| 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.
| 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] |