1974 St. Louis Cardinals season

Offseason

• October 26, 1973: Eddie Fisher was released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
• October 26, 1973: Bernie Carbo and Rick Wise were traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.
• 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 were traded by the Cardinals to the Boston Red Sox for Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis, and Mike Garman.

Regular season

Outfielder Lou Brock led the NL with 118 stolen bases, breaking the modern-era (post-1901) 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. Brock's record still stands as the NL record, but Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics 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 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 for Claude Osteen. 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

References

References

1. "Eddie Fisher Stats".
2. "Reggie Smith Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
3. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/a/ageeto01.shtml Tommie Agee page at Baseball Reference]
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/seguidi01.shtml Diego Segui page at Baseball Reference]
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/caudibi01.shtml Bill Caudill page at Baseball Reference]
6. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/molitpa01.shtml Paul Molitor page at Baseball Reference]
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/barbest01.shtml Steve Barber page at Baseball Reference]
8. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/larsoda01.shtml Dan Larson page at Baseball Reference]
9. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/huntro01.shtml Ron Hunt page at Baseball Reference]
10. [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hisb2nl.shtml Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac]
11. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007