1974 Atlanta Braves season

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.

1974 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record88–74 (.543)
Divisional place3rd
Other information
Owner(s)William Bartholomay
General manager(s)Eddie Robinson
Manager(s)Eddie Mathews, Clyde King
Local televisionWTCG
Local radioWSB
(Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton)
< Previous season     Next season >

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 death threats and a large assortment of hate mail. Many did not want to see a black man break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record.[2] Lewis Grizzard, then editor of the Atlanta Journal, prepared for the massive coverage of the home run record. Secretly though, he quietly had an obituary written, scared that Aaron might be murdered.[3]

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, Claire Hodgson, even denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.[5]

Notable transactions

Regular season

Hank Aaron's 715th

The fence over which Hank Aaron hit the home run still exists outside of Turner Field

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 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

NL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 10260 0.630 52–29 50–31
Cincinnati Reds 9864 0.605 4 50–31 48–33
Atlanta Braves 8874 0.543 14 46–35 42–39
Houston Astros 8181 0.500 21 46–35 35–46
San Francisco Giants 7290 0.444 30 37–44 35–46
San Diego Padres 60102 0.370 42 36–45 24–57

Record vs. opponents

1974 National League Records

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta4–87–11–16–128–109–38–48–44–817–18–109–3
Chicago8–45–74–82–105–138–108–109–96–66–65–13
Cincinnati11–7–17–514–46–126–69–38–48–412–611–76–6
Houston12–68–44–145–136–66–66–65–77–1110–88–4
Los Angeles 10–810–212–613–58–45–76–64–816–212–66–6
Montreal3–913–56–66–64–89–911–79–96–64–88–9
New York4–810–83–96–67–59–97–117–116–66–66–12
Philadelphia4-810–84–86–66–67–1111–710–85–78–49–9
Pittsburgh8–49–94–87–58–49–911–78–109–38–47–11
San Diego1–176–66–127–112–166–66–67–53–911–75–7
San Francisco10–86–67–118–106–128–46–64–84–87–116–6
St. Louis3–913–56–64–86–69–812–69–911–77–56–6

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

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 1112 game improvement over 1973, and resulted in a third-place finish in the NL West.

But a mid-season slump cost manager Eddie Mathews—for years Aaron's fellow-superstar with the Milwaukee Braves of the 1950s—his job on July 21 during the All-Star break with the club at 50–49 (and 14 games out of first place). Special assistant to the general manager Clyde King, 50, former skipper of the San Francisco Giants, assumed the managerial reins July 24.

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 African-American manager had he been named to the post. He would have taken the Braves' job, Aaron said, "simply because there are no black managers in baseball."[12] Braves' owner William Bartholomay responded by claiming he had had no inkling that Aaron was interested in managing in the Major Leagues.[12]

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. Frank Robinson became MLB's first black manager when he was hired by the Cleveland Indians on October 3, 1974. Aaron was traded to the American League Milwaukee Brewers on November 2, 1974; he finished his active career in the Junior Circuit with two years as a designated hitter before returning to the Braves as a front-office executive. Meanwhile, Mathews finished his managerial career with a 149–161 (.481) record over all or parts of three seasons.

Roster

1974 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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
CJohnny Oates10029165.240121
1BDavey Johnson136454114.2511562
2BMarty Perez127447116.260234
SSCraig Robinson145452104.230029
3BDarrell Evans160571137.2402579
LFHank Aaron11234091.2682069
CFDusty Baker149574147.2562069
RFRalph Garr143606214.3531154

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
Mike Lum10636184.2331150
Rowland Office13124861.246331
Vic Correll7320248.238429
Frank Tepedino7816939.231016
Ivan Murrell7313333.248212
Leo Foster7211222.19615
Paul Casanova4210421.20208
Norm Miller48417.17115
Jack Pierce691.11100
Larvell Blanks382.25001
Sonny Jackson573.42900
Rod Gilbreath362.33300
John Fuller331.33300

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
Phil Niekro41302.120132.38195
Carl Morton38274.216123.15113
Buzz Capra392171682.28137
Ron Reed2818610113.3978
Roric Harrison201266114.7146

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
Lew Krausse2966.2434.1927
Gary Gentry36.2001.350
Mike Thompson14004.502

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
Tom House5662111.9364
Danny Frisella363465.1827
Max Leon344732.6438
Joe Niekro273203.5631
Jack Aker170103.787
Mike Beard60002.897
Jamie Easterly300016.880

Awards and honors

All-Stars

1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Clint Courtney
AA Savannah Braves Southern League Tommie Aaron
A Greenwood Braves Western Carolinas League Gary Geiger
Rookie Kingsport Braves Appalachian League Hoyt Wilhelm

Notes

  1. Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 179, ISBN 0-06-072290-8
  2. Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p.64, ISBN 0-06-072290-8
  3. Grizzard, Lewis, "If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground", p. 239-40
  4. Leggett, William. "A Tortured Road to 715." Sports Illustrated, p. 28, May 28, 1973.
  5. Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 25
  6. Mike Davey page at Baseball Reference
  7. "Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  8. New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Hank Aaron"
  9. "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.
  10. Dale Murphy page at Baseball Reference
  11. Dave Campbell page at Baseball Reference
  12. The Associated Press, July 24, 1974

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.