1974 – Larry Milbourne scores in the 11th on a fielder’s choice to give Houston an 8-7 triumph over Los Angeles. Roger Metzger has three hits and raps into the game-winner when the throw home by Davey Lopes is late. Cesar Cedeno socks two home runs and drives in four. His 79 RBIs lead the league while his 21 home runs are just one shy of ex-teammate Jim Wynn for the top spot in that category.
1974 – At Riverfront Stadium, Tony Perez caps a five-run Reds rally in the 9th by hitting a two out, two-strike home run. The Reds rally to top the Giants, 14 – 13.
In his managerial debut with the club, Clyde King guides the Braves to a 1-0 extra-inning victory over San Diego. The former Giant skipper, who replaced the recently dismissed Eddie Matthews, will finish the season with a 38-25 record, but the team fires the Goldsboro, NC native next year in August with his club mired in fifth place in the NL West.
In the second game of a Cleveland Stadium twi-night doubleheader, Buddy Bell launches a ninth-inning two-run home run to tie the score at 3, enabling the Indians to beat Baltimore in 13 innings, 5-4. With their 8-7 victory in the opener, the Tribe ends the day a half-game out of first place in the tight four-team race in the American League East.
Whitey Lockman becomes the team’s director of player development and will be replaced as the Cubs manager by third base coach Jim Marshall. During his three-year stint in the dugout, the Lowell, North Carolina native compiled a 157-162 (.492) record.
In a surprise statement released after the All-Star Game played in Pittsburgh, Hank Aaron, who had indicated on many occasions that he had no interest in the position, publicly declares he would accept a Braves’ offer to manage the team “simply because there are no black managers in baseball.” The superstar’s comments create an awkward situation the next day when Atlanta announces the organization has hired Clyde King to replace Eddie Mathews, dismissed three days ago.
At Three Rivers Stadium, Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey, a write-in All-Star starter, singles and doubles to help the National League beat the Junior circuit, 7-2. Mike Schmidt, also a write-in, plays in his first Midsummer Classic thanks to radio intern Howard Eskin’s on-air campaign which urged Phillies fans to stuff the ballot box for their young third baseman.
Trailing the A’s, 9-8, in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians get runners to second and third with nobody out. Rollie Fingers retires George Hendrick and Charlie Spikes, but with first base still open, manager Alvin Dark elects to pitch to John Ellis, who promptly lines a single to center to win the game.
On July 19, 1974, Dick Bosman of the Cleveland Indians hurls a no-hitter against the Oakland A’s and comes within one batter of pitching a perfect game. In winning the game, 4-0, Bosman commits a fielding error in the fourth inning, allowing the A’s their only baserunner of the game. Bosman struck out four and…
Milwaukee 3B Don Money commits a 1st-inning error in a 10 – 5 loss to Minnesota, ending his perfect defensive season after 86 games and 257 chances. At this point, Money holds both the National League and American League records for most consecutive chances without an error in a season.
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