1974 St. Louis Cardinals season

Major League Baseball season

This article is about the Major League Baseball team. For the National Football League team, see 1974 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season.

Major League Baseball team season

1974 St. Louis Cardinals

League| National League
Division| East
Ballpark| Busch Memorial Stadium
City| St. Louis, Missouri
Record| 86–75 (.534)
Divisional place| 2nd
Owners| August "Gussie" Busch
General managers| Bing Devine
Managers| Red Schoendienst
Television| KSD-TV
(Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Jay Randolph)
Radio| KMOX
(Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Bob Starr)
| <- 1973 | Seasons | 1975 ->

|
|

The 1974 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 93rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 83rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 86–75 during the season and finished second in the National League East, 1+1⁄2 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Offseason

[edit]

* October 26, 1973: Eddie Fisher was released by the St. Louis Cardinals.[1]
* October 26, 1973: Bernie Carbo and Rick Wise were traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.[2]
* December 5, 1973: Tommie Agee was traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pete Richert.[3]
* December 7, 1973: Diego Seguí, Reggie Cleveland and Terry Hughes were traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis, and Mike Garman.[4]

## Regular season

[edit]

Outfielder Lou Brock led the NL with 118 stolen bases, breaking the modern-era (post-1901) MLB single-season mark of 104, set by Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills in 1962. He also broke the all-time National League record of 111 set by John Montgomery Ward in 1887, when stolen bases were counted differently. Brock broke Wills' record on September 10 in a game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Brock's record still stands as the NL record, but Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics broke the modern MLB mark in 1982, with 130 steals. The all-time MLB record was, and still is, held by Hugh Nicol, who stole 138, also in 1887, while playing in the American Association.

Outfielder Bake McBride won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, batting .309, with 6 home runs and 56 RBIs.

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

NL East Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 74  | .543  | —  | 52‍–‍29  | 36‍–‍45
St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 75  | .534  | 1½  | 44‍–‍37  | 42‍–‍38
Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 82  | .494  | 8  | 46‍–‍35  | 34‍–‍47
Montreal Expos | 79 | 82  | .491  | 8½  | 42‍–‍38  | 37‍–‍44
New York Mets | 71 | 91  | .438  | 17  | 36‍–‍45  | 35‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs | 66 | 96  | .407  | 22  | 32‍–‍49  | 34‍–‍47

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

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 | —

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball Draft
* Bill Caudill was drafted by the Cardinals in the 8th round. Player signed June 15, 1974.[5]
* Paul Molitor was drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round, but did not sign.[6]
* August 11, 1974: Steve Barber was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.[7]
* August 15, 1974: Ron Selak (minors) and a player to be named later were traded by the Cardinals to the Houston Astros for Claude Osteen. The Cardinals completed the trade by sending Dan Larson to the Astros on October 14.[8]
* September 5, 1974: Ron Hunt was selected off waivers by the Cardinals from the Montreal Expos.[9]

### Roster

[edit]

1974 St. Louis Cardinals

Roster
Pitchers

* 40 Ray Bare
* 22 John Curtis
* 36 John Denny
* 28 Rich Folkers
* 31 Bob Forsch
* 27 Alan Foster
* 43 Mike Garman
* 45 Bob Gibson
* 39 Al Hrabosky
* 15 Barry Lersch
* 47 Lynn McGlothen
* 34 Claude Osteen
* 36 Orlando Peña
* 34 Pete Richert
* 42 Sonny Siebert
* 46 Mike Thompson

|  | Catchers

* 12 Dick Billings
* 16 Marc Hill
* 15 Tim McCarver
* 23 Ted Simmons

Infielders

* 1 Luis Alvarado
* 29 Jerry DaVanon
* 11 Jack Heidemann
* 5 Tom Heintzelman
* 29 Bob Heise
* 18 Keith Hernandez
* 24 Jim Hickman
* 32 Ron Hunt
* 29 Stan Papi
* 44 Ken Reitz
* 41 Ted Sizemore
* 9 Joe Torre
* 10 Mike Tyson

|  | Outfielders

* 20 Lou Brock
* 38 José Cruz
* 25 Jim Dwyer
* 24 Danny Godby
* 46 Larry Herndon
* 21 Bake McBride
* 26 Luis Meléndez
* 29 Jerry Mumphrey
* 7 Reggie Smith

Other batters

* 19 Richie Scheinblum

|  | Manager

* 2 Red Schoendienst

Coaches

* 8 Vern Benson
* 3 George Kissell
* 30 Johnny Lewis
* 14 Dave Ricketts
* 33 Barney Schultz

