The 1974 Major League Baseball season: The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, defeating the

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) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

four games to one. Two notable personal milestones were achieved during the 1974 season. The first came on April 8, when

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

blasted his 715th career home run, breaking the all-time career home run mark of 714 set by

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

. Aaron would finish his career with 755 home runs, a record that would stand until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007. The second milestone came on September 10, when 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 ...

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Ca ...

stole his 105th base off pitcher

Dick Ruthven Richard David Ruthven (born March 27, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs. The two ...

and catcher

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father o ...

of the Philadelphia Phillies. This broke the single-season stolen base record of 104, set by

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...

in 1962. Brock stole 118 bases for the season, a record that would stand until 1982, when

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

stole 130.

Standings

American League

National League

Postseason

Bracket

Awards and honors

* Baseball Hall of Fame **

Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's sp ...

Jim Bottomley James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Loui ...

Jocko Conlan John Bertrand "Jocko" Conlan (December 6, 1899 – April 16, 1989) was an American baseball umpire who worked in the National League (NL) from 1941 to 1965. He had a brief career as an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox before entering umpirin ...

Whitey Ford Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

* Most Valuable Player **

Jeff Burroughs Jeffrey Alan Burroughs (born March 7, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from through , for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1970–76), Atlanta Braves (1977– ...

, Texas Rangers (AL) **

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 ...

(NL) * Cy Young Award **

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

, Oakland Athletics (AL) ** Mike Marshall,

(NL) * Rookie of the Year **

Mike Hargrove Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Guardians. Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rang ...

, Texas Rangers (AL) **

Bake McBride Arnold Ray McBride (born February 3, 1949), nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake" and "The Callaway Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillie ...

(NL) * Gold Glove Award ** George Scott (1B) (AL) ** Bobby Grich (2B) (AL) ** Brooks Robinson (3B) (AL) **

Mark Belanger Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "The Blade," was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through , most notably as a member of the Bal ...

(SS) (AL) ** Paul Blair (OF) (AL) **

Amos Otis Amos Joseph Otis (born April 26, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from to , most prominently as an integral member of the Kansas City Royals team that won t ...

(OF) (AL) ** Joe Rudi (OF) (AL) **

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (–), ...

(P) (AL)

Statistical leaders

Home Field Attendance

Events

On August 30, Texas Rangers player

Dave Nelson David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

steals three bases – 2nd, 3rd and home in the first inning against 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

References

External links

1974 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball ReferenceBaseball History Shorts
{{DEFAULTSORT:1974 Major League Baseball Season Major League Baseball seasons