1974 Cleveland Indians season
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| 1974 Cleveland Indians |
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| 1974 Information | |
| Owner(s) | Nick Mileti |
| General Manager(s) | Phil Seghi |
| Manager(s) | Ken Aspromonte |
| Local television | WJW (TV) (Harry Jones, Mudcat Grant) |
| Local radio | WERE (Herb Score, Joe Tait) |
Contents |
[edit] Regular season
[edit] Ten Cent Beer Night
Ten Cent Beer Night was an ill-fated promotion held by the American League's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on June 4, 1974.
The idea behind the promotion was to offer as many eight-ounce (237 mL) cups of Stroh's beer as the fans could drink for just 10¢ apiece, thus increasing ticket sales. However, the stunt also had the effect of slowly turning the calm and orderly baseball fans into a rowdy and raucous crowd devoid of inhibition.
The game had a special significance for both clubs, as there had been a bench-clearing brawl in a Rangers/Indians game one week earlier at Arlington Stadium in Texas, during a "cheap beer night" there.[1] In Texas, the trouble had started in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk to the Rangers' Tom Grieve, followed by a Lenny Randle single.
The next batter hit a double play ball to Indians third baseman John Lowenstein; he stepped on the third base bag to retire Grieve and threw the ball to second base, but Randle disrupted the play with a hard slide into second baseman Jack Brohamer. The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher Milt Wilcox threw behind Randle's head. Randle eventually laid down a bunt. When Wilcox attempted to field it and tag Randle out, Randle hit him with a forearm.
Indians first baseman John Ellis responded by punching Randle, and both benches emptied for a brawl. During the melee, the intoxicated crowd became rowdy and threw beer on the Indians' players.
Six days later, the Ten Cent Beer Night promotion induced over 25,000 fans to come to Municipal Stadium for the Rangers/Indians game. Early in the game, the Rangers took a 5-1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the contest, the crowd in attendance continually misbehaved. A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and lifted her shirt and a naked man sprinted to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. A father and son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers one inning later.[2]
The ugliness escalated when Cleveland's Leron Lee hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. The fans in the upper deck of Municipal Stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!"
The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally and tie the game at five runs apiece, but with a crowd that had been consuming as much alcohol as it could for nine innings, the situation finally boiled over.
After Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs violently reacted to a fan stealing his glove and cap, the Texas players, led by manager Billy Martin, charged onto the field with bats. A huge number of intoxicated fans, some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart, surged onto the field; others hurled bottles from the stands. Realizing the Rangers might be in danger of their lives, Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers.
As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters as one struck him with part of a stadium seat, cutting his head.[3] His hand was also cut by a thrown rock.
As Joe Tait and Herb Score called the riot live on radio, Score mentioned the lack of police protection; a riot squad from the Cleveland police department finally arrived to restore order.
[edit] Season standings
| American League East | |||||
| Rank | Club | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
| 1st | Baltimore Orioles | 918 | 71 | .562 | -- |
| 2nd | New York Yankees | 89 | 73 | .549 | 2.0 |
| 3rd | Boston Red Sox | 84 | 78 | .519 | 7.0 |
| 4th | Cleveland Indians | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14.0 |
| 5th | Milwaukee Brewers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 15.0 |
| 6th | Detroit Tigers | 72 | 90 | .444 | 19.0 |
[edit] Notable Transactions
- April 26, 1974: Chris Chambliss was traded by the Cleveland Indians with Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw to the New York Yankees for Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Fred Beene, and Tom Buskey. [4]
- September 12, 1974: Frank Robinson was traded by the California Angels to the Cleveland Indians for Ken Suarez, Rusty Torres, and cash.
[edit] Roster
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1974 Cleveland Indians roster
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| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders |
Manager |
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[edit] Player stats
[edit] Batting
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 |
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[edit] Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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[edit] Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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[edit] Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA |
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[edit] Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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[edit] Award Winners
- George Hendrick, Reserve
- Gaylord Perry, Pitcher, Starter
[edit] References
- ^ Smiley, Bobby (July 30, 2004). Another Mistake By The Lake. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.
- ^ Robinson, James G. 10-Cent Beer Night. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.
- ^ Johnson, Scot (June 6, 2006). This Week in Baseball History: Ten Cent Beer Night. Retrieved on 2006-08-11.
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/chambch01.shtml
- 1974 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference
- 1974 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Buffalo Bisons | Akron Aeros |
Kinston Indians Lake County Captains Mahoning Valley Scrappers |
Gulf Coast Indians DSL Indians |
