The 1974

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

won the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

by four games over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, then beat the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the

1974 National League Championship Series The 1974 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five series that matched the East Division champion Pittsburgh Pirates against the West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the sixth NLCS in all. The Dodgers won the Series th ...

before losing to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

in the

1974 World Series The 1974 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1974 season. The 71st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion (and two-time defending World ...

Offseason

* October 27, 1973: Rick Auerbach was purchased by the Dodgers from the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. * December 3, 1973:

Sergio Ferrer Sergio Ferrer Marrero (born January 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Minnesota Twins Ferrer was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers at nineteen years old. After three seasons in their fa ...

was drafted from the Dodgers by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the 1973 rule 5 draft. * December 5, 1973: Willie Davis was traded by the Dodgers to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

for Mike Marshall. * December 5, 1973:

Pete Richert Peter Gerard Richert (born October 29, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1962–64, 1972–73), Washington Senators (1965–67), B ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for

Tommie Agee Tommie Lee Agee (August 9, 1942 – January 22, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as the ...

. * December 6, 1973:

Claude Osteen Claude Wilson Osteen (born August 9, 1939), nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to television character Gomer Pyle, is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cinc ...

and Dave Culpepper (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

for

Jimmy Wynn James Sherman Wynn (March 12, 1942March 26, 2020), nicknamed "The Toy Cannon", was an American professional baseball player. He played 15 seasons as a center fielder; he spent ten of his fifteen seasons with the Houston Colt .45s / Astros before ...

Regular season

Mike Marshall set a record by pitching in 106 games in 1974, a record that still stands today.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

* April 3, 1974:

Bruce Ellingsen Harold Bruce Ellingsen (born April 26, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball, the left-handed pitcher worked in 16 games, including two starting assignments for the Cleveland Indians. Originally dra ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

for Pedro Guerrero. * July 11, 1974:

Gail Hopkins Gail Eason Hopkins (born February 19, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball player and coach. Before reaching the majors, he attended David Starr Jordan High School and then a catcher at Pepperdine University, where he was named an All-Amer ...

was purchased by the Dodgers from the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

.Gail Hopkins page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Postseason

1974 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers beat the

in four games in the NLCS.

Game One

October 5, Three Rivers Stadium

Game Two

October 6, Three Rivers Stadium

Game Three

October 8, Dodger Stadium

Game Four

October 9, Dodger Stadium

1974 World Series

The Dodgers were defeated by the

in five games in the World Series. AL

(4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

Awards and honors

National League Most Valuable Player The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

Steve Garvey Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. Garvey was the National ...

* Cy Young Award ** Mike Marshall * Gold Glove Award **

Andy Messersmith John Alexander "Andy" Messersmith (born August 6, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the California Angels (1968–72), Los Angeles Dodgers (1973–75 and 1979), Atlanta B ...

* Comeback Player of the Year Award **

* NL Player of the Month **

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

(April 1974) * NL Player of the Week **

(Apr. 22–28) **

(May 6–12) ** Mike Marshall (June 17–23) **

Davey Lopes David Earle Lopes (; born May 3, 1945) is an American former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston ...

(Aug. 19–25) **

Ron Cey Ronald Charles Cey (; born February 15, 1948), nicknamed "Penguin", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably as an integral member of the Los Angeles Do ...

(Sep. 16–22)

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 23 ...

starter **

starter ** Mike Marshall reserve * Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award **

Sporting News awards

* TSN Pitcher of the Year Award ** Mike Marshall * TSN Fireman of the Year Award ** Mike Marshall * TSN National League All-Star **

Farm system

1974 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the tenth year of a

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. The Dodgers drafted 23 players in the June draft and six in the January draft. The top pick was pitcher

Rick Sutcliffe Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "The Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and ...

from Van Horn High School in

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020, ...

. Sutcliffe would go on to win the 1979 Rookie of the Year Award. The Dodgers traded him to the

in 1982 but he would remain in the league through 1994. He accumulated a record of 171–139, was a three-time All-Star and won the 1984 National League Cy Young Award, while with the Chicago Cubs. They also drafted infielder

Jim Riggleman James David Riggleman (born November 9, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) manager and bench coach who coached with several teams between 1989 and 2019. He is currently the manager for the Billings Mustangs of the independent ...

in the fourth round. While he never made the Majors as a player he had a stint as the Dodgers Major League Bench coach and would become a successful Major League Manager with four different clubs.

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page

External links

1974 Los Angeles Dodgers uniformLos Angeles Dodgers official web site
{{Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Los Angeles Dodgers season National League West champion seasons National League champion seasons Los Angel