| 1974 Baltimore Orioles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League East champions | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Memorial Stadium | |||
| City | Baltimore, Maryland | |||
| Record | 91–71 (.562) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | Jerold Hoffberger | |||
| General managers | Frank Cashen | |||
| Managers | Earl Weaver | |||
| Television | WJZ-TV | |||
| Radio | WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson,Bill O'Donnell) | |||
| ||||
The1974 Baltimore Orioles season was the 74th season inBaltimore Orioles franchise history, the 21st inBaltimore, and the 21st atMemorial Stadium. The Orioles finished first in theAmerican League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The Orioles went on to lose to theOakland Athletics in the1974 American League Championship Series, 3 games to 1.
The Orioles went 27–6 after being in fourth place and trailing theBoston Red Sox by eight games on August 29. They won 16 of their last 18 matches and ended the campaign with a nine-gamewinning streak. They moved into first place on September 19 and clinched its fifth AL East title in six years on the penultimate night of the regular season on October 1.[1]
The Orioles had a net operating income of $82,000.[2]
Much of the success of the team can be attributed to its infield.Second basemanBobby Grich,shortstopMark Belanger andthird basemanBrooks Robinson each led theAmerican League for their positions in assists.
| 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 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |
| 1974 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Earl Williams | 118 | 413 | 105 | .254 | 14 | 52 |
| 1B | Boog Powell | 110 | 344 | 91 | .265 | 12 | 45 |
| 2B | Bobby Grich | 160 | 582 | 153 | .263 | 19 | 82 |
| 3B | Brooks Robinson | 153 | 553 | 159 | .288 | 7 | 59 |
| SS | Mark Belanger | 155 | 493 | 111 | .225 | 5 | 36 |
| LF | Don Baylor | 137 | 489 | 133 | .272 | 10 | 59 |
| CF | Paul Blair | 151 | 552 | 144 | .261 | 17 | 62 |
| RF | Rich Coggins | 113 | 411 | 100 | .243 | 4 | 32 |
| DH | Tommy Davis | 128 | 626 | 181 | .289 | 11 | 84 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Bumbry | 94 | 270 | 63 | .233 | 1 | 19 |
| Jim Fuller | 64 | 189 | 42 | .222 | 7 | 28 |
| Andy Etchebarren | 62 | 180 | 40 | .222 | 2 | 15 |
| Enos Cabell | 80 | 174 | 42 | .241 | 3 | 17 |
| Elrod Hendricks | 66 | 159 | 33 | .208 | 3 | 8 |
| Frank Baker | 24 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Reinbach | 12 | 20 | 5 | .250 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Oliver | 9 | 20 | 3 | .150 | 0 | 4 |
| Tim Nordbrook | 6 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 1 |
| Curt Motton | 7 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Northrup | 8 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 1 | 3 |
| Doug DeCinces | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Grimsley | 40 | 295.2 | 18 | 13 | 3.07 | 158 |
| Mike Cuellar | 38 | 269.1 | 22 | 10 | 3.11 | 106 |
| Dave McNally | 39 | 259.0 | 16 | 10 | 3.58 | 111 |
| Jim Palmer | 26 | 178.2 | 7 | 12 | 3.27 | 84 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doyle Alexander | 30 | 114.1 | 6 | 9 | 4.01 | 40 |
| Wayne Garland | 20 | 91.0 | 5 | 5 | 2.97 | 40 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Jackson | 49 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 2.57 | 56 |
| Bob Reynolds | 54 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2.73 | 43 |
| Don Hood | 20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.45 | 26 |
| Jesse Jefferson | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.40 | 31 |
| Dave Johnson | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.93 | 6 |
TheAthletics defeated the Orioles, 3–1, limiting Baltimore to one run in the final three games.
| 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 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Franchise | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ballparks |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rivalries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key personnel |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Series championships (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| American League pennants (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AL East division titles (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AL Wild Card (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minor league affiliates |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Broadcasting |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
