1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season won the National League West Division 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.

1974 Los Angeles Dodgers
National League champion National League West champions
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Record	102–60 (.630)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Walter O'Malley, heirs of James Mulvey
President	Peter O'Malley
General managers	Al Campanis
Managers	Walter Alston
Television	KTTV (11)
Radio	KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett XEGM Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos
← 1973 Seasons 1975 →

Offseason

• October 27, 1973: Rick Auerbach was purchased by the Dodgers from the Milwaukee Brewers.^[1]
• December 3, 1973: Sergio Ferrer was drafted from the Dodgers by the Minnesota Twins in the 1973 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• December 5, 1973: Willie Davis was traded by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Mike Marshall.^[3]
• December 5, 1973: Pete Richert was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tommie Agee.^[4]
• December 6, 1973: Claude Osteen and Dave Culpepper (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the Houston Astros for Jimmy Wynn.^[5]

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

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	102	60	.630	—	52‍–‍29	50‍–‍31
Cincinnati Reds	98	64	.605	4	50‍–‍31	48‍–‍33
Atlanta Braves	88	74	.543	14	46‍–‍35	42‍–‍39
Houston Astros	81	81	.500	21	46‍–‍35	35‍–‍46
San Francisco Giants	72	90	.444	30	37‍–‍44	35‍–‍46
San Diego Padres	60	102	.370	42	36‍–‍45	24‍–‍57

Record vs. opponents

1974 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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

• April 3, 1974: Bruce Ellingsen was traded by the Dodgers to the Cleveland Indians for Pedro Guerrero.^[7]
• July 11, 1974: Gail Hopkins was purchased by the Dodgers from the Hawaii Islanders.^[8]

Roster

1974 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 21 Jim Brewer 44 Al Downing 49 Charlie Hough 40 Rex Hudson 25 Tommy John 28 Mike Marshall 47 Andy Messersmith 31 Doug Rau 36 Rick Rhoden 41 Greg Shanahan 50 Eddie Solomon 20 Don Sutton 38 Geoff Zahn		Catchers 13 Joe Ferguson 16 Gail Hopkins  9 Kevin Pasley  7 Steve Yeager Infielders  1 Rick Auerbach 10 Ron Cey 14 Iván DeJesús  6 Steve Garvey 34 Lee Lacy 15 Davey Lopes  5 Ken McMullen  8 Jerry Royster 18 Bill Russell		Outfielders  2 Orlando Alvarez 22 Bill Buckner 27 Willie Crawford 43 John Hale 12 Von Joshua 46 Charlie Manuel 11 Manny Mota 17 Tom Paciorek 23 Jimmy Wynn		Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 26 Red Adams 54 Monty Basgall 58 Mark Cresse 19 Jim Gilliam 52 Tommy Lasorda

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

Main article: 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: LAD – Ron 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: PIT – Willie 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: LAD – Steve Garvey (2); PIT – Willie Stargell (2)

1974 World Series

Main article: 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

National League Most Valuable Player Steve Garvey Cy Young Award Mike Marshall Gold Glove Award Andy Messersmith Steve Garvey Comeback Player of the Year Award Jimmy Wynn

NL Player of the Month Tommy John (April 1974) NL Player of the Week Tommy John (Apr. 22–28) Jimmy Wynn (May 6–12) Mike Marshall (June 17–23) Davey Lopes (Aug. 19–25) Ron Cey (Sep. 16–22)

All-Stars

• 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Andy Messersmith starter
  • Steve Garvey starter
  • Ron Cey starter
  • Jimmy Wynn starter
  • Mike Marshall reserve
• Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award
  • Steve Garvey

Sporting News awards

• TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
  • Mike Marshall
• TSN Fireman of the Year Award
  • Mike Marshall
• TSN National League All-Star
  • Jimmy Wynn
  • Andy Messersmith
  • Steve Garvey

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

Main article: 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