1974 Atlanta Braves season
Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton ) | ||
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The 1974 Atlanta Braves season was the ninth season in Atlanta along with the 104th season as a franchise overall. The team finished third in the National League West with a record of 88–74, 14 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. During the season, Braves outfielder Hank Aaron became the all-time career leader in home runs, surpassing Babe Ruth. Ralph Garr was the league's batting champion with a .353 average. Pitcher Buzz Capra captured the ERA title (2.28) and Phil Niekro tied for the league lead in wins with 20.
Offseason
Waiting for a new home run king
At the end of the 1973 season, Aaron had finished one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (led by manager Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to hit one out of the park.[1]
Over the winter, Aaron received many
Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
"Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a
moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?"[4]
Babe Ruth's widow,
Notable transactions
- January 9, 1974: Mike Davey was drafted by the Braves in the 2nd round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).[6]
- March 26, 1974: Buzz Capra was purchased by the Braves from the New York Mets.[7]
Regular season
Hank Aaron's 715th
As the 1974 season began, the Braves opened the season on the road with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, so the plan was to have Aaron sit for said games against the Reds. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth's record in his very first at bat off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but failed to hit another home run in the series.[8]
The team returned to Atlanta for a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. On April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record. Sammy Davis Jr. was in attendance, and Pearl Bailey sang the national anthem in Broadway soul. Atlanta's black mayor, Maynard Jackson, and Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter attended the game.[9]
Dodgers pitcher Al Downing had walked Aaron leading off the second inning to the accompaniment of continuous booing by the fans. Aaron then scored on a Dodger error, and the run broke Willie Mays' all-time National League record for runs scored with 2,063.[9] In the 4th inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. Two white college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron as he circled the base paths. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's mother ran onto the field as well.
Season standings
W
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L
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Pct. | GB | Home | Road | |
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Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 52–29 | 50–31 |
Cincinnati Reds | 98 | 64 | 0.605 | 4 | 50–31 | 48–33 |
Atlanta Braves | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 14 | 46–35 | 42–39 |
Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | 0.500 | 21 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | 0.444 | 30 | 37–44 | 35–46 |
San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | 0.370 | 42 | 36–45 | 24–57 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 4–8 | 7–11–1 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 17–1 | 8–10 | 9–3 | |||||
Chicago | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 2–10 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–13 | |||||
Cincinnati | 11–7–1 | 7–5 | — | 14–4 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 6–6 | |||||
Houston | 12–6 | 8–4 | 4–14 | — | 5–13 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 8–4 | |||||
Los Angeles | 10–8 | 10–2 | 12–6 | 13–5 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 16–2 | 12–6 | 6–6 | |||||
Montreal | 3–9 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 9–9 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–9 | |||||
New York | 4–8 | 10–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 9–9 | — | 7–11 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–12 | |||||
Philadelphia | 4-8 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 9–9 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–11 | |||||
San Diego | 1–17 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 2–16 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | — | 11–7 | 5–7 | |||||
San Francisco | 10–8 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–11 | — | 6–6 | |||||
St. Louis | 3–9 | 13–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 9–8 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |
Opening Day starters
- Hank Aaron
- Dusty Baker
- Vic Correll
- Darrell Evans
- Ralph Garr
- Davey Johnson
- Mike Lum
- Ron Reed
- Craig Robinson
Notable transactions
- June 5, 1974: 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.[10]
- June 12, 1974: Dave Campbell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.[11]
Managerial turnover
While the crowning of Aaron as baseball's all-time home run king made 1974 an exceptional season for the Braves, the strong performance of the team on the field also marked the campaign. The Braves' 88–74 (.543) record was an 111⁄2 game improvement over 1973, and resulted in a third-place finish in the NL West.
But a mid-season slump cost manager
King's hiring aroused some controversy when Aaron noted that he had been bypassed as a managerial candidate; he would have become baseball's first
As events turned out, however, the Braves responded to King, winning 38 of their final 63 games (.603) and King was rehired for the 1975 season.
