Pittsburgh regains first place by edging the Cardinals, 13 – 12, in 11 innings at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh scores four times in the 9th to take a 12 – 9 lead, but St. Louis also scores three times to tie it.
On September 25, 1974, Tommy John of the Los Angeles Dodgers undergoes history-making surgery on his left arm. In a revolutionary surgical operation, Dr. Frank Jobe repairs Tommy John’s damaged ulnar collateral ligament by replacing the elbow tendon of the pitching arm with a tendon from the right wrist. The procedure, now known as Tommy…
Clarence Jones of the Kintetsu Buffaloes hits his 38th home run to become the first American to win a Japanese home run title, topping the Pacific League in roundtrippers. Sadaharu Oh will lead the Central League with 49 homers. Jones will lead the league again with 36 homers in 1976.
On September 24, 1974, Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers collects the 3,000th hit of his career. Kaline doubles against Baltimore Orioles left-hander Dave McNally during a game at Memorial Stadium in his hometown. Kaline will gain election to the Hall of Fame six years later,in his first year of eligibility. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IGp1c3QgY2xpY2sgdGhlIHRhZ3MhICAiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImxpbmtfdG9fdGVybV9wYWdlIjoib24iLCJzZXBhcmF0b3IiOiIgfCAiLCJjYXRlZ29yeV90eXBlIjoicG9zdF90YWcifX0=@
1974 – The Pirates move to within a half game of first place by defeating St. Louis, 1 – 0, in 10 innings. Jim Rooker is the winner over Lynn McGlothen.
1974 – Pitcher Tom Griffin delivers a pinch-hit single in the 14th to edge the Braves, 3-2. The Astros score only when necessary – plating runs in the bottom of the ninth and the bottom of the tenth before winning it later. Ken Forsch picks up the victory.
1974 – St. Louis beats Pittsburgh, 2 – 1, in 13 innings. It is the 6th straight win for the Cardinals and the 6th straight loss for the Pirates, turning the Bucs’ 3 1/2 game lead in the National League East to a 2 1/2 game margin for the Cards.
On a bright, sunny day at Fenway Park, Rico Petrocelli is struck behind the left ear, below the helmet, when he loses Jim Slaton’s pitch due to the blinding glare off the outfield bleachers. The beaning, which causes inner ear damage, results in the third baseman missing the rest of the season and will hasten his early retirement prior to the start of the 1977 season at the age of 33.
Gaylord Perry goes the distance for his 20th victory when he beats Baltimore and Ross Grimsley at Memorial Stadium, 1-0. The right-hander, who will finish the season with a 21-13 record, will be the last Indian pitcher in the twentieth century to win twenty games.
In Los Angeles, the Reds defeat the Dodgers, 4 – 2, to pull to within 1 1/2 games of the National League West lead. That’s as close as they’ll come as they lose six of their next eight games.
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