1974 in baseball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: 1974 Major League Baseball season

The following are the baseball events of the year 1974 throughout the world.

List of years in baseball

Champions[edit]

Major League Baseball[edit]

  League Championship Series NBC World Series NBC
                 
East Baltimore Orioles 1  
West Oakland Athletics 3  
    AL Oakland Athletics 4
  NL Los Angeles Dodgers 1
East Pittsburgh Pirates 1
West Los Angeles Dodgers 3  

Other champions[edit]

Winter Leagues

 * The season was canceled due to a player's strike and the Mexican Pacific League's second place, Yaquis de Obregón, played as a replacement in the Caribbean Series.

Awards and honors[edit]

MLB statistical leaders[edit]

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 Andy Messersmith LAD    
Phil Niekro ATL		    20
ERA Catfish Hunter OAK  2.49 Buzz Capra ATL  2.28
SO Nolan Ryan CAL   367   Steve Carlton PHI   240  

Major league baseball final standings[edit]

Events[edit]

January–March[edit]

April–June[edit]

  • April 1 – The Chicago Cubs release pitcher and three time All-Star Milt Pappas. Pappas never again pitches in the major leagues.
  • April 3 – The Cleveland Indians trade Pedro Guerrero to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Bruce Ellingsen The 17-year-old infielder-outfielder will compile a .309 lifetime batting average and will be named to the all-star team five times during his 11 seasons with the team.
  • April 4 – Hank Aaron hits the 714th home run of his career, tying Babe Ruth's lifetime home run record.
  • April 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 in their "home opener" at Shea Stadium. The Yankees will share this ballpark with the Mets for the 1974 and 1975 seasons, while Yankee Stadium is being re-furbished.
  • April 8 – Hank Aaron hits home run number 715, finally breaking Babe Ruth's lifetime home run record. Two fans run onto the field and congratulate him on the record breaking achievement as Hank moves past second base.
  • April 10 – The 1973 National League pennant is raised before the home opener in which The New York Mets defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3–2 in front of only 17,154 fans at Shea Stadium. Jerry Grote of the Mets homered in that game.
  • April 14 – Graig Nettles of the New York Yankees hits four home runs during a doubleheader split against his former team, the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees win 9–5, then lose 6–9. Nettles will go on to tie a major league record with 11 home runs in the month of April.
  • April 17 – The Chicago Cubs new catcher George Mitterwald hit three home runs and drove in eight runs as the Cubs slaughter The Pittsburgh Pirates 16–9. As an added oddity, Burt Hooton went the distance for the Cubs despite giving up 16 hits.
  • April 24 – All twenty-one hits by both teams in the Chicago White Sox 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers are singles.[1]
  • April 26:
    • The record breaking is not over for Hank Aaron. Today he hits his 15th career grand slam home run, passing Gil Hodges and Willie McCovey for the NL mark. The Braves go on to beat the Cubs, 9-3.
    • The New York Yankees trade pitcher Fritz Peterson, who had earlier attracted unwelcomed attention to the team when he announced that he and a teammate had swapped wives and families, along with pitchers Fred Beene, Tom Buskey, and Steve Kline to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Cecil Upshaw and Dick Tidrow and First Baseman Chris Chambliss. Chambliss would go on to be part of Yankees lore when his home run against Kansas City in 1976 helped the Yankees capture their first pennant since 1964.
  • April 30 – At Fenway Park, Nolan Ryan of the Angels strikes out 19 Red Sox batters in a 4-2 victory. In a frightening moment, he hits second baseman Doug Griffin in the head with a fastball. Griffin will be sidelined for two months.
  • May 1 – Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits three consecutive batters with pitches in the first inning, setting an ML record, and walks another in the frame before being lifted. Pittsburgh loses 5–3 to the Cincinnati Reds.
  • May 4 – Boston Red Sox shortstop Rick Burleson ties a major league record by committing three errors in his major league debut.
  • May 22 – The New York Mets purchase the contract of catcher Alex Trevino from Cuidad Victoria from the Mexican Center Baseball League.
  • May 30 – Sadaharu Oh becomes the first player in Nippon Professional Baseball to hit 600 home runs. Only Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays are ahead of Oh among U.S. players at this time, but he will surpass them all.
  • June 4 – The Cleveland Indians attempt an ill-advised ten cent beer promotion for a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cleveland forfeits 9-0 after alcohol-fueled mayhem and violence spreads from the stands onto the field.
  • June 5 – Hank Aaron hits his 16th career grand slam homer as the Braves top the Phillies, 7-3, in Philadelphia.
  • June 10 – The Philadelphia Phillies Mike Schmidt hits the ball off the speaker at the Houston Astrodome, turning a sure homer into one of the longest singles hit in a 12-0 Phillies victory over the Houston Astros.
  • June 11 – Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees makes his 272nd consecutive start, with no relief appearances, to set an American League record.
  • June 14 – California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan pitches 13 innings, and strikes out 19 batters, including Red Sox first baseman Cecil Cooper, who alone struck out six straight times. The Angels defeated Boston 4-3 in 15 innings.
  • June 19 – George Scott, who walks to lead off the second inning, is the Brewers' only base runner as Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals hurls a 2–0 no-hitter. Busby is the first major league pitcher to throw no-hitters in his first two seasons.
  • June 21 – The Braves fire manager Eddie Mathews, the only man to have played for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
  • June 24 – Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals retires the first nine batters he faces to set an American League record with 33 consecutive batsmen retired. The Royals lose, however, 3–1 to the Chicago White Sox.

