1974 Texas Rangers season

1974 Texas Rangers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1961)
Western Division (since 1972)
Location
Arlington Stadium (since 1972)
Arlington, Texas (since 1972)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bob Short, Bradford G. Corbett, Amon Carter, Jr., Ray Nasher
General manager(s)	Dan O'Brien, Sr.
Manager(s)	Billy Martin
Local television	WBAP-TV (Dick Risenhoover, Jimmy Piersall, Burt Hawkins)
Local radio	WBAP (Dick Risenhoover, Bill Mercer)
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The 1974 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 76 losses (two rained-out games were never completed). It would be only the second time in franchise history (to that point) that the club finished over .500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas. The club became the first (and, to date, only) team to finish over .500 after two consecutive 100-loss seasons.

Offseason

• October 25, 1973: Bill Madlock and Vic Harris were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs for Ferguson Jenkins.^[1]

Regular season

During the season, Ferguson Jenkins won 25 games for the Rangers, which was Jenkins' personal best for a season and remains the Rangers franchise record for wins by a pitcher in one season. He would also be the third pitcher in the history of the American League to win 25 games in the 20th century and not win the Cy Young Award.^[2]

Ten Cent Beer Night

On June 4, in one of the most remarkably ill-conceived promotions in Major League Baseball history, fans at Cleveland Municipal Stadium for a Cleveland Indians vs. Texas Rangers game were served as many beers as they wanted for just 10¢ each. After numerous instances of drunken fans throwing debris or running onto the field — "streaking" in many instances — the situation boiled over in the 9th inning when a fan ran onto the field and snatched Rangers outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap and glove. Burroughs' teammates charged out to his aid, followed by hundreds of rioting Cleveland fans who poured out onto the field.

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	—

Notable transactions

• April 25, 1974: Mike Kekich was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.^[3]
• June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Tommy Boggs was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (2nd pick).^[4]
  • Gary Gray was drafted by the Rangers in the 10th round.^[5]

Roster

1974 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 30 Lloyd Allen 22 Jim Bibby 40 Pete Broberg 28 Jackie Brown 32 David Clyde 24 Steve Dunning 29 Steve Foucault 34 Bill Hands 26 Steve Hargan 31 Ferguson Jenkins 16 Jim Merritt 25 Jim Shellenback 36 Don Stanhouse 46 Jeff Terpko 23 Stan Thomas		Catchers  8 Dick Billings 14 Bill Fahey  2 Duke Sims 10 Jim Sundberg Infielders 18 Larry Brown 19 Leo Cárdenas  4 Mike Cubbage 17 Jim Fregosi 21 Mike Hargrove 11 Toby Harrah 27 Roy Howell 24 Pete Mackanin  5 Dave Nelson  7 Lenny Randle 38 Tom Robson  3 Jim Spencer		Outfielders 20 Jeff Burroughs  6 Tom Grieve 15 Alex Johnson  8 Bobby Jones  9 Joe Lovitto 12 César Tovar Other batters 30 Dave Moates		Manager  1 Billy Martin Coaches 45 Merl Combs 41 Art Fowler 44 Frank Lucchesi 42 Jackie Moore 43 Charlie Silvera

Player stats

Batting

= Indicates team leader

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	Sundberg, JimJim Sundberg	132	368	91	.247	3	36
1B	Hargrove, MikeMike Hargrove	131	415	134	.323	4	66
2B	Nelson, DaveDave Nelson	121	474	112	.236	3	42
3B	Randle, LennyLenny Randle	151	520	157	.302	1	49
SS	Harrah, TobyToby Harrah	161	573	149	.260	21	74
LF	Johnson, AlexAlex Johnson	114	453	132	.291	4	41
CF	Lovitto, JoeJoe Lovitto	113	283	63	.223	2	26
RF	Burroughs, JeffJeff Burroughs	152	554	167	.301	25	118
DH	Spencer, JimJim Spencer	118	352	98	.278	7	74

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
Tovar, CésarCésar Tovar	138	562	164	.292	4	58
Grieve, TomTom Grieve	84	259	66	.255	9	32
Fregosi, JimJim Fregosi	78	230	60	.261	12	34
Cárdenas, LeoLeo Cárdenas	34	92	25	.272	0	7
Brown, LarryLarry Brown	54	76	15	.197	0	5
Howell, RoyRoy Howell	13	44	11	.250	1	3
Billings, DickDick Billings	16	31	7	.226	0	0
Cubbage, MikeMike Cubbage	9	15	0	.000	0	0
Jones, BobbyBobby Jones	2	5	0	.000	0	0
Moates, DaveDave Moates	1	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
Bibby, JimJim Bibby	41	264	19	19	4.74	149
Jenkins, FergusonFerguson Jenkins	41	328.1	25	12	2.82	225
Brown, JackieJackie Brown	35	216.2	13	12	3.57	134
Clyde, DavidDavid Clyde	28	117	3	9	4.38	52

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
Broberg, PetePete Broberg	12	29	0	4	8.07	15

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
Foucault, SteveSteve Foucault	69	8	9	12	2.24	106
Merritt, JimJim Merritt	26	0	0	0	4.13	18
Allen, LloydLloyd Allen	14	0	1	0	6.55	18
Thomas, StanStan Thomas	12	0	0	0	6.59	8
Dunning, SteveSteve Dunning	1	0	0	0	19.29	1

Awards and honors

• Jeff Burroughs, AL MVP
• Mike Hargrove, AL Rookie of the Year
• Ferguson Jenkins, Comeback Player of The Year
• Billy Martin, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Jeff Burroughs, left field, starter
• Jim Sundberg, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Spokane Indians	Pacific Coast League	Del Wilber
AA	Pittsfield Rangers	Eastern League	Joe Klein
A	Gastonia Rangers	Western Carolinas League	Rich Donnelly
Rookie	GCL Rangers	Gulf Coast League	Bill Haywood

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spokane, Gastonia

Notes

1. Bill Madlock page at Baseball Reference
2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
3. Mike Kekich page at Baseball-Reference
4. Tommy Boggs page at Baseball Reference
5. Gary Gray page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.
• 1974 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1974 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com