The 8 players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1974 all went onto productive Major league careers. Unfortunately, only 3 of the 8 appeared on Topps cards in 1974. Bake McBride and Bill Madlock appeared on multi-player rookie cards. Bucky Dent was the only one to have his own Topps card in 1974.
Mike Hargrove got 67% of the Rookie of the year voting in 1974. He beat out 1978 World Series MVP Bucky Dent and Future Hall of Famer George Brett. He also beat out infielder Rick Burlson and catcher Jim Sundberg. Both of whom are Gold Glove winning All Stars.
In the National League, Bake McBride also got 67% of the vote. He beat out Greg Gross, and Bill Madlock. Bross played 17 years with an overall batting average of .287. Madlock was a 3 time All Star and the co-MVP of the 1975 All Star game.
One other thing these ROY award winners had in common was their unique batting rituals. McBride was known to dig in at the plate literally. He would kick the dirt around obscuring the chalk lines. Hargrove was known as "The Human Rain Delay". Before each pitch he would adjust his batting gloves, adjust his jersey, both at the shoulders and the sleeves, adjust his pants, adjust his helmet, dig in with his left foot then plant his step in with his right foot.
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