1979 Atlanta Braves season

1979 Atlanta Braves
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1876) Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (since 1966) Atlanta, Georgia (since 1966)
1979 information
Owner(s)	Ted Turner
General manager(s)	Bill Lucas, John Mullen
Manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Local television	WTCG
Local radio	WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
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Offseason

• January 9, 1979: Brook Jacoby was drafted by the Braves in the 7th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft.
• February 22, 1979: Mike Davey was purchased from the Braves by the Seattle Mariners.
• March 31, 1979: Dave Campbell was traded by the Braves to the Montreal Expos for Pepe Frías.

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	GB	Pct.
Cincinnati Reds	90	71	--	.559
Houston Astros	89	73	1.5	.549
Los Angeles Dodgers	79	83	11.5	.488
San Francisco Giants	71	91	19.5	.438
San Diego Padres	68	93	22	.422
Atlanta Braves	66	94	23.5	.413

Notable transactions

• April 3, 1979: Buzz Capra was released by the Braves.
• June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Paul Runge was drafted by the Braves in the 9th round.
  • Brett Butler was drafted by the Braves in the 23rd round. Player signed June 11, 1979.

Roster

1979 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 50 Tommy Boggs 34 Larry Bradford 43 Tony Brizzolara 38 Adrian Devine 45 Jamie Easterly 26 Gene Garber 49 Preston Hanna 42 Frank LaCorte 24 Mickey Mahler 39 Rick Mahler 29 Rick Matula 32 Bo McLaughlin 50 Joey McLaughlin 27 Larry McWilliams 35 Phil Niekro 48 Craig Skok 37 Eddie Solomon		Catchers 20 Bruce Benedict 11 Joe Nolan  4 Biff Pocoroba Infielders 25 Bob Beall 15 Darrel Chaney  9 Pepe Frías  5 Bob Horner 17 Glenn Hubbard 28 Mike Lum 31 Mike Macha  3 Dale Murphy  1 Jerry Royster 16 Jim Wessinger		Outfielders 30 Brian Asselstine  2 Barry Bonnell  7 Jeff Burroughs 36 Gary Matthews 14 Eddie Miller 22 Rowland Office 46 Charlie Spikes 18 Larry Whisenton		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 23 Tommie Aaron 48 Cloyd Boyer 10 Bobby Dews  8 Alex Grammas

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
1B	Murphy, DaleDale Murphy	104	384	106	.276	21	57
2B	Hubbard, GlennGlenn Hubbard	97	325	75	.231	3	29
3B	Horner, BobBob Horner	121	487	153	.314	33	98
SS	Frías, PepePepe Frías	140	475	123	.259	1	44
RF	Matthews, GaryGary Matthews	156	631	192	.304	27	90

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
Miller, EddieEddie Miller	27	113	35	.310	0	5
Asselstine, BrianBrian Asselstine	8	10	1	.100	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
Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro	44	342	21	20	3.39	208
Solomon, EddieEddie Solomon	31	186	7	14	4.21	96
Brizzolara, TonyTony Brizzolara	20	107.1	6	9	5.28	64
Boggs, TommyTommy Boggs	3	12.2	0	2	6.39	1

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
Hanna, PrestonPreston Hanna	6	24.1	1	1	2.96	15

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
Garber, GeneGene Garber	68	6	16	25	4.33	56
Devine, AdrianAdrian Devine	40	3	2	0	3.24	22
Bradford, LarryLarry Bradford	21	1	0	2	0.95	11
Easterly, JamieJamie Easterly	4	0	0	0	13.50	3

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Tom Burgess
AA	Savannah Braves	Southern League	Eddie Haas
A	Greenwood Braves	Western Carolinas League	Al Gallagher
Rookie	Kingsport Braves	Appalachian League	Gene Hassell
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Pedro González

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greenwood

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses

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. 
• 1979 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference
• Atlanta Braves on Baseball Almanac