1974 San Diego Padres season

MLB yearly infobox
name = San Diego Padres
season = 1974
misc =

current league = National League
y1 = 1876
division = Western Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform
ballpark = San Diego Stadium
y4 = 1967
city = San Diego, California
y5 = 1969
owners = C. Arnholt Smith and Ray Kroc
managers = John McNamara
television = none
radio = KOGO
(Jerry Coleman, Bob Chandler)|

The 1974 San Diego Padres season was the 6th in franchise history.

Offseason

* October 25, 1973: Mike Caldwell was traded by the Padres to the San Francisco Giants for Willie McCovey and Bernie Williams. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mccovwi01.shtml Willie McCovey page at Baseball Reference] ]

Washington Padres?

Before the 1974 season began, the Padres were on the verge of being sold to Joseph Danzansky, who was planning to move the franchise to Washington, D.C. by the beginning of the 1974 season. People were so convinced the transfer would happen that new uniforms were designed. Even the baseball card companies were fooled. About half of the Padres' player cards printed by Topps that season displayed "Washington National League" as the team name. But C. Arnholt Smith changed his mind, and instead sold the Padres to McDonald's' co-founder Ray Kroc, who scuttled the planned move and kept the team in San Diego. The nation's capital would have to wait until after the 2004 season, when the Montreal Expos, the Padres' sister National League expansion team in 1969, transferred to the District of Columbia and became the Washington Nationals.

Regular season

*In his first home game as the Padres' new owner in 1974, Ray Kroc grabbed the public address system microphone and apologized to fans for the poor performance of the team, saying, "I've never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life." At the same time, a streaker raced across the field, eluding security personnel. Kroc shouted, "Throw him in jail!"

Opening Day starters

*Steve Arlin
*Glenn Beckert
*Nate Colbert
*Johnny Grubb
*Enzo Hernandez
*Fred Kendall
*Willie McCovey
*Derrel Thomas
*Bobby Tolan [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1974&t=SDN]

eason standings

Transactions

*June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball Draft
**Bill Almon was drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (1st pick). [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/almonbi01.shtml Bill Almon page at Baseball Reference] ]
**Bump Wills was drafted by the Padres in the 12th round, but did not sign. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/willsbu01.shtml Bump Wills page at Baseball Reference] ]

Roster

Other batters

Relief pitchers

Award Winners

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/1974.shtml 1974 San Diego Padres team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1974&t=SDN 1974 San Diego Padres team page at Baseball Almanac]