1974 International League season

1974 International League season
League	International League
Sport	Baseball
Duration	April 19 – September 23
Number of games	144
Number of teams	8
Regular season
Season MVP	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox
Governors' Cup Playoffs
League champions	Rochester Red Wings
Runners-up	Syracuse Chiefs

The 1974 International League was a Class AAA baseball season played between April 19 and September 23. Eight teams played a 144-game schedule, with the top two teams in each division qualifying for the post-season.

The Rochester Red Wings won the Governors' Cup, defeating the Syracuse Chiefs in the final round of the playoffs.

Team changes

• The Peninsula Whips relocated to Memphis, Tennessee and were renamed the Memphis Blues. The club remained affiliated with the Montreal Expos.
• The Toledo Mud Hens ended their affiliation with the Detroit Tigers and began an affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• The divisions were renamed to Northern Division and Southern Division, as the league only had three American League team affiliates compared to five National League affiliates.

Teams

1974 International League
Division	Team	City	MLB Affiliate	Stadium
Northern
	Pawtucket Red Sox	Pawtucket, Rhode Island	Boston Red Sox	McCoy Stadium
	Rochester Red Wings	Rochester, New York	Baltimore Orioles	Silver Stadium
	Syracuse Chiefs	Syracuse, New York	New York Yankees	MacArthur Stadium
	Toledo Mud Hens	Toledo, Ohio	Philadelphia Phillies	Lucas County Stadium
Southern
	Charleston Charlies	Charleston, West Virginia	Pittsburgh Pirates	Watt Powell Park
	Memphis Blues	Memphis, Tennessee	Montreal Expos	Blues Stadium
	Richmond Braves	Richmond, Virginia	Atlanta Braves	Parker Field
	Tidewater Tides	Norfolk, Virginia	New York Mets	Met Park

Map of teams

Pawtucket

Rochester

Syracuse

Toledo

Charleston

Memphis

Richmond

Tidewater

Northern division Southern division

Regular season

Summary

• The Memphis Blues finished with the best record in the league in their inaugural season.
• The regular season schedule changed from 146-games to 144-games.

Standings

^[1]

Northern Division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Rochester Red Wings	88	56	.611	–
Syracuse Chiefs	74	70	.514	14
Toledo Mud Hens	70	74	.486	18
Pawtucket Red Sox	57	87	.396	31

Southern Division
Team	Win	Loss	%	GB
Memphis Blues	87	55	.613	–
Richmond Braves	75	65	.536	11
Charleston Charlies	62	81	.434	25.5
Tidewater Tides	57	82	.410	28.5

League Leaders

Batting leaders

^[2]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox	.337
H	Rob Andrews, Rochester Red Wings	165
R	Bob Beall, Richmond Braves	105
2B	Larvell Blanks, Richmond Braves	29
3B	Bill Flowers, Charleston Charlies	8
HR	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox	25
RBI	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox	93
SB	Pepe Mangual, Memphis Blues	46

Pitching leaders

^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bill Kirkpatrick, Rochester Red Wings	15
ERA	Jamie Easterly, Richmond Braves	2.54
CG	Scott McGregor, Syracuse Chiefs	12
SV	Mickey Scott, Rochester Red Wings	17
SO	Jim Burton, Pawtucket Red Sox	146
IP	Scott McGregor, Syracuse Chiefs	199

Playoffs

• The Rochester Red Wings won their seventh Governors' Cup, defeating the Syracuse Chiefs in seven games.
• The semi-finals and finals were expanded from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series.

Playoff bracket

	Semi-finals					Governors' Cup
	N1	Rochester	4
	S1	Memphis	2
						N1	Rochester	4
						N2	Syracuse	3
	N2	Syracuse	4
	S2	Richmond	1

Awards

International League awards
Award name	Recipient
Most Valuable Player	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox
Pitcher of the Year	Scott McGregor, Syracuse Chiefs
Rookie of the Year	Jim Rice, Pawtucket Red Sox
Manager of the Year	Karl Kuehl, Memphis Blues

See also

• 1974 Major League Baseball season

References

1. 1974 IL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed 20 November 2024.
2. 1974 IL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed 20 November 2024.
3. 1974 Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed 20 November 2024.

External links

• Minor League Baseball official website