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, 1½ games behind 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 ...

Offseason

* October 26, 1973: Eddie Fisher was released by the St. Louis Cardinals. * December 5, 1973: Tommie Agee was traded by the Cardinals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Pete Richert. * December 7, 1973: Diego Seguí, Reggie Cleveland and

Terry Hughes Terry Hughes may refer to: * Terry Hughes (baseball), American Major League Baseball player * Terry Hughes (biologist), Irish-Australian biologist * Terry Hughes (director), British comedy television director * Terry Hughes (politician), Califor ...

were traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for

Lynn McGlothen Lynn Everett McGlothen (March 27, 1950 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . He played for the Boston Red Sox (1972–1973), St. Louis Cardin ...

, John Curtis, and

Mike Garman Michael Douglas Garman (born September 16, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. A relief pitcher, he played for five different teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1969 and 1978. He was a first-round draft selection ...

Regular season

Outfielder Lou Brock led the NL with 118

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, breaking the modern-era (post-1898) 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 The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Brock's record still stands as the NL record, but Rickey Henderson of 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 te ...

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

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball Draft ** Bill Caudill was drafted by the Cardinals in the 8th round. Player signed June 15, 1974. ** Paul Molitor was drafted by the Cardinals in the 28th round, but did not sign. * August 11, 1974:

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams between 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 str ...

was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals. * August 15, 1974: Ron Selak (minors) and a player to be named later were traded by the Cardinals 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 ...

for

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 Cinci ...

. The Cardinals completed the trade by sending Dan Larson to the Astros on October 14. * September 5, 1974: Ron Hunt was selected off waivers by the Cardinals from the Montreal Expos.

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''

Awards and honors

League leaders

* Lou Brock, National League stolen base leader, 118

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: TulsaJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1974 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference1974 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season St Louis