1974 Kansas City Royals season
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.
- 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.
- January 9, 1974: Mark Souza was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.
Regular season
Notable transactions
- April 30, 1974: Paul Schaal was traded by the Royals to the California Angels for Richie Scheinblum.
- June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball draft
- *Willie Wilson was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round.
- *Scott Sanderson was drafted by the Royals in the 11th round, but did not sign.
- June 11, 1974: Doug Corbett was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent.
- August 6, 1974: Orlando Cepeda signed as a free agent by the Royals.
- September 27, 1974: Orlando Cepeda was released by the Royals.
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| 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 | 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 |
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 31 | 175.1 | 8 | 10 | 3.13 | 96 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 55 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 2.73 | 62 | |
| 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