1974 Texas Rangers season

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. It would be only the second time in franchise history that the club finished over.500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas. The club became the first 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.

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.

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.

Notable transactions

April 25, 1974: Mike Kekich was signed as a free agent by the Rangers.
June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball draft
*Tommy Boggs was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round.
*Gary Gray was drafted by the Rangers in the 10th round.

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		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

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Jeff Burroughs, left field, starter
Jim Sundberg, reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spokane, Gastonia