# 1974 Boston Red Sox season

The 1974 Boston Red Sox season was the 74th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 84 wins and 78 losses, seven games behind the Baltimore Orioles.

## Offseason

* October 24, 1973: Marty Pattin was traded by the Red Sox to the Kansas City Royals for Dick Drago.
* October 26, 1973: Reggie Smith was traded by the Red Sox with Ken Tatum to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bernie Carbo and Rick Wise.
* December 7, 1973: Juan Marichal was purchased by the Red Sox from the San Francisco Giants.
* December 7, 1973: Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis, and Mike Garman were traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Diego Seguí, Reggie Cleveland and Terry Hughes.
* March 26, 1974: Orlando Cepeda was released by the Red Sox.

## Regular season

Record by month :
| Month | Record | Record | Cumulative | Cumulative | AL East | AL East | Ref. |
| Month | Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Position | GB | Ref. |
| April | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 6th | 2+1⁄2 | |
| May | 15 | 10 | 25 | 22 | 2nd | 1⁄2 | |
| June | 16 | 10 | 41 | 32 | 1st | +2+1⁄2 | |
| July | 14 | 15 | 55 | 47 | 1st | +2+1⁄2 | |
| August | 17 | 12 | 72 | 59 | 1st | +3 | |
| September | 11 | 18 | 83 | 77 | 3rd | 6 | |
| October | 1 | 1 | 84 | 78 | 3rd | 7 | |

### Season summary
#### The injury bug struck Boston

Two calamities befell the Red Sox in 1974, 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.

#### Falling short again

Despite the injuries, the team persevered, actually holding a seven-game lead as of August 23. After that, the Sox went into an incredible slump, losing 24 of the final 38 games and dropping all the way to third. As late as August 29, they were still up on the second place New York Yankees by 5 and the Baltimore Orioles by 8. Boston lost 8 in a row, including an infamous Labor Day doubleheader to the streaking Orioles, both games by the score of 1–0. Boston finished the season seven games behind the division-winning Orioles and five behind second-place New York. They went 5–13 in one and two run games during the slump, including several 1–0 losses to either Baltimore or New York.
As a team they batted .203 over their last 33 games. 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. Boston licked its wounds, taking some consolation from Carl Yastrzemski's .301 average, with 15 homers and 79 RBIs. Dwight Evans had a .281 average, 10 homers and 70 RBIs. There were 22 wins for Tiant and 17 for Bill Lee. Twice in three years, the Red Sox fans thought they had the pennant, and twice the team had failed them.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 45‍–‍36 |
| New York Yankees | 89 | 73 | .549 | 2 | 47‍–‍34 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 78 | .519 | 7 | 46‍–‍35 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14 | 40‍–‍41 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 15 | 40‍–‍41 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 72 | 90 | .444 | 19 | 36‍–‍45 | 36‍–‍45 |

### Record vs. opponents

1974 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | TEX |
| Baltimore | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 |
| Boston | 8–10 | — | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 5–7 |
| California | 5–7 | 8–4 | — | 10–8–1 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–10 | 3–9 | 8–10 | 3–9 | 6–12 | 9–9 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | 4–8 | 8–10–1 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 7–11–1 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 9–7–1 |
| Cleveland | 6–12 | 9–9 | 9–3 | 4–8 | — | 9–9 | 8–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 4–8 |
| Detroit | 4–14 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 |
| Kansas City | 4–8 | 8–4 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 11–1 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 8–10 |
| Milwaukee | 10–8 | 8–10 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 1–11 | — | 6–6 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 11–7–1 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 10–8 | 6–6 | — | 4–8 | 5–13 | 9–9 |
| New York | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 8–4 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 |
| Oakland | 6–6 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 13–5 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 |
| Texas | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 7–9–1 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 10–8 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

| 4 | Tommy Harper | DH |
| 20 | Juan Beníquez | CF |
| 17 | Cecil Cooper | 1B |
| 8 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
| 6 | Rico Petrocelli | 3B |
| 1 | Bernie Carbo | RF |
| 10 | Bob Montgomery | C |
| 2 | Doug Griffin | 2B |
| 18 | Mario Guerrero | SS |
| 23 | Luis Tiant | P |
Source:

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
| Carl Yastrzemski | 148 | 515 | 93 | 155 | 25 | 2 | 15 | 79 | 12 | 104 | .301 | .445 |
| Dwight Evans | 133 | 463 | 60 | 130 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 70 | 4 | 38 | .281 | .421 |
| Rico Petrocelli | 129 | 454 | 53 | 121 | 23 | 1 | 15 | 76 | 1 | 48 | .267 | .421 |
| Tommy Harper | 118 | 443 | 66 | 105 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 28 | 46 | .237 | .318 |
| Cecil Cooper | 121 | 414 | 55 | 114 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 43 | 2 | 32 | .275 | .396 |
| Juan Beníquez | 106 | 389 | 60 | 104 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 33 | 19 | 25 | .267 | .357 |
| Rick Burleson | 114 | 384 | 36 | 109 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 3 | 21 | .284 | .372 |
| Bernie Carbo | 117 | 338 | 40 | 84 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 61 | 4 | 58 | .249 | .414 |
| Doug Griffin | 93 | 312 | 35 | 83 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 28 | .266 | .330 |
| Mario Guerrero | 93 | 284 | 18 | 70 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 13 | .246 | .282 |
| Rick Miller | 114 | 280 | 41 | 73 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 13 | 37 | .261 | .350 |
| Dick McAuliffe | 100 | 272 | 32 | 57 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 2 | 39 | .210 | .320 |
| Bob Montgomery | 88 | 254 | 26 | 64 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 3 | 13 | .252 | .339 |
| Carlton Fisk | 52 | 187 | 36 | 56 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 5 | 24 | .299 | .551 |
| Danny Cater | 56 | 126 | 14 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 10 | .246 | .405 |
| Tim Blackwell | 44 | 122 | 9 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 10 | .246 | .270 |
| Terry Hughes | 41 | 69 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | .203 | .275 |
| Jim Rice | 24 | 67 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 4 | .269 | .373 |
| Fred Lynn | 15 | 43 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 6 | .419 | .698 |
| Tim McCarver | 11 | 28 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .250 | .286 |
| Deron Johnson | 11 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .120 | .120 |
| John Kennedy | 10 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .133 | .333 |
| Bob Didier | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .071 | .071 |
| Chuck Goggin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5499 | 696 | 1499 | 236 | 31 | 109 | 658 | 104 | 569 | .264 | .377 |
Source:

