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1973 Atlanta Braves season

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1973 Atlanta Braves
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAtlanta Stadium
CityAtlanta
Record76–85 (.472)
Divisional place5th
OwnersWilliam Bartholomay
General managersEddie Robinson
ManagersEddie Mathews
TelevisionWTCG
RadioWSB
(Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton)
← 1972 Seasons 1974 →

The 1973 Atlanta Braves season was the eighth season in Atlanta along with the 103rd season as a franchise overall. The highlight of the season was Hank Aaron finishing the season just one home run short of Babe Ruth as baseball's all-time home run king. The 1973 Atlanta Braves were the first team to boast three 40 home run hitters. They were Aaron, Darrell Evans, and Davey Johnson. Also of note, it marked the only time in Johnson's career that he hit 40 home runs in one season.[1]

Offseason

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Regular season

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Season standings

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NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 99 63 .611 — 50‍–‍31 49‍–‍32
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 66 .590 3½ 50‍–‍31 45‍–‍35
San Francisco Giants 88 74 .543 11 47‍–‍34 41‍–‍40
Houston Astros 82 80 .506 17 41‍–‍40 41‍–‍40
Atlanta Braves 76 85 .472 22½ 40‍–‍40 36‍–‍45
San Diego Padres 60 102 .370 39 31‍–‍50 29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

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1973 National League record

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 — 7–5 5–13 11–7 2–15–1 6–6 6–6 6–6 7–5 12–6 8–10 6–6
Chicago 5–7 — 8–4 6–6 5–7 9–9 10–7 10–8 6–12 7–5 2–10 9–9
Cincinnati 13–5 4–8 — 11–7 11–7 8–4 8–4 8–4 7–5 13–5 10–8 6–6
Houston 7–11 6–6 7–11 — 11–7 6–6 6–6 7–5 6–6 10–8 11–7 5–7
Los Angeles 15–2–1 7–5 7–11 7–11 — 7–5 7–5 9–3 10–2 9–9 9–9 8–4
Montreal 6–6 9–9 4–8 6–6 5–7 — 9–9 13–5 6–12 7–5 6–6 8–10
New York 6–6 7–10 4–8 6–6 5–7 9–9 — 9–9 13–5 8–4 5–7 10–8
Philadelphia 6-6 8–10 4–8 5–7 3–9 5–13 9–9 — 8–10 9–3 5–7 9–9
Pittsburgh 5–7 12–6 5–7 6–6 2–10 12–6 5–13 10–8 — 8–4 5–7 10–8
San Diego 6–12 5–7 5–13 8–10 9–9 5–7 4–8 3–9 4–8 — 7–11 4–8
San Francisco 10–8 10–2 8–10 7–11 9–9 6–6 7–5 7–5 7–5 11–7 — 6–6
St. Louis 6–6 9–9 6–6 7–5 4–8 10–8 8–10 9–9 8–10 8–4 6–6 —


Opening Day starters

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Notable transactions

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Hank Aaron's Chase for the Record

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At the age of 39, Aaron managed to slug 40 home runs in 392 at bats, ending the season with 713, which at that time 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. After the game, Aaron stated that his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season. That statement was not just about the death threats: one year earlier, September 30, 1972, was the last day that the legendary Roberto Clemente ever played, as he perished in the offseason.[9]

Home Run Date Pitcher Inning Location
700 July 21, 1973 Ken Brett Bottom 3rd Fulton County Stadium
701 July 31, 1973 Pedro Borbón Bottom 9th Fulton County Stadium
702 August 16, 1973 Jack Aker Top 8th Wrigley Field
703 August 17, 1973 Steve Renko Top 6th Parc Jarry
704 August 18, 1973 Steve Rogers Top 8th Parc Jarry
705 August 22, 1973 Reggie Cleveland Bottom 6th Fulton County Stadium
706 August 28, 1973 Milt Pappas Bottom 1st Fulton County Stadium
707 September 3, 1973 Clay Kirby Top 3rd San Diego Stadium
708 September 3, 1973 Vicente Romo Top 5th San Diego Stadium
709 September 8, 1973 Jack Billingham Bottom 7th Fulton County Stadium
710 September 10, 1973 Don Carrithers Bottom 3rd Fulton County Stadium
711 September 17, 1973 Gary Ross Bottom 8th Fulton County Stadium
712 September 22, 1973 Dave Roberts Top 6th Astrodome
713 September 29, 1973 Jerry Reuss Bottom 5th Fulton County Stadium

Roster

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1973 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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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 93 322 80 .248 4 27
1B Mike Lum 138 513 151 .294 16 82
2B Davey Johnson 157 559 151 .270 43 99
3B Darrell Evans 161 595 167 .281 41 104
SS Marty Perez 141 501 125 .250 8 57
LF Hank Aaron 120 392 118 .301 40 96
CF Dusty Baker 159 604 174 .288 21 99
RF Ralph Garr 148 668 200 .299 11 55

Other batters

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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
Paul Casanova 82 236 51 .216 7 18
Sonny Jackson 117 206 43 .209 0 12
Frank Tepedino 74 148 45 .304 4 29
Dick Dietz 83 139 41 .295 3 24
Chuck Goggin 64 90 26 .289 0 7
Rod Gilbreath 29 74 21 .284 0 2
Oscar Brown 22 58 12 .207 0 0
Freddie Velázquez 15 23 8 .348 0 3
Jack Pierce 11 20 1 .050 0 0
Larvell Blanks 17 18 4 .222 0 0
Joe Pepitone 3 11 4 .364 0 1
Norm Miller 9 8 3 .375 1 6
Larry Howard 4 8 1 .125 0 0
Leo Foster 3 6 1 .167 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Carl Morton 38 256.1 15 10 3.41 112
Phil Niekro 42 245.0 13 10 3.31 131
Ron Reed 20 116.1 4 11 4.41 64
Gary Gentry 16 86.2 4 6 3.43 42
Pat Dobson 12 57.2 3 7 4.99 23

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ron Schueler 39 186.0 8 7 3.87 124
Roric Harrison 38 177.1 11 8 4.16 130
Jimmy Freeman 13 37.1 0 2 7.71 20
Wenty Ford 4 16.1 1 2 5.51 4

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Danny Frisella 42 1 2 8 4.20 27
Tom House 52 4 2 4 4.68 42
Adrian Devine 24 2 3 4 6.40 15
Jim Panther 23 2 3 0 7.63 8
Joe Niekro 20 2 4 3 4.13 12
Joe Hoerner 20 2 2 2 6.39 10
Gary Neibauer 16 2 1 0 7.17 9
Max León 12 2 2 0 5.33 18
Tom Kelley 7 0 1 0 2.84 5
Cecil Upshaw 5 0 1 0 9.82 3
Al Closter 4 0 0 0 14.54 2
Dave Cheadle 2 0 1 0 18.00 2

Awards and honors

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League records

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All-Stars

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1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

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See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Bobby Hofman and Clint Courtney
AA Savannah Braves Southern League Clint Courtney and Tommie Aaron
A Kinston Eagles Carolina League Gene Hassell
A Greenwood Braves Western Carolinas League Hoyt Wilhelm
Rookie Wytheville Braves Appalachian League Paul Snyder

Kinston affiliation shared with New York Yankees

Notes

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  1. ^ 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.138
  2. ^ Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Brian Asselstine page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Curt Blefary page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ a b Joe Pepitone page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Al Closter page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 179, ISBN 0-06-072290-8
  10. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.90, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

References

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