1974 Oakland Athletics season

1974  Oakland Athletics
World Series Champions American League Champions American League West Champions
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
City	Oakland, California
Record	90–72 (.556)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Charles O. Finley
Managers	Alvin Dark
Television	KTVU
Radio	KEEN (Monte Moore, Jon Miller)
←  1973 Seasons 1975  →

The 1974 Oakland Athletics season was the 74th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 7th season in Oakland. The Athletics won their fourth consecutive American League West title with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses. In the playoffs, the A's defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS for their third straight AL pennant, and in the World Series, the first ever played entirely on the West Coast, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to take their third consecutive World Series championship. Paid attendance for the season was 845,693. ^[1]

In early 1974, owner Charlie Finley tried to sell the team with an asking price of $15 million. ^{[2] [3]}

Offseason

• November 3, 1973: Horacio Piña was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Locker. ^[4]
• December 12, 1973: Rico Carty was released by the Athletics. ^[5]
• February 22, 1974: Reggie Jackson won an arbitration case for a $135,000 salary for the season, nearly doubling his previous year's $70,000. ^{[6] [7]}

Regular season

• June 5, 1974: Outfielders Billy North and Reggie Jackson engaged in a clubhouse fight at Detroit's Tiger Stadium ^[8] Jackson injured his shoulder, and catcher Ray Fosse, attempting to separate the combatants, ^[8] suffered a crushed disk in his neck, costing him three months on the disabled list.

The pinch runner

In 1974, "Hurricane" Herb Washington was tapped by Oakland owner Charlie Finley to become the A's "designated runner." Despite having no professional baseball experience, and having last played baseball in high school, Washington was signed to a major league contract prior to the season. His major league debut was on April 4, 1974, against the Texas Rangers. Appearing as a pinch runner for Joe Rudi in game two of the 1974 World Series, Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers' reliever Mike Marshall.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL West

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

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	—

Opening Day starters

• Sal Bando
• Vida Blue
• Bert Campaneris
• Reggie Jackson
• Ángel Mangual
• Billy North
• Joe Rudi
• Gene Tenace
• Manny Trillo ^[9]

Notable transactions

• May 10, 1974: Dal Maxvill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. ^[10]
• June 5, 1974: Rick Lysander was drafted by the Athletics in the 19th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. ^[11]
• August 19, 1974: Pat Bourque was traded by the Athletics to the Minnesota Twins for Jim Holt. ^[12]

Roster

1974 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 37 Glenn Abbott 14 Vida Blue 34 Rollie Fingers 33 Dave Hamilton 30 Ken Holtzman 20 Leon Hooten 27 Catfish Hunter 32 Darold Knowles 25 Paul Lindblad 13 Blue Moon Odom 39 Bill Parsons		Catchers 10 Ray Fosse 12 Larry Haney 23 Tim Hosley Infielders  6 Sal Bando 38 Pat Bourque 19 Bert Campaneris 24 John Donaldson 29 Phil Garner  1 Dick Green 38 Jim Holt  7 Deron Johnson 11 Ted Kubiak 16 Dal Maxvill 21 Rich McKinney 23 Gaylen Pitts 18 Gene Tenace		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 37 Vic Davalillo  9 Reggie Jackson  2 Ángel Mangual  4 Billy North 26 Joe Rudi 28 Champ Summers 15 Claudell Washington Designated runner  3 Herb Washington		Manager  5 Alvin Dark Coaches 41 Jerry Adair 44 Bobby Hofman 44 Vern Hoscheit 43 Irv Noren 42 Wes Stock 43 Bobby Winkles

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	Ray Fosse	64	204	40	.196	4	23
1B	Gene Tenace	158	484	102	.211	26	73
2B	Dick Green	100	287	61	.213	2	22
3B	Sal Bando	146	498	121	.243	22	103
SS	Bert Campaneris	134	527	153	.290	2	41
LF	Joe Rudi	158	593	174	.293	22	99
CF	Billy North	149	543	141	.260	4	33
RF	Reggie Jackson	148	506	146	.289	29	93
DH	Ángel Mangual	115	365	85	.233	9	43

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
Ángel Mangual	115	365	85	.233	9	43
Claudell Washington	73	221	63	.285	0	19
Ted Kubiak	99	220	46	.209	0	18
Deron Johnson	50	174	34	.195	7	23
Larry Haney	76	121	20	.165	2	3
Pat Bourque	73	96	22	.229	1	16
Dal Maxvill	60	52	10	.192	0	2
Jim Holt	30	42	6	.143	0	0
Gaylen Pitts	18	41	10	.244	0	3
Manny Trillo	21	33	5	.152	0	2
Phil Garner	30	28	5	.179	0	1
John Donaldson	10	15	2	.133	0	0
Tim Hosley	11	7	2	.286	0	1
Rich McKinney	5	7	1	.143	0	0
Herb Washington	92	0	0	----	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
Catfish Hunter	41	318.1	25	12	2.49	143
Vida Blue	40	282.1	17	15	3.25	174
Ken Holtzman	39	255.1	19	17	3.07	117
Glenn Abbott	19	96.0	5	7	3.00	38

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
Dave Hamilton	29	117.0	7	4	3.69	69
Blue Moon Odom	34	87.1	1	5	3.81	52

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
Rollie Fingers	76	9	5	18	2.65	95
Paul Lindblad	45	4	4	6	2.06	46
Darold Knowles	45	3	3	3	4.22	18
Leon Hooten	6	0	0	0	3.24	1
Bill Parsons	4	0	0	0	0.00	2

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1974 American League Championship Series

The Athletics defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 3 games to 1.

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

1974 World Series

Main article: 1974 World Series

Summary

AL Oakland Athletics (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Athletics – 3, Dodgers – 2	October 12	Dodger Stadium	55,974	2:43
2	Athletics – 2, Dodgers – 3	October 13	Dodger Stadium	55,989	2:40
3	Dodgers – 2, Athletics – 3	October 15	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	49,347	2:35
4	Dodgers – 2, Athletics – 5	October 16	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	49,347	2:17
5	Dodgers – 2, Athletics – 3	October 17	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	49,347	2:23

Awards and honors

• Rollie Fingers, World Series Most Valuable Player Award
• Catfish Hunter, P, American League Cy Young Award

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Bert Campaneris, shortstop, starter
• Reggie Jackson, outfield, starter
• Sal Bando, reserve
• Rollie Fingers, reserve
• Catfish Hunter, reserve
• Joe Rudi, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Sherm Lollar
AA	Birmingham A's	Southern League	Harry Bright
A	Burlington Bees	Midwest League	Rene Lachemann
A-Short Season	Lewiston Broncos	Northwest League	Bobby Hofman and Buddy Peterson

References

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.222, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
2. "Not close to sale: A's Finley". Chicago Tribune. wire services. January 22, 1974. p. 4, sec. 3.
3. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.202, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
4. Horacio Piña page at Baseball Reference
5. Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
6. "A's Jackson gets his wish - $135,000 salary". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 23, 1974. p. 15.
7. "Reggie wins arbitration". Chicago Tribune. UPI. February 23, 1974. p. 5, sec. 2.
8. "No 'A' for A's: Finley flunks as pep talker". Chicago Tribune. June 8, 1974. p. 2, sec. 2.
9. 1974 Oakland Athletics Roster by Baseball Almanac
10. Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference
11. Rick Lysander page at Baseball Reference
12. Pat Bourque page at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1974 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1974 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com