Roster
1974 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Johnny Oates | 100 | 291 | 65 | .240 | 1 | 21 |
1B | Davey Johnson | 136 | 454 | 114 | .251 | 15 | 62 |
2B | Marty Perez | 127 | 447 | 116 | .260 | 2 | 34 |
SS | Craig Robinson | 145 | 452 | 104 | .230 | 0 | 29 |
3B | Darrell Evans | 160 | 571 | 137 | .240 | 25 | 79 |
LF | Hank Aaron | 112 | 340 | 91 | .268 | 20 | 69 |
CF | Dusty Baker | 149 | 574 | 147 | .256 | 20 | 69 |
RF | Ralph Garr | 143 | 606 | 214 | .353 | 11 | 54 |
Other batters
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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Mike Lum | 106 | 361 | 84 | .233 | 11 | 50 |
Rowland Office | 131 | 248 | 61 | .246 | 3 | 31 |
Vic Correll | 73 | 202 | 48 | .238 | 4 | 29 |
Frank Tepedino | 78 | 169 | 39 | .231 | 0 | 16 |
Ivan Murrell | 73 | 133 | 33 | .248 | 2 | 12 |
Leo Foster | 72 | 112 | 22 | .196 | 1 | 5 |
Paul Casanova | 42 | 104 | 21 | .202 | 0 | 8 |
Norm Miller | 48 | 41 | 7 | .171 | 1 | 5 |
Jack Pierce | 6 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Larvell Blanks | 3 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
Sonny Jackson | 5 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | 0 |
Rod Gilbreath | 3 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
John Fuller | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Phil Niekro | 41 | 302.1 | 20 | 13 | 2.38 | 195 |
Carl Morton | 38 | 274.2 | 16 | 12 | 3.15 | 113 |
Buzz Capra | 39 | 217.0 | 16 | 8 | 2.28 | 137 |
Ron Reed | 28 | 186.0 | 10 | 11 | 3.39 | 78 |
Roric Harrison | 20 | 126.0 | 6 | 11 | 4.71 | 46 |
Mike Thompson | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses: ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Lew Krausse Jr. | 29 | 66.2 | 4 | 3 | 4.19 | 27 |
Gary Gentry | 3 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 1.35 | 0 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Tom House | 56 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 1.93 | 64 |
Danny Frisella | 36 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5.18 | 27 |
Max Leon | 34 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2.64 | 38 |
Joe Niekro | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.56 | 31 |
Jack Aker | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.78 | 7 |
Mike Beard | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.89 | 7 |
Jamie Easterly | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.88 | 0 |
Awards and honors
All-Stars
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Hank Aaron, right field, starter
- Buzz Capra, reserve
- Ralph Garr, reserve
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Richmond Braves | International League | Clint Courtney |
AA | Savannah Braves | Southern League
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Tommie Aaron |
A
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Greenwood Braves | Western Carolinas League | Gary Geiger |
Rookie
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Kingsport Braves
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Appalachian League | Hoyt Wilhelm |
Notes
- ISBN 0-06-072290-8
- ISBN 0-06-072290-8
- ^ Grizzard, Lewis, "If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground", p. 239-40
- ^ Leggett, William. "A Tortured Road to 715." Sports Illustrated, p. 28, May 28, 1973.
- ^ Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 25
- ^ Mike Davey page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
- ^ "New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Hank Aaron"". Archived from the original on May 7, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
- ^ a b "CNN/SI – Baseball MLB – 715: Hank Aaron's Glorious Ordeal – Monday April 05, 1999 01:26 PM". CNN. April 5, 1999. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
- ^ Dale Murphy page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Dave Campbell page at Baseball Reference
- ^ The Associated Press, July 24, 1974
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1974 Atlanta Braves team page at Baseball Reference
- 1974 Atlanta Braves team page at www.baseball-almanac.com