July–September[edit]

October–December[edit]

Births[edit]

January[edit]

February[edit]

March[edit]

April[edit]

May[edit]

June[edit]

July[edit]

August[edit]

September[edit]

October[edit]

November[edit]

December[edit]

Deaths[edit]

January[edit]

  • January 2 – Gordon Slade, 69, infielder who appeared in 437 career games for the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds between 1930 and 1935.
  • January 12 – Frank E. McKinney, 69, Indianapolis banker and principal owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from August 8, 1946 to July 18, 1950; longtime owner of his hometown Indianapolis Indians Triple-A club.
  • January 14 – Lloyd Brown, 69, left-handed pitcher who won 46 games for the 1930–1932 Washington Senators and also played with the Brooklyn Robins, St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies over 12 seasons between 1925 and 1940; later, a scout.
  • January 18 – Pete Appleton, 69, relief pitcher for seven teams over 14 seasons between 1927 and 1945, who won 14 games for the 1936 Washington Senators; longtime scout for the Washington/Minnesota Twins franchise; known by his birth name, Jablonowski, until 1934, when he legally changed it.
  • January 20 – George Hockette, 72, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the mid-1930s.

February[edit]

  • February 4 – Hank Winston, 69, relief pitcher who worked in 15 career MLB games for 1933 Philadelphia Athletics and 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers.
  • February 6 – Benny Meyer, 89, outfielder in 39 games for Brooklyn and Philadelphia of the National League (1913, 1925) and 271 games with Baltimore and Buffalo of the "outlaw" Federal League (1914–1915); MLB coach and longtime scout.
  • February 13 – Scrip Lee, 75, Negro league baseball pitcher from 1921 to 1934.
  • February 16 – Gus Brittain, 64, catcher and pinch hitter who appeared in three games for the 1937 Cincinnati Reds.
  • February 20 – Bob Christian, 28, outfielder who appeared in 54 career games for the Detroit Tigers (1968) and Chicago White Sox (1969–1970); also played for Japan's Toei Flyers (1971–1972).

March[edit]

  • March 1 – Larry Doyle, 87, second baseman, primarily for the New York Giants whom he captained, who batted .300 five times and won the NL's 1912 MVP award; led NL in hits twice and stole home 17 times.
  • March 4 – Les Sweetland, 74, left-handed hurler for 1927–1930 Philadelphia Phillies and 1931 Chicago Cubs who appeared in 161 career contests.
  • March 14 – Alex Pompez, 83, owner of the Negro Leagues' Cuban Stars and New York Cubans between 1916 and 1950, who later became a scouting director for the New York Giants.
  • March 16 – Joe Kohlman, 61, pitcher who appeared in nine career games for the 1937–1938 Washington Senators.

April[edit]

  • April 5 – Fred Snodgrass, 86, center fielder for the New York Giants who made a critical drop of an easy fly ball in the tenth inning of the deciding game in the 1912 World Series.
  • April 6 – Roy Wood, 81, outfielder/first baseman who played from 1913-15 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Naps/Indians.
  • April 20 – Al Eckert, 67, left-handed pitcher who went 0–2 in 18 career appearances for the 1930–1931 Cincinnati Reds and 1935 St. Louis Cardinals.
  • April 22 – Steve Swetonic, 70, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1930s, who tied for the National League lead in shutouts in the 1932 season.
  • April 23 – Cy Williams, 86, center fielder for the Cubs and Phillies who became the first National League player to hit 200 home runs, leading the league four times.