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Luis Tiant | 22 | 13 | 2.92 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 311.1 | 281 | 106 | 101 | 82 | 176 |
| Bill Lee | 17 | 15 | 3.51 | 38 | 37 | 0 | 282.1 | 320 | 123 | 110 | 67 | 95 |
| Reggie Cleveland | 12 | 14 | 4.31 | 41 | 27 | 0 | 221.1 | 234 | 121 | 106 | 69 | 103 |
| Dick Drago | 7 | 10 | 3.48 | 33 | 18 | 3 | 175.2 | 165 | 71 | 68 | 56 | 90 |
| Roger Moret | 9 | 10 | 3.74 | 31 | 21 | 2 | 173.1 | 158 | 79 | 72 | 79 | 111 |
| Diego Seguí | 6 | 8 | 4.00 | 58 | 0 | 10 | 108.0 | 106 | 54 | 48 | 49 | 76 |
| Juan Marichal | 5 | 1 | 4.87 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 57.1 | 61 | 32 | 31 | 14 | 21 |
| Rick Wise | 3 | 4 | 3.86 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 49.0 | 47 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 25 |
| Dick Pole | 1 | 1 | 4.20 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 45.0 | 55 | 28 | 21 | 13 | 32 |
| Bob Veale | 0 | 1 | 5.54 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 13.0 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 16 |
| Steve Barr | 1 | 0 | 4.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Lance Clemons | 1 | 0 | 9.95 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Don Newhauser | 0 | 1 | 9.82 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Team Totals | 84 | 78 | 3.72 | 162 | 162 | 18 | 1455.1 | 1462 | 661 | 601 | 463 | 751 |
Source:

## Statistical leaders

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Youngest player | Tim Blackwell Jim Rice | 21 |
| Oldest player | Bob Veale | 38 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Luis Tiant | 7.7 |
Source:

### Batting

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| G | Games played | Carl Yastrzemski | 148 |
| PA | Plate appearances | Carl Yastrzemski | 633 |
| AB | At bats | Carl Yastrzemski | 515 |
| R | Runs scored | Carl Yastrzemski | 93 |
| H | Hits | Carl Yastrzemski | 155 |
| 2B | Doubles | Carl Yastrzemski | 25 |
| 3B | Triples | Dwight Evans | 8 |
| HR | Home runs | Rico Petrocelli | 15 |
| HR | Home runs | Carl Yastrzemski | 15 |
| RBI | Runs batted in | Carl Yastrzemski | 79 |
| SB | Stolen bases | Tommy Harper | 28 |
| CS | Caught stealing | Tommy Harper | 12 |
| BB | Base on balls | Carl Yastrzemski | 104 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Bernie Carbo | 90 |
| BA | Batting average | Carl Yastrzemski | .301 |
| OBP | On-base percentage | Carl Yastrzemski | .414 |
| SLG | Slugging percentage | Carl Yastrzemski | .445 |
| OPS | On-base plus slugging | Carl Yastrzemski | .859 |
| OPS+ | Adjusted OPS | Carl Yastrzemski | 140 |
| TB | Total bases | Carl Yastrzemski | 229 |
| GIDP | Grounded into double play | Rick Burleson | 13 |
| HBP | Hit by pitch | Bernie Carbo | 4 |
| SH | Sacrifice hits | Tommy Harper | 10 |
| SF | Sacrifice flies | Carl Yastrzemski | 11 |
| IBB | Intentional base on balls | Carl Yastrzemski | 16 |
Source:

### Pitching

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| W | Wins | Luis Tiant | 22 |
| L | Losses | Bill Lee | 15 |
| W-L % | Winning percentage | Luis Tiant | .629 (22-13) |
| ERA | Earned run average | Luis Tiant | 2.92 |
| G | Games pitched | Diego Seguí | 58 |
| GS | Games started | Luis Tiant | 38 |
| GF | Games finished | Diego Seguí | 46 |
| CG | Complete games | Luis Tiant | 25 |
| SHO | Shutouts | Luis Tiant | 7 |
| SV | Saves | Diego Seguí | 10 |
| IP | Innings pitched | Luis Tiant | 311+1⁄3 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Luis Tiant | 176 |
| WHIP | Walks plus hits per inning pitched | Luis Tiant | 1.166 |
Source:

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Joe Morgan |
| AA | Bristol Red Sox | Eastern League | Stan Williams |
| A | Winston-Salem Red Sox | Carolina League | Bill Slack |
| A | Winter Haven Red Sox | Florida State League | Rac Slider |
| A-Short Season | Elmira Red Sox | New York–Penn League | Dick Berardino |
Source: