The 1974

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

involved the Orioles finishing first in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The Orioles went on to lose to 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 ...

in the

1974 American League Championship Series The 1974 American League Championship Series was a best-of-five matchup between the East Division Champion Baltimore Orioles and the West Division Champion Oakland Athletics. It was a rematch of the previous year's series and third overall betwee ...

, 3 games to 1.

Offseason

* December 4, 1973:

Merv Rettenmund Mervin Weldon Rettenmund (born June 6, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three ...

Junior Kennedy Junior Raymond Kennedy (born August 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, who played during seven Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons. Junior's older brother, Jim Kennedy, played for the 1970 St.Louis Cardinals. ...

and Bill Wood (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Ross Grimsley Ross Albert Grimsley Jr.
Retrieved August 26, 2018 (born J ...

and Wally Williams (minors). * December 10, 1973:

Dennis Martínez José Dennis Martínez Ortiz (born May 14, 1955), nicknamed "El Presidente" (The President), is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. Martínez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland India ...

was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent.

Regular season

Much of the success of the team can be attributed to its infield. second baseman

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Brooks Robinson Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally c ...

each led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

for their positions in assists.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 5, 1974:

Rich Dauer Richard Fremont Dauer (born July 27, 1952) is an American baseball former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 10-year MLB playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1983 World Series. He was primar ...

was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (24th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. * September 11, 1974: The Orioles traded a player to be named later and cash to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for

Bob Oliver Robert Lee Oliver (February 8, 1943 – April 19, 2020) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1965), Kansas City Royals (1969–72), Califo ...

. The Orioles completed the trade by sending

Mickey Scott Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bo ...

to the Angels on October 3. * September 16, 1974: Jim Northrup was purchased by the Orioles from the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

.Jim Northrup page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

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''

Postseason

ALCS

The

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

defeated the Orioles, 3–1, limiting Baltimore to one run in the final three games.
*As division champions, the Orioles earned a postseason bonus of $7,394 each.

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester

Notes

References

*
1974 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference1974 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles seasons Baltimore Orioles season American League East champion seasons