1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season

Major League Baseball season

Major League Baseball team season
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers
National League Champions
National League West Champions
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkDodger Stadium
CityLos Angeles
OwnersWalter O'Malley, heirs of James Mulvey
PresidentPeter O'Malley
General managersAl Campanis
ManagersWalter Alston
TelevisionKTTV (11)
RadioKABC
Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett
XEGM
Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos
← 1973 Seasons 1975 →

The 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League West by four games over the Cincinnati Reds, then beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS before losing to the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

Offseason

Regular season

Mike Marshall set a record by pitching in 106 games in 1974, a record that still stands today.[6]

Season standings

  • v
  • t
  • e
NL West
W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 102 60 0.630 52–29 50–31
Cincinnati Reds 98 64 0.605 4 50–31 48–33
Atlanta Braves 88 74 0.543 14 46–35 42–39
Houston Astros 81 81 0.500 21 46–35 35–46
San Francisco Giants 72 90 0.444 30 37–44 35–46
San Diego Padres 60 102 0.370 42 36–45 24–57

Record vs. opponents

1974 National League record
  • v
  • t
  • e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta 4–8 7–11–1 6–12 8–10 9–3 8–4 8–4 4–8 17–1 8–10 9–3
Chicago 8–4 5–7 4–8 2–10 5–13 8–10 8–10 9–9 6–6 6–6 5–13
Cincinnati 11–7–1 7–5 14–4 6–12 6–6 9–3 8–4 8–4 12–6 11–7 6–6
Houston 12–6 8–4 4–14 5–13 6–6 6–6 6–6 5–7 7–11 10–8 8–4
Los Angeles 10–8 10–2 12–6 13–5 8–4 5–7 6–6 4–8 16–2 12–6 6–6
Montreal 3–9 13–5 6–6 6–6 4–8 9–9 11–7 9–9 6–6 4–8 8–9
New York 4–8 10–8 3–9 6–6 7–5 9–9 7–11 7–11 6–6 6–6 6–12
Philadelphia 4-8 10–8 4–8 6–6 6–6 7–11 11–7 10–8 5–7 8–4 9–9
Pittsburgh 8–4 9–9 4–8 7–5 8–4 9–9 11–7 8–10 9–3 8–4 7–11
San Diego 1–17 6–6 6–12 7–11 2–16 6–6 6–6 7–5 3–9 11–7 5–7
San Francisco 10–8 6–6 7–11 8–10 6–12 8–4 6–6 4–8 4–8 7–11 6–6
St. Louis 3–9 13–5 6–6 4–8 6–6 9–8 12–6 9–9 11–7 7–5 6–6


Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters
Name Position
Davey Lopes Second baseman
Bill Buckner First baseman
Jimmy Wynn Center fielder
Joe Ferguson Catcher
Willie Crawford Right fielder
Ron Cey Third baseman
Von Joshua Left fielder
Bill Russell Shortstop
Don Sutton Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

Roster

1974 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 Steve Yeager 94 316 84 .266 12 41
1B Steve Garvey 156 642 200 .312 21 111
2B Davey Lopes 145 530 141 .266 10 35
SS Bill Russell 160 553 149 .269 5 65
3B Ron Cey 159 577 151 .262 18 97
LF Bill Buckner 145 580 182 .314 7 58
CF Jim Wynn 150 535 145 .271 32 108
RF Willie Crawford 139 468 138 .295 11 61

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
Joe Ferguson 111 349 88 .252 16 57
Tom Paciorek 85 175 42 .240 1 24
Von Joshua 81 124 29 .234 1 16
Lee Lacy 48 78 22 .282 0 8
Rick Auerbach 45 73 25 .342 1 4
Ken McMullen 44 60 15 .250 3 12
Manny Mota 66 57 16 .281 0 16
Gail Hopkins 15 18 4 .222 0 0
John Hale 4 4 4 1.000 0 2
Charlie Manuel 4 3 1 .333 0 1
Ivan DeJesus 3 3 1 .333 0 0
Orlando Alvarez 2 1 0 .000 0 0
Jerry Royster 6 0 0 ---- 0 0
Kevin Pasley 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
Andy Messersmith 39 292.1 20 6 2.59 221
Don Sutton 40 276.0 19 9 3.23 179
Doug Rau 36 198.1 13 11 3.72 126
Tommy John 22 153.0 13 3 2.59 78

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
Al Downing 21 98.1 5 6 3.66 63
Geoff Zahn 21 79.2 3 5 2.03 33

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
Mike Marshall 106 15 12 21 2.42 143
Charlie Hough 49 9 4 1 3.75 63
Jim Brewer 24 4 4 0 2.52 26
Rick Rhoden 4 1 0 0 2.00 7
Eddie Solomon 4 0 0 1 1.50 2
Greg Shanahan 4 0 0 0 3.86 2
Rex Hudson 1 0 0 0 22.50 0

Postseason

1974 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games in the NLCS.

