The 1974 Texas Rangers season was the 14th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 3rd in Arlington as the Rangers, and the 3rd season at Arlington Stadium. The Rangers finished second in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 76 losses (two rained-out games were never completed). It would be only the second time in franchise history (to that point) that the club finished over .500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas. The club became the first (and, to date, only) team to finish over .500 after two consecutive 100-loss seasons.

Offseason October 25, 1973: Bill Madlock and Vic Harris were traded by the Rangers to the Chicago Cubs for Ferguson Jenkins.Bill Madlock page at Baseball Reference

Regular season During the season, Ferguson Jenkins won 25 games for the Rangers, which was Jenkins' personal best for a season and remains the Rangers franchise record for wins by a pitcher in one season. He would also be the third pitcher in the history of the American League to win 25 games in the 20th century and not win the Cy Young Award.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

Ten Cent Beer Night

On June 4, in one of the most remarkably ill-conceived promotions in Major League Baseball history, fans at Cleveland Municipal Stadium for a Cleveland Indians vs. Texas Rangers game were served as many beers as they wanted for just 10¢ each. After numerous instances of drunken fans throwing debris or running onto the field—"streaking" in many instances—the situation boiled over in the 9th inning when a fan ran onto the field and snatched Rangers outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap and glove. Burroughs' teammates charged out to his aid, followed by hundreds of rioting Cleveland fans who poured out onto the field.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 25, 1974: Mike Kekich was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.Mike Kekich page at Baseball-Reference June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball draft Tommy Boggs was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (2nd pick).Tommy Boggs page at Baseball Reference Gary Gray was drafted by the Rangers in the 10th round.Gary Gray page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1974 Texas Rangers Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting = Indicates team leader

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos. Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 132 368 91 .247 3 36 1B 131 415 134 .323 4 66 2B 121 474 112 .236 3 42 3B 151 520 157 .302 1 49 SS 161 573 149 .260 21 74 LF 114 453 132 .291 4 41 CF 113 283 63 .223 2 26 RF 152 554 167 .301 25 118 DH 118 352 98 .278 7 74

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 138 562 164 .292 4 58 84 259 66 .255 9 32 78 230 60 .261 12 34 Duke Sims 39 106 22 .208 3 6 34 92 25 .272 0 7 54 76 15 .197 0 5 13 44 11 .250 1 3 16 31 7 .226 0 0 Bill Fahey 6 16 4 .250 0 0 9 15 0 .000 0 0 Tom Robson 6 13 3 .231 0 2 Pete Mackanin 2 6 1 .167 0 0 2 5 0 .000 0 0 1 0 0 ---- 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 41 328.1 25 12 2.82 225 41 264.0 19 19 4.74 149 35 216.2 13 12 3.57 134 Steve Hargan 37 186.2 12 9 3.95 98 28 117.0 3 9 4.38 52 Bill Hands 2 14.0 2 0 1.93 4

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 12 29.0 0 4 8.07 15

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 69 8 9 12 2.24 106 26 0 0 0 4.13 18 Don Stanhouse 18 1 1 0 4.88 26 14 0 1 0 6.55 18 12 0 0 0 6.59 8 Jim Shellenback 11 0 0 0 5.84 14 Jeff Terpko 3 0 0 0 1.29 3 1 0 0 0 19.29 1

Awards and honors Jeff Burroughs, AL MVP Mike Hargrove, AL Rookie of the Year Ferguson Jenkins, Comeback Player of The Year Billy Martin, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

All-Stars 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Jeff Burroughs, left field, starter Jim Sundberg, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spokane, Gastonia

Notes

References

1974 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference 1974 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com