| 1974 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | CL: Sadaharu Oh (YOM) PL: Tomehiro Kaneda (LOT) |
| League postseason | |
| CL champions | Chunichi Dragons |
| CL runners-up | Yomiuri Giants |
| PL champions | Lotte Orions |
| PL runners-up | Hankyu Braves |
| Japan Series | |
| Champions | Lotte Orions |
| Runners-up | Chunichi Dragons |
| Finals MVP | Sumio Hirota (LOT) |
The 1974 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 25th season of operation for the league. For the first time since 1964, the Yomiuri Giants did not qualify for the Japan Series, as the Chunichi Dragons prevailed to win the Central League pennant by winning a double-header to prevail by one percentage point. In the Pacific League, the Lotte Orions, champions of the second-half, defeated the first-half champion Hankyu Braves to reach their second Japan Series in four years. Lotte defeated Chunichi in six games for their first championship since 1950.
| Central League [1] | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chunichi Dragons | 130 | 70 | 49 | 11 | .588 | – |
| Yomiuri Giants | 130 | 71 | 50 | 9 | .587 | 0.0 |
| Yakult Swallows | 130 | 60 | 63 | 7 | .488 | 12.0 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 130 | 57 | 64 | 9 | .471 | 14.0 |
| Taiyo Whales | 130 | 55 | 69 | 6 | .444 | 17.5 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 130 | 54 | 72 | 4 | .429 | 19.5 |
| Pacific League [2] | G | W | L | T | Pct. | 1st half ranking | 2nd half ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lotte Orions | 130 | 69 | 50 | 11 | .580 | 2 | 1 |
| Hankyu Braves | 130 | 69 | 51 | 10 | .575 | 1 | 3 |
| Nankai Hawks | 130 | 59 | 55 | 16 | .518 | 4 | 2 |
| Taiheiyo Club Lions | 130 | 59 | 64 | 7 | .480 | 3 | 4 |
| Kintetsu Buffaloes | 130 | 56 | 66 | 8 | .459 | 5 | 4 |
| Nippon-Ham Fighters | 130 | 49 | 75 | 6 | .395 | 6 | 6 |
The Pacific League teams with the best first and second-half records met in a best-of-five playoff series to determine the league representative in the Japan Series.
Lotte Orions won the series 3–0.
| Game | Score | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braves – 2, Orions – 3 | October 5 | Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium |
| 2 | Braves – 3, Orions – 8 | October 6 | Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium |
| 3 | Orions – 4, Braves – 0 | October 9 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium |
Lotte Orions won the series 4–2.
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragons – 5, Orions – 4 | October 16 | Nagoya Stadium | 22,148 [3] |
| 2 | Dragons – 5, Orions – 8 | October 17 | Nagoya Stadium | 24,798 [3] |
| 3 | Orions – 4, Dragons – 5 | October 19 | Korakuen Stadium | 29,103 [3] |
| 4 | Orions – 6, Dragons – 3 | October 20 | Korakuen Stadium | 43,128 [3] |
| 5 | Orions – 2, Dragons – 0 | October 21 | Korakuen Stadium | 28,187 [3] |
| 6 | Dragons – 2, Orions – 3 | October 23 | Nagoya Stadium | 23,433 [3] |