1974 Atlanta Braves season
Encyclopedia
The Atlanta Braves
season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the National League West
with a record of 88-74, 14 games behind the Cincinnati Reds
. During the season, Braves outfielder
Hank Aaron became the all-time career leader in home run
s, surpassing Babe Ruth
.
, 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.
Over the winter, Aaron received many death threat
s and a large assortment of hate mail. Many did not want to see a black man
break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. 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.
Sports Illustrated
pointedly summarized the racist
vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the National League West
National League West
The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...
with a record of 88-74, 14 games behind the Cincinnati Reds
1974 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Reds finishing in second place in the National League West with a record of 98-64, four games behind the NL West and pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers...
. During the season, Braves outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Hank Aaron became the all-time career leader in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, surpassing Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
.
Waiting for a new home run king
At the end of the 1973 season1973 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets ; Reggie Jackson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7–1; Bobby Bonds, MVP-Other champions:...
, 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
1973 Houston Astros season
The Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League West with a record of 82-80, 17 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.- Offseason :...
(led by manager Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to hit one out of the park.
Over the winter, Aaron received many death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s and a large assortment of hate mail. Many did not want to see a black man
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. Lewis Grizzard
Lewis Grizzard
Lewis McDonald Grizzard, Jr. was an American writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South...
, 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.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
pointedly summarized the racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
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 walkExtra-vehicular activityExtra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
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?"
Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson
Claire Merritt Hodgson
Claire Merritt Hodgson, born Clara Mae Merritt , was a native of Athens, Georgia, United States, who is most famous for having been the second wife of Babe Ruth....
, even denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.
Notable transactions
- January 9, 1974: Mike DaveyMike DaveyMichael Gerard Davey is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Atlanta Braves. Listed at 6' 2", 190 lb., Davey batted right-handed and threw left-handed...
was drafted by the Braves in the 2nd round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft1974 Major League Baseball draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :With the number one pick of the June regular phase, San Diego tabbed infielder Bill Almon from Brown University, one of six shortstops selected in round one...
(Secondary Phase). - March 26, 1974: Buzz CapraBuzz CapraLee William "Buzz" Capra was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1971 to 1977 for the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves...
was purchased by the Braves from the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.
Hank Aaron's 715th
1974 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Reds finishing in second place in the National League West with a record of 98-64, four games behind the NL West and pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers...
. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta. The plan was to have Aaron sit for said games against the Reds. Baseball Commissioner
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
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
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham
Jack Billingham
John Eugene Billingham is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , Cincinnati Reds , Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox...
, but failed to hit another home run in the series.
The team returned to Atlanta for a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League West by four games over the Cincinnati Reds, then beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1974 National League Championship Series before losing to the Oakland Athletics in the 1974 World Series.- Offseason :...
. On April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record. Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
was in attendance, and Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, sang the national anthem in Broadway soul. Atlanta's black mayor, Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. was an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms, two consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982 and a third term from 1990 to 1994...
, and Governor Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
attended the game.
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
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
' 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
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...
nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
, where relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Tom House
Tom House
Thomas Ross House is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball, as well as an author and a pitching coach.-Player:...
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.
Opening Day starters
- Hank Aaron
- Dusty BakerDusty BakerJohnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr. is a former player and current manager in Major League Baseball, currently the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, mostly with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers...
- Vic CorrellVic CorrellVictor Crosby Correll was a Major League Baseball player from 1972 to 1980 for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds. Correll spent most of his major league career as a backup catcher, although he was the Braves' primary catcher in .-Sources:...
- Darrell EvansDarrell EvansDarrell Wayne Evans is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1969 to 1989 with the Atlanta Braves , San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers . He is also the former manager and director of player personnel for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball...
- Ralph GarrRalph GarrRalph Allen Garr is a former Major League Baseball player who played outfield for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox and California Angels. He batted left-handed and threw right...
- Davey JohnsonDavey JohnsonDavid Allen "Davey" Johnson is an American Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972...
- Mike LumMike LumMichael Ken-Wai Lum was an Outfielder and First Baseman for the Atlanta Braves , Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs...
- Ron ReedRon ReedRonald Lee Reed is a retired American starting/relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves , St. Louis Cardinals , Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox...
- Craig RobinsonCraig Robinson (baseball)Craig George Robinson is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the Philadelphia Phillies , Atlanta Braves , and San Francisco Giants . He batted and threw right-handed....
Notable transactions
- June 5, 1974: Dale MurphyDale MurphyDale Bryan Murphy is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. During an 18-year baseball career, 1976–1993, he played for three different teams, but is noted for his time with the Atlanta Braves...
was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft1974 Major League Baseball draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :With the number one pick of the June regular phase, San Diego tabbed infielder Bill Almon from Brown University, one of six shortstops selected in round one...
. - June 12, 1974: Dave CampbellDave Campbell (pitcher)David Alan Campbell is a former professional baseball pitcher. Campbell pitched two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves in 1977 and 1978. He appeared in 118 games, all but 14 in relief....
was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.
Roster
| 1974 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers |
Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders |
Manager Coaches |
||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 160 | 571 | 137 | .240 | 25 | 79 | |
| LF | 112 | 340 | 91 | .268 | 20 | 69 | |
| CF | 149 | 574 | 147 | .256 | 20 | 69 | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 202 | 48 | .238 | 4 | 29 | |
| 72 | 112 | 22 | .196 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 217 | 16 | 8 | 2.28 | 137 | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 66.2 | 4 | 3 | 4.18 | 27 | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 1.93 | 64 | |
| 36 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5.18 | 27 | |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.78 | 7 | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.89 | 7 | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.88 | 0 |
All-Stars
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 23, 1974, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
- Hank Aaron, right field, starter
- Buzz CapraBuzz CapraLee William "Buzz" Capra was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1971 to 1977 for the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves...
, reserve - Ralph GarrRalph GarrRalph Allen Garr is a former Major League Baseball player who played outfield for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox and California Angels. He batted left-handed and threw right...
, reserve