1974 Boston Red Sox season

MLB yearly infobox alt
name = Boston Red Sox
season = 1974
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform
ballpark = Fenway Park
y4 = 1912
city = Boston, Massachusetts
y5 = 1901
owners = Tom Yawkey
general managers = Dick O'Connell
managers = Darrell Johnson
television = WBZ-TV, Ch. 4
(Ken Coleman, Johnny Pesky)
radio = WHDH-AM 850
(Ned Martin, Dave Martin)|

The by|1974 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing 3rd in the American League East with a record of 84 wins and 78 losses.

Offseason

*October 24, 1973: Dick Drago was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Boston Red Sox for Marty Pattin. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dragodi01.shtml Dick Drago Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*December 7, 1973: Juan Marichal was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the San Francisco Giants. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/maricju01.shtml Juan Marichal Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* December 7, 1973: Diego Segui was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Reggie Cleveland and Terry Hughes to the Boston Red Sox for Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis, and Mike Garman. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/seguidi01.shtml Diego Segui Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* March 26, 1974: Orlando Cepeda was released by the Boston Red Sox.

Regular season

The Injury Bug Struck Boston

Two calamities befell the Red Sox that year, and they would work to make the year a disappointing one and let the team get the nickname of "chokers". First Carlton Fisk, who appeared to be ready for greatness, tore up his left knee while blocking the plate in a June 28 game against the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland. he had surgery and was out for the rest of the season. Catching, meant to be a Sox strongpoint, became a weak one instead. Then Rick Wise, who was expected to join with Luis Tiant and Bill Lee to give the Sox a solid 1-2-3 punch on the mound, missed much of the early part of the season with a shoulder injury, and when he was coming back from that he broke a finger when his wife accidentally closed a door on his hand. He ended up at 3-4 with Boston in 1974.

56 Years And Counting

Despite the injuries, the team persevered, actually holdong a seven-game lead as of August 21. then the Sox went into an incredible slump, losing 24 of the final 38 games and dropping all the way to third. Boston fans were livid, and some said that the Sox had been playing over their heads all along and that it had finally caught up with them, especially when they lacked Fisk and Wise.

The Baltimore Orioles easily won the AL East in 1974, then lost to the Oakland A's for the second straight year, and the A's went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 1 to capture their third straight world championship. Boston licked itw wounds, taking some consolation from Carl Yastrzemski's .301 average, with 15 homers and 79 RBIs. Dwight Evans had .281, 10 homers and 70 RBIs. And there were 22 wins for Tiant and 17 for Bill Lee. Twice in three years now, the Red Sox fans thought they had the pennant, and twice the team had failed them. It appeared that in 1975 the Sox might have a hard time keeping the fans coming. But with Fred Lynn and Jim Rice due on the scene, no one need have worried.

eason standings

Notable Transactions

*October 24, 1974: Juan Marichal was released by the Boston Red Sox.

Opening Day Line Up

Other batters

Relief pitchers

Farm system [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," 2nd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007]

* Class AAA: Pawtucket Red Sox (International League; Joe Morgan, manager)
* Class AA: Bristol Red Sox (Eastern League; Stan Williams, manager)
* Class A: Winston-Salem Red Sox (Carolina League; Bill Slack, manager)
* Class A: Winter Haven Red Sox (Florida State League; Rac Slider, manager)
* Class SS-A: Elmira Red Sox (New York-Penn League; Dick Berardino, manager)

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1974.shtml 1974 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1974&t=BOS 1974 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com]