1974 Atlanta Braves season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Atlanta Braves 1974 National League West Atlanta Stadium Atlanta 88–74 (.543) 3rd William Bartholomay Eddie Robinson Eddie Mathews, Clyde King WTCG WSB(Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton) 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.Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 179, 0-06-072290-8 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.Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p.64, 0-06-072290-8 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.Grizzard, Lewis, "If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground", p. 239-40 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?"Leggett, William. "A Tortured Road to 715." Sports Illustrated, p. 28, May 28, 1973. 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.Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 25 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).Mike Davey page at Baseball Reference March 26, 1974: Buzz Capra was purchased by the Braves from the New York Mets.https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/caprabu01.shtml Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference.com September 6, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080807163059/http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/caprabu01.shtml August 7, 2008 live Regular season Hank Aaron's 715th right|thumb|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.http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-739 New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Hank Aaron" September 7, 2007 May 7, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070507144509/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-739 dead 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.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/features/1999/aaron/aaron_story/ https://web.archive.org/web/20010428112745/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/features/1999/aaron/aaron_story/ dead April 28, 2001 CNN CNN/SI – Baseball MLB – 715: Hank Aaron's Glorious Ordeal – Monday April 05, 1999 01:26 PM April 5, 1999 September 7, 2007 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. 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 Record vs. opponents ATL 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: Dale Murphy was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.Dale Murphy page at Baseball Reference June 12, 1974: Dave Campbell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.Dave Campbell page at Baseball Reference 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 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."Newspaper article, The Associated Press, July 24, 1974 Braves' owner William Bartholomay responded by claiming he had had no inkling that Aaron was interested in managing in the Major Leagues. 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 33 Jack Aker 27 Mike Beard 47 Buzz Capra 45 Jamie Easterly 34 Danny Frisella 25 Gary Gentry 24 Roric Harrison 26 Tom House 36 Lew Krausse Jr. 31 Max León 49 Carl Morton 32 Joe Niekro 35 Phil Niekro 38 Ron Reed 33 Mike Thompson Catchers  5 Paul Casanova 29 Vic Correll 15 Johnny Oates Infielders  4 Larvell Blanks 11 Darrell Evans 17 Leo Foster 19 Rod Gilbreath  6 Davey Johnson 28 Mike Lum  9 Marty Perez 43 Jack Pierce 10 Craig Robinson  7 Frank Tepedino Outfielders 44 Hank Aaron 12 Dusty Baker 39 John Fuller 48 Ralph Garr 16 Sonny Jackson 42 Norm Miller 18 Ivan Murrell 22 Rowland Office Manager 14 Clyde King 41 Eddie Mathews Coaches  8 Jim Busby  1 Connie Ryan  3 Ken Silvestri 23 Herm Starrette 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 Craig Robinson (baseball) 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 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 baseball 48 41 7 .171 1 5 Jack Pierce Jack Pierce (baseball) 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 John Fuller (baseball) 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 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 Mike Thompson (1970s pitcher) 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 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 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 Mike Beard (baseball) 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 Minor League Baseball 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 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 1974 Atlanta Braves team page at Baseball Reference 1974 Atlanta Braves team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Atlanta Braves seasons Atlanta Braves season Atlanta