May[edit]

  • May 1 – Hal Anderson, 70, outfielder who played in nine games for 1932 Chicago White Sox and had a long career as minor league player and manager.
  • May 5 – Tom McNamara, 78, pinch-hitter for the 1922 Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • May 5 – Vito Tamulis, 62, left-handed pitcher who posted a 40–28 record with a 3.97 ERA in six seasons between 1934 and 1941 for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
  • May 15 – Lou North, 82, pitcher for Detroit Tigers (1913), St. Louis Cardinals (1917 and 1920–1924) and Boston Braves (1924); essentially a reliever, he appeared in 191 career games and led National League in saves (not then an official statistic) in both 1921 and 1922.
  • May 18 – Dan Topping, 61, co-owner (1945 to 1964) and president (from October 1947 to 1964) of the New York Yankees, during which time the team won ten World Series and fifteen AL pennants.
  • May 22 – Ernie White, 57, left-handed pitcher for St. Louis Cardinals (1940–1943) and Boston Braves (1946–1948) who posted a 17–7 mark (with an ERA of 2.40) for the 1941 Redbirds; later a minor-league manager and MLB coach.
  • May 24 – Cliff Markle, 80, pitched in 56 games for the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds over five seasons spanning 1915 to 1924.

June[edit]

  • June 9 – Pat Caraway, 68, southpaw hurler who appeared in 108 career games for 1930–1932 Chicago White Sox; led American League in games lost (24) in 1931.
  • June 24 – Joe Burns, 58, third baseman/outfielder who played in 111 career games for the wartime Boston Braves (1943) and Philadelphia Athletics (1944–1945).
  • June 30 – Mule Haas, 70, center fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925), Philadelphia Athletics (1928–1932 and 1938) and Chicago White Sox (1933–1937), who hit two home runs in the 1929 World Series; member of 1929 and 1930 world champion Athletics.
  • June 30 – Bill Perrin, 64, left-hander who started one game on the mound for the Cleveland Indians on September 30, 1934.

July[edit]

  • July 2 – Paul Strand, 80, pitcher/outfielder who appeared in 96 games (29 on the mound) for the 1913–1915 Boston Braves and 1924 Philadelphia Athletics; went 6–2 with a 2.44 ERA for 1914 "Miracle Braves."
  • July 4 – Del Webb, 75, co-owner and chairman of the Yankees from 1945 to 1964; co-owner Dan Topping had died just weeks earlier.
  • July 5 – Duster Mails, 79, left-handed pitcher who won 32 games for three MLB teams, principally the Cleveland Indians, between 1915 and 1926, but 226 contests in a 602-game, 18-year minor league career.
  • July 9 – Leo Mangum, 78, pitcher who worked in 85 games for three teams, principally the Boston Braves, over seven seasons between 1924 and 1935.
  • July 17 – Dizzy Dean, 64, Hall of Fame pitcher who won MVP award in 1934 for the world-champion "Gas House Gang" St. Louis Cardinals with 30–7 campaign, the last 30-win season by an NL pitcher; was MVP runnerup the next two years, but a broken toe suffered in 1937 All-Star game led to a career-ending arm injury; he became a broadcaster for St. Louis Browns and national telecasts of the Game of the Week known for folksy mangling of the English language.
  • July 26 – Vernon Stouffer, 72, Cleveland food industry and restaurant magnate who was principal owner of the Indians from 1966 to 1972.

August[edit]

  • August 8 – Howie Pollet, 53, left-handed pitcher and three-time National League All-Star who twice won 20 games (1946 and 1949) for the St. Louis Cardinals and twice led NL in earned run average (1943 and 1946); won 131 career games for four MLB clubs over 14-year career, and served as pitching coach of 1959–1964 Cardinals and 1965 Houston Astros; three-time World Series champion as player and coach.
  • August 17 – Johnny Barrett, 58, outfielder in 588 career games for Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves from 1942 to 1946; led NL in triples (19) and stolen bases (28) in 1944.
  • August 19 – Augie Bergamo, 57, reserve outfielder for wartime 1943–1944 St. Louis Cardinals; appeared in 174 MLB games and a member of 1944 World Series champions.

September[edit]

