1974 Oakland Athletics season

1974 Oakland Athletics
1974 AL West Champions 1974 AL Champions 1974 World Series Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Oakland, California (since 1968)
Results
Record	90–72 (.556)
Other information
Owner(s)	Charles O. Finley
Manager(s)	Alvin Dark
Local television	KTVU
Local radio	KEEN (Monte Moore, Jon Miller)
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The 1974 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their fourth consecutive American League West title with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses. In the playoffs, the A's defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS for their third straight AL pennant, and in the World Series, the first ever played entirely on the West Coast, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to take their third consecutive World Series championship. Paid attendance for the season was 845,693.^[1] In 1974, owner Charlie Finley tried to sell the team with an asking price of $15 million.^[2]

Offseason

• November 3, 1973: Horacio Piña was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Locker.^[3]
• December 12, 1973: Rico Carty was released by the Athletics.^[4]

Regular season

• June 5, 1974: Outfielders Billy North and Reggie Jackson engaged in a clubhouse fight at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Jackson injured his shoulder, and catcher Ray Fosse, attempting to separate the combatants, suffered a crushed disk in his neck, costing him three months on the disabled list.

The pinch runner

In 1974, "Hurricane" Herb Washington was tapped by Oakland owner Charlie Finley to become the A's "designated runner." Despite having no professional baseball experience, and having last played baseball in high school, Washington was signed to a major league contract prior to the season. His major league debut was on April 4, 1974 against the Texas Rangers. Appearing as a pinch runner for Joe Rudi in game two of the 1974 World Series, Washington was picked off first base in a crucial ninth-inning situation by Dodgers' reliever Mike Marshall.

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	90	72	0.556	—	49–32	41–40
Texas Rangers	84	76	0.525	5	42–38	42–38
Minnesota Twins	82	80	0.506	8	48–33	34–47
Chicago White Sox	80	80	0.500	9	46–34	34–46
Kansas City Royals	77	85	0.475	13	40–41	37–44
California Angels	68	94	0.420	22	36–45	32–49

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	—

Opening Day starters

• Sal Bando
• Vida Blue
• Bert Campaneris
• Reggie Jackson
• Ángel Mangual
• Billy North
• Joe Rudi
• Gene Tenace
• Manny Trillo^[5]

Notable transactions

• May 10, 1974: Dal Maxvill was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[6]
• June 5, 1974: Rick Lysander was drafted by the Athletics in the 19th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.^[7]
• August 19, 1974: Pat Bourque was traded by the Athletics to the Minnesota Twins for Jim Holt.^[8]

Roster

1974 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 37 Glenn Abbott 14 Vida Blue 34 Rollie Fingers 33 Dave Hamilton 30 Ken Holtzman 20 Leon Hooten 27 Catfish Hunter 32 Darold Knowles 25 Paul Lindblad 13 Blue Moon Odom 39 Bill Parsons		Catchers 10 Ray Fosse 12 Larry Haney 23 Tim Hosley Infielders  6 Sal Bando 38 Pat Bourque 24 John Donaldson 29 Phil Garner  1 Dick Green 38 Jim Holt  7 Deron Johnson 11 Ted Kubiak 16 Dal Maxvill 21 Rich McKinney 23 Gaylen Pitts 18 Gene Tenace		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 37 Vic Davalillo  9 Reggie Jackson  2 Ángel Mangual  4 Billy North 26 Joe Rudi 28 Champ Summers 15 Claudell Washington Designated runner  3 Herb Washington		Manager  5 Alvin Dark Coaches 41 Jerry Adair 44 Bobby Hofman 44 Vern Hoscheit 43 Irv Noren 42 Wes Stock 43 Bobby Winkles

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	Fosse, RayRay Fosse	64	204	40	.196	4	23
1B	Tenace, GeneGene Tenace	158	484	102	.211	26	73
2B	Green, DickDick Green	100	287	61	.213	2	22
3B	Bando, SalSal Bando	146	498	121	.243	22	103
SS	Campaneris, BertBert Campaneris	134	527	153	.290	2	41
LF	Rudi, JoeJoe Rudi	158	593	174	.293	22	99
CF	North, BillyBilly North	149	543	141	.260	4	33
RF	Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson	148	506	146	.289	29	93
DH	Mangual, ÁngelÁngel Mangual	115	365	85	.233	9	43

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
Mangual, ÁngelÁngel Mangual	115	365	85	.233	9	43
Holt, JimJim Holt	30	42	6	.143	0	0
Donaldson, JohnJohn Donaldson	10	15	2	.133	0	0
Hosley, TimTim Hosley	11	7	2	.286	0	1
McKinney, RichRich McKinney	5	7	1	.143	0	0
Washington, HerbHerb Washington	92	0	0	----	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
Hunter, CatfishCatfish Hunter	41	318.1	25	12	2.49	143
Blue, VidaVida Blue	40	282.1	17	15	3.25	174
Holtzman, KenKen Holtzman	39	255.1	19	17	3.07	117
Abbott, GlennGlenn Abbott	19	96	5	7	3.00	38

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
Hamilton, DaveDave Hamilton	29	117	7	4	3.69	69
Odom, Blue MoonBlue Moon Odom	34	87.1	1	5	3.81	52

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
Fingers, RollieRollie Fingers	76	9	5	18	2.65	95

Postseason

ALCS

The Athletics defeated the Baltimore 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

1974 World Series

Summary

AL Oakland Athletics (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

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

Awards and honors

• Rollie Fingers, World Series Most Valuable Player Award
• Catfish Hunter, P, American League Cy Young Award

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Bert Campaneris, shortstop, starter
• Reggie Jackson, outfield, starter
• Sal Bando, reserve
• Rollie Fingers, reserve
• Catfish Hunter, reserve
• Joe Rudi, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Sherm Lollar
AA	Birmingham A's	Southern League	Harry Bright
A	Burlington Bees	Midwest League	Rene Lachemann
A-Short Season	Lewiston Broncos	Northwest League	Bobby Hofman and Buddy Peterson

References

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.222, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
2. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.202, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
3. Horacio Piña page at Baseball Reference
4. Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
5. 1974 Oakland Athletics Roster by Baseball Almanac
6. Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference
7. Rick Lysander page at Baseball Reference
8. Pat Bourque page at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1974 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1974 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com