Paul Blair (OF) (AL)
- Amos Otis (OF) (AL)
- Joe Rudi (OF) (AL)
- Thurman Munson (C) (AL)
- Jim Kaat (P) (AL)
Statistical leaders
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Rod Carew MIN | .364 | Ralph Garr ATL | .353 |
| HR | Dick Allen CWS | 32 | Mike Schmidt PHI | 36 |
| RBI | Jeff Burroughs TEX | 118 | Johnny Bench CIN | 129 |
| Wins | Catfish Hunter OAK Ferguson Jenkins TEX | 25 | Phil Niekro ATL Andy Messersmith LAD | 20 |
| ERA | Catfish Hunter OAK | 2.49 | Buzz Capra ATL | 2.28 |
| SO | Nolan Ryan CAL | 367 | Steve Carlton PHI | 240 |
| SV | Terry Forster CWS | 24 | Mike Marshall LAD | 21 |
| SB | Billy North OAK | 54 | Lou Brock STL | 118 |
Milestones
Batters
- Al Kaline (DET):
- Became the 12th member of the 3,000-hit club with a double in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on September 24.[1]
Pitchers
- Bob Gibson (STL):
- Became the second member of the 3,000 strikeout club by striking out César Gerónimo of the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning on July 17.[2]
Miscellaneous
- St. Louis Cardinals:
- Set a major league record for most runs scored in the 25th inning, by scoring one run against the New York Mets on September 11.[3]
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[4] | 102 | 7.4% | 2,632,474 | 23.2% | 32,500 |
| Cincinnati Reds[5] | 98 | −1.0% | 2,164,307 | 7.3% | 26,394 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[6] | 86 | 6.2% | 1,838,413 | 16.8% | 22,696 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[7] | 80 | 12.7% | 1,808,648 | 22.5% | 22,329 |
| New York Mets[8] | 71 | −13.4% | 1,722,209 | −9.9% | 21,262 |
| Boston Red Sox[9] | 84 | −5.6% | 1,556,411 | 5.1% | 19,215 |
| New York Yankees[10] | 89 | 11.3% | 1,273,075 | 0.9% | 15,717 |
| Detroit Tigers[11] | 72 | −15.3% | 1,243,080 | −27.9% | 15,347 |
| Texas Rangers[12] | 84 | 47.4% | 1,193,902 | 74.0% | 14,924 |
| Kansas City Royals[13] | 77 | −12.5% | 1,173,292 | −12.8% | 14,485 |
| Chicago White Sox[14] | 80 | 3.9% | 1,149,596 | −11.7% | 14,019 |
| Cleveland Indians[15] | 77 | 8.5% | 1,114,262 | 81.1% | 13,756 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[16] | 88 | 10.0% | 1,110,552 | −15.9% | 13,711 |
| Houston Astros[17] | 81 | −1.2% | 1,090,728 | −21.8% | 13,466 |
| San Diego Padres[18] | 60 | 0.0% | 1,075,399 | 75.8% | 13,277 |
| Montreal Expos[19] | 79 | 0.0% | 1,019,134 | −18.3% | 12,739 |
| Chicago Cubs[20] | 66 | −14.3% | 1,015,378 | −24.9% | 12,536 |
| Atlanta Braves[21] | 88 | 15.8% | 981,085 | 22.5% | 12,112 |
| Baltimore Orioles[22] | 91 | −6.2% | 962,572 | 0.4% | 11,884 |
| Milwaukee Brewers[23] | 76 | 2.7% | 955,741 | −12.5% | 11,799 |
| California Angels[24] | 68 | −13.9% | 917,269 | −13.3% | 11,324 |
| Oakland Athletics[25] | 90 | −4.3% | 845,693 | −15.5% | 10,441 |
| Minnesota Twins[26] | 82 | 1.2% | 662,401 | −27.0% | 8,078 |
| San Francisco Giants[27] | 72 | −18.2% | 519,987 | −37.7% | 6,420 |
Events
On August 30, Texas Rangers player Dave Nelson steals three bases – 2nd, 3rd and home in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians.[28]
Television coverage
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week, Monday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.