  • September 6 – Sammy Hale, 77, third baseman who played 883 career games for 1920–1921 Detroit Tigers, 1923–1929 Philadelphia Athletics and 1930 St. Louis Browns; batted .302 lifetime.
  • September 8 – Bert Niehoff, 90, second baseman for four National League clubs from 1913 to 1918, and one of the first managers selected by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  • September 19 – James "Zack" Taylor, 76, NL catcher for 15 seasons, later a coach, manager and scout for 35 years; best known as pilot of the St. Louis Browns (part of 1946 and 1948 through 1951) who was at the helm for Bill Veeck's celebrated Eddie Gaedel and "Grandstand Managers' Night" stunts during the 1951 campaign.
  • September 24 – Dick Porter, 72, outfielder in 675 games for Cleveland Indians (1929–1934) and Boston Red Sox (1934), batting .308 lifetime with 774 hits; longtime minor-league manager.
  • September 25 – Cliff Brady, 77, a second baseman for the Boston Red Sox and minor league manager, who also was a member of the Scullin Steel soccer team which won the National Challenge Cup in 1922.
  • September 26 – Lefty Stewart, 74, pitcher who won 20 games for the 1930 St. Louis Browns; also hurled for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians, and went 101–98 (4.19) over his ten-year career.
  • September 29 – Van Patrick, 58, sportscaster noted for football and boxing coverage, whose baseball work included play-by-play assignments for the Cleveland Indians (1948) and Detroit Tigers (1949 and 1952–1959)
  • September 29 – By Speece, 77, pitcher in 62 career games for the Washington Senators (1924), Cleveland Indians (1925–1926) and Philadelphia Phillies (1930); member of 1924 World Series champion Senators.

October[edit]

  • October 5 – Ed Grimes, 69, infielder who got into 74 career games for the St. Louis Browns in 1931 and 1932.
  • October 13 – Sam Rice, 84, Hall of Fame right fielder for 1915–1933 Washington Senators and 1934 Cleveland Indians; batted .322 lifetime and led AL in steals and triples once each; remembered for disputed catch in 1925 World Series; finished career with 2,987 hits, at a time when little attention was paid to career totals.
  • October 22 – Pat Pieper, 88, the Chicago Cubs field (public address) announcer from 1916 to 1974, a span of 59 years.
  • October 28 – George "Teddy" Wilson, 50, pinch hitter and outfielder in 145 games for three clubs, principally the New York Giants, over all or parts of three seasons (1952, 1953 and 1956).
  • October 30 – Jimmy Shevlin, 65, first baseman who played 53 total games for 1930 Detroit Tigers and 1932 and 1934 Cincinnati Reds.
  • October 31 – Buddy Myer, 70, second baseman for the Washington Senators (1925–1927 and 1929–1941) and Boston Red Sox (1927–1928) who batted .303 lifetime with 2,131 hits; won 1935 American League batting title (.349) and led league in stolen bases (30) in 1928; two-time AL All-Star.

November[edit]

  • November 1 – Bullet Joe Bush, 81, pitcher who won 195 games between 1912 and 1928, including a no-hitter; won 26 contests for the 1922 New York Yankees; three-time World Series champion (1913 Philadelphia Athletics, 1918 Boston Red Sox, and 1923 Yankees).
  • November 10 – Mel Simons, 74, outfielder who appeared in 75 games for 1931–1932 Chicago White Sox.
  • November 10 – Ben Paschal, 79, valuable reserve outfielder from 1924 to 1929 for the New York Yankees; member of 1927 and 1928 world champions.
  • November 21 – Leon Pettit, 72, left-handed pitcher who worked in 44 MLB games for the 1935 Washington Senators and 1937 Philadelphia Phillies.
  • November 24 – Johnny Weekly, 37, outfielder who played in 53 games for the Houston Colt .45s from 1962 to 1964.
  • November 25 – Herb "Duke" Brett, 74, pitcher who worked in 11 games for 1924–1925 Chicago Cubs; longtime manager in Piedmont and Carolina leagues.
  • November 25 – Frank Wilson, 73, outfielder who appeared in 168 games between 1924 and 1928 for three MLB teams, principally the Boston Braves.
  • November 25 – Eddie Dent, 86, starting pitcher for the Brooklyn Superbas from 1909–1912.
  • November 29 – Al Moore, 72, centerfielder who appeared in 30 games over parts of two seasons with the 1925–1926 New York Giants.

December[edit]

  • December 4 – Dick Luebke, 39, left-handed pitcher who appeared in ten games for the 1962 Baltimore Orioles.
  • December 11 – Gordon Maltzberger, 62, relief pitcher who put up a 20–13 (2.70) record with 33 saves in 135 games for the Chicago White Sox (1943–1944 and 1946–1947); later, a pitching coach.
  • December 18 – Harry Hooper, 87, Hall of Fame right fielder for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, who was an outstanding defensive player and solid leadoff hitter, helping the Red Sox to four champion titles, while retiring with the fifth-most walks in history.
  • December 22 – Allyn Stout, 70, pitcher who appeared in 180 games (151 in relief) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1931–1933), Cincinnati Reds (1933–1934), New York Giants (1935) and Boston Braves (1943).
  • December 28 – Jack Salveson, 60, pitcher in 87 games for four MLB clubs, principally the Cleveland Indians, in five seasons spanning 1933 to 1945; as a 19-year-old rookie, pitched sparingly for 1933 World Series champion New York Giants.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

External links[edit]


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974_in_baseball&oldid=1080802196"