1974 Major League Baseball season
| 1974 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 4 – October 17, 1974 |
| Number of games | 162 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| TV partner(s) | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Bill Almon |
| Picked by | San Diego Padres |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Jeff Burroughs (TEX) NL: Steve Garvey (LA) |
| 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) |
The 1974 Major League Baseball season: The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one.
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
[edit]American League
[edit]| 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]Bracket
[edit]| League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||||||||
| East | Baltimore | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| West | Oakland | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| AL | Oakland | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
| NL | Los Angeles | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| East | Pittsburgh | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||
| West | Los Angeles | 3 | 5 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||
Awards and honors
[edit]- 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
[edit]| 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 LA |
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 LA | 21 |
| SB | Billy North OAK | 54 | Lou Brock STL | 118 |
Home field attendance
[edit]| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[1] | 102 | 7.4% | 2,632,474 | 23.2% | 32,500 |
| Cincinnati Reds[2] | 98 | −1.0% | 2,164,307 | 7.3% | 26,394 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[3] | 86 | 6.2% | 1,838,413 | 16.8% | 22,696 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[4] | 80 | 12.7% | 1,808,648 | 22.5% | 22,329 |
| New York Mets[5] | 71 | −13.4% | 1,722,209 | −9.9% | 21,262 |
| Boston Red Sox[6] | 84 | −5.6% | 1,556,411 | 5.1% | 19,215 |
| New York Yankees[7] | 89 | 11.3% | 1,273,075 | 0.9% | 15,717 |
| Detroit Tigers[8] | 72 | −15.3% | 1,243,080 | −27.9% | 15,347 |
| Texas Rangers[9] | 84 | 47.4% | 1,193,902 | 74.0% | 14,924 |
| Kansas City Royals[10] | 77 | −12.5% | 1,173,292 | −12.8% | 14,485 |
| Chicago White Sox[11] | 80 | 3.9% | 1,149,596 | −11.7% | 14,019 |
| Cleveland Indians[12] | 77 | 8.5% | 1,114,262 | 81.1% | 13,756 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[13] | 88 | 10.0% | 1,110,552 | −15.9% | 13,711 |
| Houston Astros[14] | 81 | −1.2% | 1,090,728 | −21.8% | 13,466 |
| San Diego Padres[15] | 60 | 0.0% | 1,075,399 | 75.8% | 13,277 |
| Montreal Expos[16] | 79 | 0.0% | 1,019,134 | −18.3% | 12,739 |
| Chicago Cubs[17] | 66 | −14.3% | 1,015,378 | −24.9% | 12,536 |
| Atlanta Braves[18] | 88 | 15.8% | 981,085 | 22.5% | 12,112 |
| Baltimore Orioles[19] | 91 | −6.2% | 962,572 | 0.4% | 11,884 |
| Milwaukee Brewers[20] | 76 | 2.7% | 955,741 | −12.5% | 11,799 |
| California Angels[21] | 68 | −13.9% | 917,269 | −13.3% | 11,324 |
| Oakland Athletics[22] | 90 | −4.3% | 845,693 | −15.5% | 10,441 |
| Minnesota Twins[23] | 82 | 1.2% | 662,401 | −27.0% | 8,078 |
| San Francisco Giants[24] | 72 | −18.2% | 519,987 | −37.7% | 6,420 |
Events
[edit]On August 30, Texas Rangers player Dave Nelson steals three bases – 2nd, 3rd and home in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians.[25]
Television coverage
[edit]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.
References
[edit]- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1974 in Major League Baseball.