| 1974 Atlanta Braves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Atlanta Stadium | |||
| City | Atlanta | |||
| Record | 88–74 (.543) | |||
| Divisional place | 3rd | |||
| Owners | William Bartholomay | |||
| General managers | Eddie Robinson | |||
| Managers | Eddie Mathews,Clyde King | |||
| Television | WTCG | |||
| Radio | WSB (Ernie Johnson,Milo Hamilton) | |||
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The1974 Atlanta Braves season was the ninth season in Atlanta along with the 104th season as a franchise overall. The team finished third in theNational League West with a record of 88–74, 14 games behind theLos Angeles Dodgers. During the season, BravesoutfielderHank Aaron became the all-time career leader inhome runs, surpassingBabe Ruth.Ralph Garr was the league's batting champion with a .353 average. PitcherBuzz Capra captured the ERA title (2.28) andPhil Niekro tied for the league lead in wins with 20.
At the end of the1973 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 theHouston Astros (led by managerLeo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to hit one out of the park.[1]
Over the winter, Aaron received manydeath threats and a large assortment of hate mail. Many did not want to see ablack man break Ruth's nearlysacrosanct home run record.[2]Lewis Grizzard, then editor of theAtlanta 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 theracist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
"Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes amoon 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]
As the 1974 season began, the Braves opened the season on the road with a three-game series against theCincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record inAtlanta, so the plan was to have Aaron sit for said games against the Reds.Baseball CommissionerBowie 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 firstat bat off Reds pitcherJack Billingham, but failed to hit another home run in the series.[8]
The team returned to Atlanta for a series with theLos 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, andPearl Bailey sang the national anthem in Broadway soul. Atlanta's black mayor,Maynard Jackson, and Georgia GovernorJimmy Carter attended the game.[9]
Dodgers pitcherAl 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 brokeWillie 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 outfielderBill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Bravesbullpen, whererelief pitcherTom 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.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 52–29 | 50–31 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 98 | 64 | .605 | 4 | 50–31 | 48–33 |
| Atlanta Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 14 | 46–35 | 42–39 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 21 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 72 | 90 | .444 | 30 | 37–44 | 35–46 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | .370 | 42 | 36–45 | 24–57 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |||||
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 over1973, and resulted in a third-place finish in the NL West.
But a mid-season slump cost managerEddie Mathews—for years Aaron's fellow-superstar with the Milwaukee Braves of the 1950s—his job on July 21 during theAll-Star break with the club at 50–49 (and 14 games out of first place). Special assistant to the general managerClyde King, 50, former skipper of theSan 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 firstAfrican-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' ownerWilliam 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 theCleveland Indians on October 3, 1974. Aaron was traded to theAmerican LeagueMilwaukee Brewers on November 2, 1974; he finished his active career in theJunior Circuit with two years as adesignated 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.
| 1974 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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 |
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 | 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 |
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 | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
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 |
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 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.89 | 7 |
| Jamie Easterly | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.88 | 0 |
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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