| 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) | |||
| ||||
The1974 Oakland Athletics season was the 74th season for theOakland Athletics franchise, all as members of theAmerican League, and their 7th season inOakland. The Athletics won their fourth consecutiveAmerican League West title with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses. In the playoffs, the A's defeated theBaltimore Orioles in theALCS for their third straight ALpennant, and in theWorld Series, the first ever played entirely on the West Coast, defeated theLos 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, ownerCharlie Finley tried to sell the team with an asking price of$15 million.[2][3]
In 1974, "Hurricane"Herb Washington was tapped by Oakland ownerCharlie Finley to become the A's "designated runner." Despite having no professional baseball experience, and having last played baseball inhigh school, Washington was signed to a major league contract prior to the season. His major league debut was on April 4, 1974, against theTexas Rangers. Appearing as apinch runner forJoe Rudi in game two of the1974 World Series, Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers' relieverMike Marshall.
| 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 |
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 Oakland Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Designated runner | 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 | 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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
The Athletics defeated theBaltimore 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 |
| 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 |
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game