## Player stats

[edit]

### Batting

[edit]

#### Starters by position

[edit]

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 | Ted Simmons | 152 | 599 | 163 | .272 | 20 | 103
1B | Joe Torre | 147 | 529 | 149 | .282 | 11 | 70
2B | Ted Sizemore | 129 | 504 | 126 | .250 | 2 | 47
SS | Mike Tyson | 151 | 422 | 94 | .223 | 1 | 37
3B | Ken Reitz | 154 | 579 | 157 | .271 | 7 | 54
LF | Lou Brock | 153 | 635 | 194 | .306 | 3 | 48
CF | Bake McBride | 150 | 559 | 173 | .309 | 6 | 56
RF | Reggie Smith | 143 | 517 | 160 | .309 | 23 | 100

#### Other batters

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

José Cruz | 107 | 161 | 42 | .261 | 5 | 20
Luis Meléndez | 83 | 124 | 27 | .218 | 0 | 8
Tim McCarver | 74 | 106 | 23 | .217 | 0 | 11
Jim Dwyer | 74 | 86 | 24 | .279 | 2 | 11
Tom Heintzelman | 38 | 74 | 17 | .230 | 1 | 6
Jack Heidemann | 47 | 70 | 19 | .271 | 0 | 3
Jim Hickman | 50 | 60 | 16 | .267 | 2 | 4
Jerry DaVanon | 30 | 40 | 6 | .150 | 0 | 4
Luis Alvarado | 17 | 36 | 5 | .139 | 0 | 1
Keith Hernandez | 14 | 34 | 10 | .294 | 0 | 2
Ron Hunt | 12 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 0 | 0
Marc Hill | 10 | 21 | 5 | .238 | 0 | 2
Danny Godby | 13 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1
Bob Heise | 3 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 0
Richie Scheinblum | 6 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0
Dick Billings | 1 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0
Stan Papi | 8 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 1
Jerry Mumphrey | 5 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0
Larry Herndon | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0

### Pitching

[edit]

#### Starting pitchers

[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Bob Gibson | 33 | 240.0 | 11 | 13 | 3.83 | 129
Lynn McGlothen | 31 | 237.1 | 16 | 12 | 2.69 | 142
John Curtis | 33 | 195.0 | 10 | 14 | 3.78 | 89
Alan Foster | 31 | 162.1 | 7 | 10 | 3.88 | 78
Sonny Siebert | 28 | 133.2 | 8 | 8 | 3.84 | 68
Bob Forsch | 19 | 100.0 | 7 | 4 | 2.97 | 39

#### Other pitchers

[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Mike Thompson | 19 | 38.1 | 0 | 3 | 5.63 | 25
Ray Bare | 10 | 24.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.92 | 6
Claude Osteen | 8 | 22.2 | 0 | 2 | 4.37 | 6

#### Relief pitchers

[edit]

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

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Al Hrabosky | 65 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2.95 | 82
Mike Garman | 64 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 2.64 | 45
Rich Folkers | 55 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3.00 | 57
Orlando Peña | 42 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2.60 | 23
Pete Richert | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.38 | 4
John Denny | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1
Barry Lersch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.50 | 0

## Awards and honors

[edit]

### League leaders

[edit]

* Lou Brock, National League stolen base leader, 118[10]

## Farm system

[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Tulsa Oilers | American Association | Ken Boyer
AA | Arkansas Travelers | Texas League | Jack Krol
A | Modesto Reds | California League | Lee Thomas
A | St. Petersburg Cardinals | Florida State League | Roy Majtyka
Rookie | GCL Cardinals | Gulf Coast League | Tom Burgess and Bobby Dews

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tulsa[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Eddie Fisher Stats".
2. ^ "Reggie Smith Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
3. ^ Tommie Agee page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Diego Segui page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Bill Caudill page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Paul Molitor page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Steve Barber page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Dan Larson page at Baseball Reference
9. ^ Ron Hunt page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac
11. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

## External links

[edit]

* 1974 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference
* 1974 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

* v
* t
* e

1974 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1974 MLB draft
* 1974 All-Star Game
* 1974 World Series

* v
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St. Louis Cardinals

* Established in 1882
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* Chicago Cubs
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Key personnel|

* Owner: Bill DeWitt Jr.
* President of Baseball Operations: John Mozeliak
* General Manager: Mike Girsch
* Manager: Oliver Marmol

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affiliates|

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