1974 Baltimore Orioles season

1974  Baltimore Orioles
American League East Champions
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Record	91–71 (.562)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Jerold Hoffberger
General managers	Frank Cashen
Managers	Earl Weaver
Television	WJZ-TV
Radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
←  1973 Seasons 1975  →

The 1974 Baltimore Orioles season was the 74th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 21st in Baltimore, and the 21st at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished first in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The Orioles went on to lose to the Oakland Athletics in the 1974 American League Championship Series, 3 games to 1.

The Orioles went 27–6 after being in fourth place and trailing the Boston Red Sox by eight games on August 29. They won 16 of their last 18 matches and ended the campaign with a nine-game winning streak. They moved into first place on September 19 and clinched its fifth AL East title in six years on the penultimate night of the regular season on October 1. ^[1]

The Orioles had a net operating income of $82,000. ^[2]

Offseason

• December 4, 1973: Merv Rettenmund, Junior Kennedy and Bill Wood (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Ross Grimsley and Wally Williams (minors). ^[3]
• December 10, 1973: Dennis Martínez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent. ^[4]

Regular season

Much of the success of the team can be attributed to its infield. Second baseman Bobby Grich, shortstop Mark Belanger and third baseman Brooks Robinson each led the American League for their positions in assists.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

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

Record vs. opponents

1974 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	TEX
Baltimore	—	10–8	7–5	5–7	12–6	14–4	8–4	8–10	6–6	11–7	6–6	4–8
Boston	8–10	—	4–8	8–4	9–9	11–7	4–8	10–8	6–6	11–7	8–4	5–7
California	5–7	8–4	—	10–8–1	3–9	5–7	8–10	3–9	8–10	3–9	6–12	9–9
Chicago	7–5	4–8	8–10–1	—	8–4	7–5	11–7	8–4	7–11–1	4–8	7–11	9–7–1
Cleveland	6–12	9–9	9–3	4–8	—	9–9	8–4	10–8	6–6	7–11	5–7	4–8
Detroit	4–14	7–11	7–5	5–7	9–9	—	7–5	9–9	3–9	11–7	5–7	5–7
Kansas City	4–8	8–4	10–8	7–11	4–8	5–7	—	11–1	8–10	4–8	8–10	8–10
Milwaukee	10–8	8–10	9–3	4–8	8–10	9–9	1–11	—	6–6	9–9	5–7	7–5
Minnesota	6–6	6–6	10–8	11–7–1	6–6	9–3	10–8	6–6	—	4–8	5–13	9–9
New York	7–11	7–11	9–3	8–4	11–7	7–11	8–4	9–9	8–4	—	7–5	8–4
Oakland	6–6	4–8	12–6	11–7	7–5	7–5	10–8	7–5	13–5	5–7	—	8–10
Texas	8–4	7–5	9–9	7–9–1	8–4	7–5	10–8	5–7	9–9	4–8	10–8	—

Notable transactions

• June 5, 1974: Rich Dauer was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (24th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. ^[5]
• September 11, 1974: The Orioles traded a player to be named later and cash to the California Angels for Bob Oliver. The Orioles completed the trade by sending Mickey Scott to the Angels on October 3. ^[6]
• September 16, 1974: Jim Northrup was purchased by the Orioles from the Montreal Expos. ^[7]

Roster

1974 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 13 Doyle Alexander 35 Mike Cuellar 17 Wayne Garland 39 Ross Grimsley 44 Don Hood 23 Grant Jackson 38 Jesse Jefferson 45 Dave Johnson 19 Dave McNally 22 Jim Palmer 34 Bob Reynolds		Catchers  8 Andy Etchebarren 10 Elrod Hendricks 32 Earl Williams Infielders 15 Frank Baker  7 Mark Belanger 24 Enos Cabell 37 Doug DeCinces  3 Bobby Grich 43 Tim Nordbrook 33 Bob Oliver 26 Boog Powell  5 Brooks Robinson		Outfielders 25 Don Baylor  6 Paul Blair  1 Al Bumbry  2 Rich Coggins 18 Jim Fuller 21 Curt Motton 28 Jim Northrup  9 Mike Reinbach Other batters 12 Tommy Davis		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 31 George Bamberger 41 Jim Frey 55 Billy Hunter 48 George Staller

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	Earl Williams	118	413	105	.254	14	52
1B	Boog Powell	110	344	91	.265	12	45
2B	Bobby Grich	160	582	153	.263	19	82
3B	Brooks Robinson	153	553	159	.288	7	59
SS	Mark Belanger	155	493	111	.225	5	36
LF	Don Baylor	137	489	133	.272	10	59
CF	Paul Blair	151	552	144	.261	17	62
RF	Rich Coggins	113	411	100	.243	4	32
DH	Tommy Davis	128	626	181	.289	11	84

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
Al Bumbry	94	270	63	.233	1	19
Jim Fuller	64	189	42	.222	7	28
Andy Etchebarren	62	180	40	.222	2	15
Enos Cabell	80	174	42	.241	3	17
Elrod Hendricks	66	159	33	.208	3	8
Frank Baker	24	29	5	.172	0	0
Mike Reinbach	12	20	5	.250	0	2
Bob Oliver	9	20	3	.150	0	4
Tim Nordbrook	6	15	4	.267	0	1
Curt Motton	7	8	0	.000	0	0
Jim Northrup	8	7	4	.571	1	3
Doug DeCinces	1	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
Ross Grimsley	40	295.2	18	13	3.07	158
Mike Cuellar	38	269.1	22	10	3.11	106
Dave McNally	39	259.0	16	10	3.58	111
Jim Palmer	26	178.2	7	12	3.27	84

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
Doyle Alexander	30	114.1	6	9	4.01	40
Wayne Garland	20	91.0	5	5	2.97	40

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
Grant Jackson	49	6	4	12	2.57	56
Bob Reynolds	54	7	5	7	2.73	43
Don Hood	20	1	1	1	3.45	26
Jesse Jefferson	20	1	0	0	4.40	31
Dave Johnson	11	2	2	2	2.93	6

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1974 American League Championship Series

The Athletics defeated the Orioles, 3–1, limiting Baltimore to one run in the final three games.

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Baltimore – 6, Oakland – 3	October 5	Oakland Coliseum	41,609
2	Baltimore – 0, Oakland – 5	October 6	Oakland Coliseum	42,810
3	Oakland – 1, Baltimore – 0	October 8	Memorial Stadium	32,060
4	Oakland – 2, Baltimore – 1	October 9	Memorial Stadium	28,136

• As division champions, the Orioles earned a postseason bonus of $7,394 each. ^[8]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Joe Altobelli
AA	Asheville Orioles	Southern League	Cal Ripken Sr.
A	Lodi Orioles	California League	Jimmie Schaffer
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	George Farson
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Bobby Malkmus

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester

Notes

1. Koppett, Leonard. "Orioles: Miracle of 1974," The New York Times, Thursday, October 3, 1974. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
2. "On Profits, Orioles Mainly Strike Out," The New York Times, Wednesday, April 6, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
3. Merv Rettenmund page at Baseball Reference
4. Dennis Martínez page at Baseball Reference
5. Rich Dauer page at Baseball Reference
6. Bob Oliver page at Baseball Reference
7. Jim Northrup page at Baseball Reference
8. "A's bankroll $22,219". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 12, 1974. p. 10.

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1974 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1974 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com