Game One

October 5, Three Rivers Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Los Angeles 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 9 2
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
W: Don Sutton (1–0)   L: Jerry Reuss (0–1)  
HR: None

Game Two

October 6, Three Rivers Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Los Angeles 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 5 12 0
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 8 3
W: Andy Messersmith (1–0)  L: Dave Giusti (0–1)  
HRs: LADRon Cey (1)

Game Three

October 8, Dodger Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 10 0
Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5
W: Bruce Kison (1–0)  L: Doug Rau (0–1)  
HRs: PITWillie Stargell (1), Richie Hebner (1)

Game Four

October 9, Dodger Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 1
Los Angeles 1 0 2 0 2 2 2 3 X 12 12 0
W: Don Sutton (2–0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0–2)  
HRs: LADSteve Garvey (2); PITWillie Stargell (2)

1974 World Series

The Dodgers were defeated by the Oakland Athletics in five games in the World Series.

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

All-Stars

Sporting News awards

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Albuquerque Dukes Pacific Coast League Stan Wasiak
AA Waterbury Dodgers Eastern League Don LeJohn
A Bakersfield Dodgers California League George Freese
A Orangeburg Dodgers Western Carolinas League Bart Shirley
Rookie Bellingham Dodgers Northwest League Bill Berrier

1974 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the tenth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 23 players in the June draft and six in the January draft.

The top pick was pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from Van Horn High School in Independence, Missouri. Sutcliffe would go on to win the 1979 Rookie of the Year Award. The Dodgers traded him to the Cleveland Indians 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 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.

1974 Draft Picks

January draft

[9]

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level
1 Claude Westmoreland OF University of California, Berkeley Yes 1974–1982 AAA
2 Dale Forchetti SS University of Southern Mississippi No
3 Hank Boguszewski RHP Nassau Community College No
4 Shane Rawley LHP Indian Hills Community College No
Expos-1974
1974–1989 MLB

January Secondary phase

[10]

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level
1 Donald Cardoza OF College of the Sequoias Yes 1974–1978 AAA
2 Jim Dorsey RHP Los Angeles Valley College No
Angels-1975
1975–1985 MLB

June draft

[11]

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level
1 Rick Sutcliffe RHP Van Horn High School Yes 1974–1994 MLB
2 Steve Shirley LHP Terra Nova High School Yes 1974–1988 MLB
3 Freddie Tisdale SS Centennial High School Yes 1974–1983 AAA
4 Jim Riggleman 2B Frostburg State University Yes 1974–1981 AAA
5 Alvin Harper SS Southern University and A&M College Yes 1974 A
6 James Del Vecchio 2B Andrew Ward High School Yes 1974–1979 AAA
7 Chris Gandy OF Christian Brothers High School No
Dodgers-1978
1978–1980 A
8 Randy Rogers SS Texas High School Yes 1974–1981 AAA
9 Joseph Keller RHP Clover Park High School Yes 1974–1976 A
10 Charles Ollar OF Oklahoma State University Yes 1974–1980 AAA
11 Scott Anderson RHP Lake Oswego High School No
Expos-1977
1977–1982 AA
12 Dwayne Wright C Berkeley High School No
Blue Jays-1977
1977–1978 A
13 Les Pearsey SS Brethren High School No
Twins-1978
1978–1982 AAA
14 Jackie Schuman 2B Putnam City High School No
15 Richard Oliveri 3B Bishop Fallon High School Yes 1974–1978 A-
16 Billy Wilson RHP Emporia State University Yes 1974–1978 AAA
17 Michael Laurent RHP University of New Mexico Yes 1974–1975 A
18 Ramon Murillo RHP Agua Fria High School No
White Sox-1978
1978–1982 AAA
19 Brian Heublein LHP University of Southern California No
20 Chris Lynch RHP Miami Dade College No
21 Ronald Wrobel LHP Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary No
Indians-1978
1978–1980 A
22 Doug Slocum RHP Arizona State University Yes 1974–1978 AA

June secondary phase

[12]

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level
1 Robert Glass 3B State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota Yes 1974–1979 AAA

Notes

  1. ^ Rick Auerbach page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Sergio Ferrer page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Willie Davis page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Tommie Agee page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Claude Osteen page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Single-Season Leaders & Records for Games Played from Baseball-Reference
  7. ^ Bruce Ellingsen page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Gail Hopkins page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Regular Phase
  10. ^ 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase
  11. ^ 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft
  12. ^ 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase

References

  • Baseball-Reference season page
  • Baseball Almanac season page

External links

  • 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
  • Los Angeles Dodgers official web site
  • v
  • t
  • e
1870s
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
  • v
  • t
  • e
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
  • v
  • t
  • e
Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Established in 1884
  • Formerly the Brooklyn Robins and the Brooklyn Dodgers
  • Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise
Ballparks
Culture
Lore
Rivalries
Important figures
Hall of Fame members
Ford C. Frick Award recipients
Miscellaneous
Key personnel
World Series
Championships (7)
League pennants
(24)
Division titles (21)
Wild card berths (3)
Minor league affiliates
Seasons (141)
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s