1974 American League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Saturday, October 5, 1974 at Oakland-Alameda County ColiseumMcAfee Coliseum
O.co Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium, located in Oakland, California, in the Coliseum Industrial area...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
The Birds jumped all over the ace of the Oakland staff, Catfish Hunter, pounding him for six runs and eight hits, including three homers in less than five innings. Hunter had a skein of seven straight decisions over the Birds going into the game. Southpaw Mike Cuellar pitched steady ball for the winners and got the decision with relief help in the ninth inning from Ross Grimsley
Ross Grimsley
Ross Albert Grimsley II is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds , Baltimore Orioles , Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians...
.
A portent of things to happen came in the first inning when Paul Blair, second man in the batting order, hit a Hunter pitch for a home run. Bert Campaneris
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...
' single that followed a fielder's choice and a stolen base by Bill North gave the A's a temporary tie in the third inning. But a double by Bobby Grich
Bobby Grich
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Grich is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels of Major League Baseball...
and Tommy Davis
Tommy Davis
Herman Thomas Davis, Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder and third baseman. He played from 1959-1976 for ten different teams, but he is best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During an 18-year baseball career, Davis batted .294 with 153 home runs, 2,121...
' single put the Orioles ahead to stay in the fourth. A four-run outburst in the fifth, featuring homers by Brooks Robinson
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...
and Bobby Grich, locked up the game and sent Hunter to the showers.
When Cuellar yielded a single to Jesus Alou
Jesús Alou
Jesús María Rojas Alou is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During a 17-year baseball career, he played for the San Francisco Giants , Houston Astros , Oakland Athletics , and New York Mets...
and a double to Claudell Washington
Claudell Washington
Claudell Washington is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Oakland Athletics , Texas Rangers , Chicago White Sox , New York Mets , Atlanta Braves , New York Yankees and California Angels...
, both pinch-hitters, to open the last of the ninth, he was pulled in favor of Grimsley, who got the last three outs without trouble.
Game 2
Sunday, October 6, 1974 at Oakland-Alameda County ColiseumMcAfee Coliseum
O.co Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium, located in Oakland, California, in the Coliseum Industrial area...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
The A's assumed command the next day when Ken Holtzman permitted the Orioles only five hits en route to a 5–0 triumph. The Oakland club got an unearned run in the fourth when Bobby Grich dropped a foul pop by Sal Bando
Sal Bando
Salvatore Leonard Bando is a former third baseman and executive in professional baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers . He batted and threw right-handed. During the A's championship years of 1971-75, he captained the team and led the club in runs batted...
for an error. Two pitches later, Bando drove a Dave McNally pitch over the left-field fence for a homer. Joe Rudi
Joe Rudi
Joseph Oden Rudi is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics , California Angels and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...
tripled home North in the sixth for the second run. In the eighth inning, with two men on—the result of a walk and an error—Ray Fosse hit a home run off reliever Grant Jackson to put the game on ice.
Game 3
Tuesday, October 8, 1974 at Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
in Baltimore, Maryland
It was a great pitching battle between Jim Palmer and Vida Blue. Blue hurled a two-hitter and Palmer a four-hitter. But one of the four safe blows yielded by the Oriole right-hander was a home run by Sal Bando in the fourth inning. It was the only run of the game.
Game 4
Wednesday, October 9, 1974 at Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
in Baltimore, Maryland
The fourth game belonged to the A's, although their offense was able to produce only one safe hit for the afternoon. Cuellar pitched a no-hitter for four and two-thirds innings but walked four consecutive batters to give Oakland a run. During his stint on the mound, the Oriole lefty walked no less than nine batters and was removed while yet to give up a hit.
The run that was to prove decisive came in the seventh off reliever Ross Grimsley
Ross Grimsley
Ross Albert Grimsley II is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds , Baltimore Orioles , Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians...
. Sal Bando walked and Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
stroked a double off the left-field wall to plate Bando. The Orioles almost pulled the game out of the bag in their last turn at bat. With one out and Rollie Fingers pitching in relief of Hunter, Paul Blair walked and Bobby Grich singled. A force play provided the second out of the inning but Boog Powell
Boog Powell
John Wesley Powell is a former major league first baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles , Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers...
's single drove in one run. Fingers, however, was equal to the occasion, striking out Don Baylor
Don Baylor
Donald Edward Baylor is a Major League Baseball coach currently the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a former player and manager. During his 19-year playing career, he was a power hitter who played as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter...
on a fast ball to clinch the league crown for Oakland.
Composite box
1974 ALCS (3–1): Oakland AthleticsOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
over Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...