1974 Baltimore Orioles season

1974 Baltimore Orioles
1974 AL East Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore, Maryland (since 1954)
Results
Record	91–71 (.562)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	Jerold Hoffberger
General manager(s)	Frank Cashen
Manager(s)	Earl Weaver
Local television	WJZ-TV
Local radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
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The 1974 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The Orioles went on to lose to the Oakland Athletics in the 1974 American League Championship Series, 3 games to 1.

Offseason

• December 4, 1973: Merv Rettenmund, Junior Kennedy and Bill Wood (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Ross Grimsley and Wally Williams (minors).^[1]
• December 10, 1973: Dennis Martínez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent.^[2]

Regular season

Much of the success of the team can be attributed to its infield. second baseman Bobby Grich, shortstop Mark Belanger and third baseman Brooks Robinson each led the American League for their positions in assists.

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	91	71	0.562	—	46–35	45–36
New York Yankees	89	73	0.549	2	47–34	42–39
Boston Red Sox	84	78	0.519	7	46–35	38–43
Cleveland Indians	77	85	0.475	14	40–41	37–44
Milwaukee Brewers	76	86	0.469	15	40–41	36–45
Detroit Tigers	72	90	0.444	19	36–45	36–45

Record vs. opponents

1974 American League Records 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	—

Notable transactions

• June 5, 1974: Rich Dauer was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (24th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.^[3]
• September 11, 1974: The Orioles traded a player to be named later and cash to the California Angels for Bob Oliver. The Orioles completed the trade by sending Mickey Scott to the Angels on October 3.^[4]
• September 16, 1974: Jim Northrup was purchased by the Orioles from the Montreal Expos.^[5]

Roster

1974 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 13 Doyle Alexander 35 Mike Cuellar 17 Wayne Garland 39 Ross Grimsley 44 Don Hood 23 Grant Jackson 38 Jesse Jefferson 45 Dave Johnson 19 Dave McNally 22 Jim Palmer 34 Bob Reynolds		Catchers  8 Andy Etchebarren 10 Elrod Hendricks 32 Earl Williams Infielders 15 Frank Baker  7 Mark Belanger 24 Enos Cabell 37 Doug DeCinces  3 Bobby Grich 43 Tim Nordbrook 33 Bob Oliver 26 Boog Powell  5 Brooks Robinson		Outfielders 25 Don Baylor  6 Paul Blair  1 Al Bumbry  2 Rich Coggins 18 Jim Fuller 21 Curt Motton 28 Jim Northrup  9 Mike Reinbach Other batters 12 Tommy Davis		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 31 George Bamberger 41 Jim Frey 55 Billy Hunter 48 George Staller

Player stats

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	Williams, EarlEarl Williams	118	413	105	.254	14	52
1B	Powell, BoogBoog Powell	110	344	91	.265	12	45
2B	Grich, BobbyBobby Grich	160	582	153	.263	19	82
3B	Robinson, BrooksBrooks Robinson	153	553	159	.288	7	59
SS	Belanger, MarkMark Belanger	155	493	11	.225	5	36
LF	Baylor, DonDon Baylor	137	489	133	.272	10	59
CF	Blair, PaulPaul Blair	151	552	144	.261	17	62
RF	Coggins, RichRich Coggins	113	411	100	.243	4	32
DH	Davis, TommyTommy Davis	128	626	181	.289	11	84

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
Bumbry, AlAl Bumbry	94	270	63	.233	1	19
Fuller, JimJim Fuller	64	189	42	.222	7	28
Etchebarren, AndyAndy Etchebarren	62	180	40	.222	2	15
Cabell, EnosEnos Cabell	80	174	42	.241	3	17
Hendricks, ElrodElrod Hendricks	66	159	33	.208	3	8
Baker, FrankFrank Baker	24	29	5	.172	0	0
Reinbach, MikeMike Reinbach	12	20	5	.250	0	2
Oliver, BobBob Oliver	9	20	3	.150	0	4
Nordbrook, TimTim Nordbrook	6	15	4	.267	0	1
Motton, CurtCurt Motton	7	8	0	.000	0	0
Northrup, JimJim Northrup	8	7	4	.571	1	3
DeCinces, DougDoug DeCinces	1	1	0	.000	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
Grimsley, RossRoss Grimsley	40	295.2	18	13	3.07	158
McNally, DaveDave McNally	39	259	16	10	3.58	111
Cuellar, MikeMike Cuellar	38	269.1	22	10	3.11	106
Palmer, JimJim Palmer	26	178.2	7	12	3.27	84

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
Alexander, DoyleDoyle Alexander	30	114.1	6	9	4.01	40
Garland, WayneWayne Garland	20	91	5	5	2.97	40

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
Reynolds, BobBob Reynolds	54	7	5	7	2.73	43
Jackson, GrantGrant Jackson	49	6	4	12	2.57	56
Hood, DonDon Hood	20	1	1	1	3.45	26
Jefferson, JesseJesse Jefferson	20	1	0	0	4.40	31
Johnson, DaveDave Johnson	11	2	2	2	2.93	6

Postseason

ALCS

The Athletics defeated the Orioles, 3-1

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

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Joe Altobelli
AA	Asheville Orioles	Southern League	Cal Ripken, Sr.
A	Lodi Orioles	California League	Jimmie Schaffer
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	George Farson
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Bobby Malkmus

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester

Notes

1. Merv Rettenmund page at Baseball Reference
2. Dennis Martínez page at Baseball Reference
3. Rich Dauer page at Baseball Reference
4. Bob Oliver page at Baseball Reference
5. Jim Northrup page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1974 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1974 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com