Okay, so I was digging around for some baseball stats today, and I got really curious about the 1974 St. Louis Cardinals. I wanted to see how that season went down, and I figured I’d share my little research journey with you guys.
First, I pulled up the basic season record. I wanted to get a general feel for how they did. Turns out, they finished 86-75. Not bad, right? That put them in second place in the NL East, just 1.5 games behind the Pirates. So close!
Next, I started checking out some of the player stats. This is where things got interesting, you know? I always like seeing who were the big hitters and pitchers.
- Lou Brock, man, that guy was a speed demon! He stole 118 bases that year. Insane! That’s still a single-season record, which is pretty cool.
- Reggie Smith had a pretty good year at the plate, too. I saw he hit .309 with 23 homers. Solid numbers.
- On the pitching side, Bob Gibson was, well, Bob Gibson. He pitched to a 3.47 ERA, but only had 11 wins. ERA isn’t everything, folks!
- Al Hrabosky, “The Mad Hungarian,” was their closer. I checked, he had 14 saves.
Then, I went a little deeper. I started looking into some of the key games and moments of the season. I found some newspaper archives online – it’s amazing what you can find these days!
I noticed they had a pretty tough schedule down the stretch. Lots of close games against the Pirates and the Expos. It must have been a nail-biter for Cardinals fans back then!
Overall Impressions
It seems like a pretty exciting season, even if they didn’t make it to the playoffs. They had some real star power, a legendary base stealer, and a tough fight for the division title. It really makes you appreciate the history of the game, even these seasons that get a little forgotten sometimes. My deep dive made me feel a little nostalgic.
