1974 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1974 MLB season
League Major League Baseball
Sport Baseball
DurationApril 4 – October 17, 1974
Number of games162
Number of teams24
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)
MLB seasons

The 1974 Major League Baseball season: The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one.

Contents

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

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 9171.56246354536
New York Yankees 8973.549247344239
Boston Red Sox 8478.519746353843
Cleveland Indians 7785.4751440413744
Milwaukee Brewers 7686.4691540413645
Detroit Tigers 7290.4441936453645
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 9072.55649324140
Texas Rangers 8476.525542384238
Minnesota Twins 8280.506848333447
Chicago White Sox 8080.500946343446
Kansas City Royals 7785.4751340413744
California Angels 6894.4202236453249

National League

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 8874.54352293645
St. Louis Cardinals 8675.53444374238
Philadelphia Phillies 8082.494846353447
Montreal Expos 7982.49142383744
New York Mets 7191.4381736453546
Chicago Cubs 6696.4072232493447
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 10260.63052295031
Cincinnati Reds 9864.605450314833
Atlanta Braves 8874.5431446354239
Houston Astros 8181.5002146353546
San Francisco Giants 7290.4443037443546
San Diego Padres 60102.3704236452457

Postseason

Bracket

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
World Series
      
East Baltimore 1
West Oakland 3
AL Oakland4
NL Los Angeles 1
East Pittsburgh 1
West Los Angeles 3

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders

Statistic American League National League
AVG Rod Carew MIN.364 Ralph Garr ATL.353
HR Dick Allen CWS32 Mike Schmidt PHI36
RBI Jeff Burroughs TEX118 Johnny Bench CIN129
Wins Catfish Hunter OAK
Ferguson Jenkins TEX
25 Phil Niekro ATL
Andy Messersmith LA
20
ERA Catfish Hunter OAK2.49 Buzz Capra ATL2.28
SO Nolan Ryan CAL367 Steve Carlton PHI240
SV Terry Forster CWS24 Mike Marshall LA21
SB Billy North OAK54 Lou Brock STL118

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
Los Angeles Dodgers [1] 1027.4%2,632,47423.2%32,500
Cincinnati Reds [2] 98-1.0%2,164,3077.3%26,394
St. Louis Cardinals [3] 866.2%1,838,41316.8%22,696
Philadelphia Phillies [4] 8012.7%1,808,64822.5%22,329
New York Mets [5] 71-13.4%1,722,209-9.9%21,262
Boston Red Sox [6] 84-5.6%1,556,4115.1%19,215
New York Yankees [7] 8911.3%1,273,0750.9%15,717
Detroit Tigers [8] 72-15.3%1,243,080-27.9%15,347
Texas Rangers [9] 8447.4%1,193,90274.0%14,924
Kansas City Royals [10] 77-12.5%1,173,292-12.8%14,485
Chicago White Sox [11] 803.9%1,149,596-11.7%14,019
Cleveland Indians [12] 778.5%1,114,26281.1%13,756
Pittsburgh Pirates [13] 8810.0%1,110,552-15.9%13,711
Houston Astros [14] 81-1.2%1,090,728-21.8%13,466
San Diego Padres [15] 600.0%1,075,39975.8%13,277
Montreal Expos [16] 790.0%1,019,134-18.3%12,739
Chicago Cubs [17] 66-14.3%1,015,378-24.9%12,536
Atlanta Braves [18] 8815.8%981,08522.5%12,112
Baltimore Orioles [19] 91-6.2%962,5720.4%11,884
Milwaukee Brewers [20] 762.7%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] 821.2%662,401-27.0%8,078
San Francisco Giants [24] 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. [25]

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.

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References

  1. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 13, 2012.