1974 Kansas City Royals season

March 2026 November 2013 Kansas City Royals 1974 Kansas City Royals Insignia (1969–2001).svg American League West Royals Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 77 85 y 5th Ewing Kauffman Cedric Tallis, Joe Burke Jack McKeon (second season) KBMA KMBZ(Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews, Fred White) The 1974 Kansas City Royals season was their sixth in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished fifth in the American League West at 77–85, 13 games behind the Oakland Athletics. Pitcher Steve Busby set a single-season franchise record with 22 victories. Offseason October 24, 1973: Dick Drago was traded by the Royals to the Boston Red Sox for Marty Pattin.Dick Drago at Baseball Reference December 7, 1973: Lou Piniella and Ken Wright were traded by the Royals to the New York Yankees for Lindy McDaniel. Baseball author Bill James called the trade the only clinker the Royals made during the 1970s.The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1987 James Bill Ballantine Books 1986 46 January 9, 1974: Mark Souza was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (17th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.Mark Souza at Baseball Reference Regular season Notable transactions April 30, 1974: Paul Schaal was traded by the Royals to the California Angels for Richie Scheinblum.Paul Schaal at Baseball Reference June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball draft Willie Wilson was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (18th pick).Willie Wilson at Baseball Reference Scott Sanderson was drafted by the Royals in the 11th round, but did not sign.Scott Sanderson at Baseball Reference June 11, 1974: Doug Corbett was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent.Doug Corbett at Baseball Reference August 6, 1974: Orlando Cepeda signed as a free agent by the Royals.Orlando Cepeda at Baseball Reference September 27, 1974: Orlando Cepeda was released by the Royals. Season standings Kansas City Royals Record vs. opponents KC Roster 1974 Kansas City Royals Roster Pitchers 29 Doug Bird 19 Nelson Briles 40 Steve Busby 43 Bruce Dal Canton 39 Al Fitzmorris 32 Gene Garber 27 Joe Hoerner 22 Dennis Leonard 38 Aurelio López 41 Lindy McDaniel 23 Steve Mingori 33 Marty Pattin 34 Paul Splittorff Catchers 16 Fran Healy 21 Buck Martinez 17 Dennis Paepke Infielders  2 Kurt Bevacqua 25 George Brett 15 Bobby Floyd 13 Fernando González  7 John Mayberry 37 Freddie Patek  1 Cookie Rojas 10 Paul Schaal  8 Tony Solaita 20 Frank White Outfielders 18 Al Cowens 11 Hal McRae 26 Amos Otis 28 Vada Pinson  5 Richie Scheinblum  6 Jim Wohlford Other batters 30 Orlando Cepeda 48 Rick Reichardt Manager 31 Jack McKeon Coaches  3 Galen Cisco (Pitching)  4 Harry Dunlop (Third base) 24 Charley Lau (Hitting and first base) Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Fran Healy 139 445 112 .252 9 53 1B John Mayberry 126 427 100 .234 22 69 2B Cookie Rojas 144 542 147 .271 6 60 SS Freddie Patek 149 537 121 .225 3 38 3B George Brett 133 457 129 .282 2 47 LF Jim Wohlford 143 501 136 .271 2 44 CF Amos Otis 146 552 157 .284 12 73 RF Vada Pinson 115 406 112 .276 6 41 DH Hal McRae 148 539 167 .310 15 88 1974 Kansas City Royals Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com 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 Al Cowens 110 269 65 .242 1 25 Howard Gold 96 239 64 .268 11 30 Frank White 99 204 45 .221 1 18 Buck Martinez 43 107 23 .215 1 8 Orlando Cepeda 33 107 23 .215 1 18 Kurt Bevacqua 39 90 19 .211 0 3 Richie Scheinblum 36 83 15 .181 0 2 Paul Schaal 12 34 6 .176 1 4 Fernando González 9 21 3 .143 0 2 Dennis Paepke 6 12 2 .167 0 0 Bobby Floyd 10 9 1 .111 0 0 Rick Reichardt 1 1 1 1.000 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 Steve Busby 38 292.1 22 14 3.39 198 Paul Splittorff 36 226.0 13 19 4.10 90 Al Fitzmorris 34 190.0 13 6 2.79 53 Bruce Dal Canton 31 175.1 8 10 3.13 96 Nelson Briles 17 103.0 5 7 4.02 41 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 Marty Pattin 25 117.1 3 7 3.99 50 Dennis Leonard 5 22.0 0 4 5.32 8 Aurelio López 8 16.0 0 0 5.63 5 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 Doug Bird 55 7 6 10 2.73 62 Lindy McDaniel 38 1 4 1 3.46 47 Steve Mingori 36 2 3 2 2.81 43 Joe Hoerner 30 2 3 2 3.82 24 Gene Garber 17 1 2 1 4.82 14 Awards and honors All-Star Game John Mayberry, 1B, Reserve Cookie Rojas, 2B, Resserve Steve Busby, Pitcher, Injured, Did not play Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Omaha Royals American Association Harry Malmberg AA Jacksonville Suns Southern League Billy Gardner A San Jose Bees California League Steve Boros A Waterloo Royals Midwest League John Sullivan Rookie GCL Royals Gulf Coast League Bill Scripture Rookie GCL Royals Academy Gulf Coast League Billy Goodman Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 1974 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1974 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac Category:Kansas City Royals seasons Kansas City Royals season Kansas City