| 1974 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 4 – October 17, 1974 |
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Bill Almon |
| Picked by | San Diego Padres |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Jeff Burroughs (TEX) NL:Steve Garvey (LAD) |
| 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 SeriesMVP | Rollie Fingers (OAK) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1974 Major League Baseball season: TheOakland Athletics won their third consecutiveWorld Series, defeating theLos Angeles Dodgers four games to one.
Two notable personal milestones were achieved during the 1974 season. The first came on April 8, whenHank Aaron of theAtlanta Braves blasted his 715th career home run, breaking the all-time career home run mark of 714 set byBabe Ruth. Aaron would finish his career with 755 home runs, a record that would stand untilBarry Bonds broke it in 2007. The second milestone came on September 10, when theSt. Louis Cardinals'Lou Brock stole his 105th base off pitcherDick Ruthven and catcherBob Boone of thePhiladelphia Phillies. This broke the single-season stolen base record of 104, set byMaury Wills in 1962. Brock stole 118 bases for the season, a record that would stand until 1982, whenRickey Henderson stole 130.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 52–29 | 36–45 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 75 | .534 | 1½ | 44–37 | 42–38 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 82 | .494 | 8 | 46–35 | 34–47 |
| Montreal Expos | 79 | 82 | .491 | 8½ | 42–38 | 37–44 |
| New York Mets | 71 | 91 | .438 | 17 | 36–45 | 35–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 66 | 96 | .407 | 22 | 32–49 | 34–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 52–29 | 50–31 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 98 | 64 | .605 | 4 | 50–31 | 48–33 |
| Atlanta Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 14 | 46–35 | 42–39 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 21 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | .444 | 30 | 37–44 | 35–46 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | .370 | 42 | 36–45 | 24–57 |
| League Championship Series (ALCS,NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | Baltimore | 1 | |||||||
| West | Oakland | 3 | |||||||
| AL | Oakland | 4 | |||||||
| NL | Los Angeles | 1 | |||||||
| East | Pittsburgh | 1 | |||||||
| West | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||
| Statistic | American League | National League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVG | Rod Carew MIN | .364 | Ralph Garr ATL | .353 |
| HR | Dick Allen CWS | 32 | Mike Schmidt PHI | 36 |
| RBI | Jeff Burroughs TEX | 118 | Johnny Bench CIN | 129 |
| Wins | Catfish Hunter OAK Ferguson Jenkins TEX | 25 | Phil Niekro ATL Andy Messersmith LAD | 20 |
| ERA | Catfish Hunter OAK | 2.49 | Buzz Capra ATL | 2.28 |
| SO | Nolan Ryan CAL | 367 | Steve Carlton PHI | 240 |
| SV | Terry Forster CWS | 24 | Mike Marshall LAD | 21 |
| SB | Billy North OAK | 54 | Lou Brock STL | 118 |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[1] | 102 | 7.4% | 2,632,474 | 23.2% | 32,500 |
| Cincinnati Reds[2] | 98 | −1.0% | 2,164,307 | 7.3% | 26,394 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[3] | 86 | 6.2% | 1,838,413 | 16.8% | 22,696 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[4] | 80 | 12.7% | 1,808,648 | 22.5% | 22,329 |
| New York Mets[5] | 71 | −13.4% | 1,722,209 | −9.9% | 21,262 |
| Boston Red Sox[6] | 84 | −5.6% | 1,556,411 | 5.1% | 19,215 |
| New York Yankees[7] | 89 | 11.3% | 1,273,075 | 0.9% | 15,717 |
| Detroit Tigers[8] | 72 | −15.3% | 1,243,080 | −27.9% | 15,347 |
| Texas Rangers[9] | 84 | 47.4% | 1,193,902 | 74.0% | 14,924 |
| Kansas City Royals[10] | 77 | −12.5% | 1,173,292 | −12.8% | 14,485 |
| Chicago White Sox[11] | 80 | 3.9% | 1,149,596 | −11.7% | 14,019 |
| Cleveland Indians[12] | 77 | 8.5% | 1,114,262 | 81.1% | 13,756 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[13] | 88 | 10.0% | 1,110,552 | −15.9% | 13,711 |
| Houston Astros[14] | 81 | −1.2% | 1,090,728 | −21.8% | 13,466 |
| San Diego Padres[15] | 60 | 0.0% | 1,075,399 | 75.8% | 13,277 |
| Montreal Expos[16] | 79 | 0.0% | 1,019,134 | −18.3% | 12,739 |
| Chicago Cubs[17] | 66 | −14.3% | 1,015,378 | −24.9% | 12,536 |
| Atlanta Braves[18] | 88 | 15.8% | 981,085 | 22.5% | 12,112 |
| Baltimore Orioles[19] | 91 | −6.2% | 962,572 | 0.4% | 11,884 |
| Milwaukee Brewers[20] | 76 | 2.7% | 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] | 82 | 1.2% | 662,401 | −27.0% | 8,078 |
| San Francisco Giants[24] | 72 | −18.2% | 519,987 | −37.7% | 6,420 |
On August 30,Texas Rangers playerDave Nelsonsteals three bases – 2nd, 3rd and home in the first inning against theCleveland Indians.[25]
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekendGame of the Week,Monday Night Baseball, theAll-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and theWorld Series.
