1973 Atlanta Braves season

1973 Atlanta Braves
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1876) Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta Stadium (since 1966) Atlanta, Georgia (since 1966)
1973 information
Owner(s)	William Bartholomay
General manager(s)	Eddie Robinson
Manager(s)	Eddie Mathews
Local television	WTCG
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton)
Previous season     Next season

The highlight of the 1973 Atlanta Braves season was Hank Aaron finishing the season just one home run short of Babe Ruth as baseball's all-time home run king.

Offseason

• October 27, 1972: Rico Carty was traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Jim Panther.
• January 10, 1973: Brian Asselstine was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (15th pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase).
• January 21, 1973: Curt Blefary was signed as a free agent by the Braves.
• February 28, 1973: Pat Jarvis was traded by the Braves to the Montreal Expos for Carl Morton.
• March 26, 1973: Denny McLain was released by the Braves.

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	GB	Pct.
Cincinnati Reds	99	63	--	.611
Los Angeles Dodgers	95	66	3.5	.590
San Francisco Giants	88	74	11	.543
Houston Astros	82	80	17	.506
Atlanta Braves	76	85	22.5	.472
San Diego Padres	60	102	39	.370

Opening Day starters

• Hank Aaron
• Dusty Baker
• Darrell Evans
• Ralph Garr
• Gary Gentry
• Rod Gilbreath
• Davey Johnson
• Johnny Oates
• Marty Perez

Notable transactions

• May 19, 1973: Andre Thornton was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Pepitone.
• June 7, 1973: Pat Dobson was traded by the Braves to the New York Yankees for Frank Tepedino, Wayne Nordhagen, and players to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Dave Cheadle to the Braves on August 15 and Al Closter to the Braves on September 5.
• June 19, 1973: Joe Pepitone was released by the Braves.

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 wasn't 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.

Home Run	Date	Pitcher	Inning	Location
700	07/21/1973	Ken Brett	Bottom 3rd	Fulton County Stadium
701	07/31/1973	Pedro Borbón	Bottom 9th	Fulton County Stadium
702	08/16/1973	Jack Aker	Top 8th	Wrigley Field
703	08/17/1973	Steve Renko	Top 6th	Parc Jarry
704	08/18/1973	Steve Rogers	Top 8th	Parc Jarry
705	08/22/1973	Reggie Cleveland	Bottom 6th	Fulton County Stadium
706	08/28/1973	Milt Pappas	Bottom 1st	Fulton County Stadium
707	09/03/1973	Clay Kirby	Top 3rd	San Diego Stadium
708	09/03/1973	Vicente Romo	Top 5th	San Diego Stadium
709	09/08/1973	Jack Billingham	Bottom 7th	Fulton County Stadium
710	09/10/1973	Don Carrithers	Bottom 3rd	Fulton County Stadium
711	09/17/1973	Gary Ross	Bottom 8th	Fulton County Stadium
712	09/22/1973	Dave Roberts	Top 6th	Astrodome
713	09/29/1973	Jerry Reuss	Bottom 5th	Fulton County Stadium

Roster

1973 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 30 Dave Cheadle 43 Al Closter 27 Adrian Devine 27 Pat Dobson 56 Wenty Ford 40 Jimmy Freeman 25,34 Danny Frisella 39 Gary Gentry 24 Roric Harrison 43 Joe Hoerner 39 Tom House 36 Tom Kelley 32 Max León 49 Carl Morton 31 Gary Neibauer 36 Joe Niekro 35 Phil Niekro 22 Jim Panther 38 Ron Reed 37 Ron Schueler 34 Cecil Upshaw		Catchers  5 Paul Casanova 25 Larry Howard 15 Johnny Oates 18 Freddie Velázquez Infielders  4 Larvell Blanks 14 Dick Dietz 11 Darrell Evans 17 Leo Foster 19 Rod Gilbreath 29 Chuck Goggin  6 Davey Johnson 28 Mike Lum  7 Joe Pepitone  9 Marty Perez 18 Jack Pierce  7 Frank Tepedino		Outfielders 44 Hank Aaron 12 Dusty Baker 20,45 Oscar Brown 48 Ralph Garr 16 Sonny Jackson 42 Norm Miller		Manager 41 Eddie Mathews Coaches 33 Lew Burdette  8 Jim Busby  7 Roy Hartsfield  1 Connie Ryan  3 Ken Silvestri

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	Oates, JohnnyJohnny Oates	93	322	80	.248	4	27
2B	Johnson, DaveyDavey Johnson	157	559	151	.270	43	99
3B	Evans, DarrellDarrell Evans	161	595	167	.281	41	104
SS	Perez, MartyMarty Perez	141	501	125	.250	8	57
LF	Aaron, HankHank Aaron	120	392	118	.301	40	96
CF	Baker, DustyDusty Baker	159	604	174	.288	21	99
RF	Garr, RalphRalph Garr	148	668	200	.299	11	55

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
Gilbreath, RodRod Gilbreath	29	74	21	.284	0	2
Brown, OscarOscar Brown	22	58	12	.207	0	0
Pierce, JackJack Pierce	11	20	1	.050	0	0
Foster, LeoLeo Foster	3	6	1	.167	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
Morton, CarlCarl Morton	38	256.1	15	10	3.41	112
Gentry, GaryGary Gentry	16	86.2	4	6	3.43	42
Dobson, PatPat Dobson	12	57.2	3	7	4.99	23

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
Harrison, RoricRoric Harrison	38	177.1	11	8	4.16	130
Freeman, JimmyJimmy Freeman	13	37.1	0	2	7.71	20
Ford, WentyWenty Ford	4	16.1	1	2	5.51	4

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
Frisella, DannyDanny Frisella	42	1	2	8	4.20	27
Devine, AdrianAdrian Devine	24	2	3	4	6.40	15
Panther, JimJim Panther	23	2	3	0	7.63	8
León, MaxMax León	12	2	2	0	5.33	18
Closter, AlAl Closter	4	0	0	0	14.54	2
Cheadle, DaveDave Cheadle	2	0	1	0	18.00	2

Awards and honors

League records

• Davey Johnson, Tied Rogers Hornsby’s record for most home runs in one season by a National League second baseman (42)

All-Stars

1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Hank Aaron, first baseman, starter
• Darrell Evans, reserve
• Davey Johnson, reserve

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

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 
• 1973 Atlanta Braves team page at Baseball Reference
• 1973 Atlanta Braves team page at www.baseball-almanac.com