1973 Atlanta Braves season

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]

1973 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record76–85 (.472)
Divisional place5th
Other information
OwnersWilliam Bartholomay
General managersEddie Robinson
ManagersEddie Mathews
Local televisionWTCG
Local radioWSB
(Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton)
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Offseason

Regular season

Season standings
NL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 9963 0.611 — 50–31 49–32
Los Angeles Dodgers 9566 0.590 3½ 50–31 45–35
San Francisco Giants 8874 0.543 11 47–34 41–40
Houston Astros 8280 0.506 17 41–40 41–40
Atlanta Braves 7685 0.472 22½ 40–40 36–45
San Diego Padres 60102 0.370 39 31–50 29–52

Record vs. opponents
1973 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —7–55–1311–72–15–16–66–66–67–512–68–106–6
Chicago 5–7—8–46–65–79–910–710–86–127–52–109–9
Cincinnati 13–54–8—11–711–78–48–48–47–513–510–86–6
Houston 7–116–67–11—11–76–66–67–56–610–811–75–7
Los Angeles 15–2–17–57–117–11—7–57–59–310–29–99–98–4
Montreal 6–69–94–86–65–7—9–913–56–127–56–68–10
New York 6–67–104–86–65–79–9—9–913–58–45–710–8
Philadelphia 6-68–104–85–73–95–139–9—8–109–35–79–9
Pittsburgh 5–712–65–76–62–1012–65–1310–8—8–45–710–8
San Diego 6–125–75–138–109–95–74–83–94–8—7–114–8
San Francisco 10–810–28–107–119–96–67–57–57–511–7—6–6
St. Louis 6–69–96–67–54–810–88–109–98–108–46–6—

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

Hank Aaron's Chase for the Record

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
1973 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 Oates9332280.248427
1BMike Lum138513151.2941682
2BDavey Johnson157559151.2704399
3BDarrell Evans161595167.28141104
SSMarty Perez141501125.250857
LFHank Aaron120392118.3014096
CFDusty Baker159604174.2882199
RFRalph Garr148668200.2991155

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
Paul Casanova8223651.216718
Sonny Jackson11720643.209012
Frank Tepedino7414845.304429
Dick Dietz8313941.295324
Chuck Goggin649026.28907
Rod Gilbreath297421.28402
Oscar Brown225812.20700
Freddie Velázquez15238.34803
Jack Pierce11201.05000
Larvell Blanks17184.22200
Joe Pepitone3114.36401
Norm Miller983.37516
Larry Howard481.12500
Leo Foster361.16700

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
Carl Morton38256.115103.41112
Phil Niekro42245.013103.31131
Ron Reed20116.14114.4164
Gary Gentry1686.2463.4342
Pat Dobson1257.2374.9923

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
Ron Schueler39186.0873.87124
Roric Harrison38177.11184.16130
Jimmy Freeman1337.1027.7120
Wenty Ford416.1125.514

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
Danny Frisella421284.2027
Tom House524244.6842
Adrian Devine242346.4015
Jim Panther232307.638
Joe Niekro202434.1312
Joe Hoerner202226.3910
Gary Neibauer162107.179
Max León122205.3318
Tom Kelley70102.845
Cecil Upshaw50109.823
Al Closter400014.542
Dave Cheadle201018.002

Awards and honors

League records

All-Stars

1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system
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
  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. 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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