It’s no surprise that there will be no memorial for the 1974 Yankees this year. For a franchise that boasts 27 championships and 40 World Series appearances (one of three ever), honoring a team that finished second, which meant postseason elimination in the pre-wild card era, isn’t necessarily on-brand.
And yet, in many ways, 1974 was the most important year in Yankees history.
You have to remember what kind of team the 1974 Yankees were: they weren’t just “the other team” in town, they were pretty much run out of town.
This was the 11th consecutive year the Yankees lost in attendance to the Mets, some of those years by as much as 2-1. In 1972 they drew fewer than a million fans. They were on the verge of moving to New Jersey. New Orleans had charmed them with the Superdome. A year earlier, George Steinbrenner had put together a group to buy the Yankees from CBS for $10 million, $2 million less than CBS had paid for the team in 1964.
To make matters worse, 1974 was the first of two seasons that the Bronx Bombers would play in Queens because Yankee Stadium was undergoing renovation.
It had been 10 years since their last postseason appearance. Losing was the norm. They led the league on Aug. 1, 1973, then collapsed dramatically, finishing the season with a losing record (watching the Mets advance again to the series). And things got off to an equally depressing start in 1974. By July 2, they were eight games behind. By July 14, they were in last place.
They were on a roll just before the All-Star break — 50 years ago Sunday, they beat the Royals in front of 36,000 at Shea Stadium to move two games back to above .500 at 48-47 — and the inklings were beginning to dawn that this time might be different.
“We have momentum,” Ace’s Dr. Medich said that day, “and it’s not the kind of thing that comes and goes from day to day. It’s growing.”
He was right. After the hiatus, the Yankees started winning almost every day. At one point in August, they had won 15 of 18 games. By September 4, they were in first place and within 2 ¹₂ games of the lead. Shea Stadium was still a strange place for them, especially for star player Bobby Murcer, who hadn’t hit a home run until late September. But they learned to win there 47 times.
In the clubhouse, the team adopted Paul McCartney’s “Band on the Run” as their anthem and played it at ear-splitting volumes after every game, and in the stands, Yankees fans chanted “Yes, we can!”
Medich and Pat Dobson each won 19 games. Sparky Lyle pitched with a 1.66 ERA out of the bullpen. Lou Piniella and Elliot Maddox batted over .300, and while no one had a standout offensive season, they were a team known for their timely hitting and competitive pitching.
They ended up being beaten by the Orioles, who were in their strongest form since 1966. On the season’s final day, Steinbrenner, who had kept a low profile in a season-long battle with Watergate prosecutors, visited the team in Milwaukee to thank them, saying, “You played like champions, and you will soon be.”
It took a few more years for that to happen, but the Yankees were back in the Yankees’ shoes in 1974. By the end of that year, they had outbid other teams to acquire Catfish Hunter, setting up a tone that would last throughout Steinbrenner’s tenure with the team.
In mid-1975, they hired Billy Martin, and in 1976, playing in a renovated Yankee Stadium, they finally returned in October and swept the Mets in a row, staying with them for all but seven seasons from 1985 to 1991.
Nobody is going to party for the ’74 Yankees. Except for the Yankees fans who had a great time that summer and fall. They know. They remember. The Yankees are the team that started it all. 50 years ago.
Vac’s Smash
If he continues to play in major championships, I worry that after 51 years, “Tiger Woods of Troon” may finally supplant “Willie Mays of the 1973 World Series” as the sports term for an athlete who remains active well past his expiration date.
Two names to remember: new Long Island Nets GM Matt McDonald and longtime Erik Spoelstra assistant Dan Bisaccio, who is taking his first coaching job with the Heat’s G League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Both have bright basketball futures.
Peter Sarsgaard’s portrayal of the Clown on Presumed Innocent is a testament to what a great actor he is, but I’m rooting for the just-announced second season of Presumed Innocent to center around Tommy Malt.
I said it before she played a minute in the WNBA and I still say it now: Caitlin Clark can play on my team any day, and if that team also has Sabrina Ionescu in it, even better.
Counterattack Vac
Matthew Meagher: The Diamondbacks drafted Trent Youngblood out of Transylvania University. That’s scary!
vacuum: He must have killed the day game/night game split.
Neil Ptashnik: I always looked forward to the All-Star Game growing up, in fact I went to the 1977 game at Yankee Stadium right after Seaver got traded, and the best part was seeing all the best players in the uniforms, this was different!
vacuumThe word that comes to my mind over and over again is “pajamas.”
Follow: Is it possible to be a high achiever and a low achiever? Yes, just look at Aaron Boone.
Mike Vack: This was one of the most gratifying responses I received to Aaron Boone’s column the other day.
Ron Perry: Sherlock Holmes should be the Yankees’ closer. At the very least, he’d have some clues.
vacuum: It’s a very, very tough room.
