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1979 Atlanta Braves season

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1979 Atlanta Braves
File:AtlantaBraves.jpg
DivisionWestern Division
BallparkAtlanta-Fulton County Stadium
CityAtlanta, Georgia
Record66–94 (.413)
OwnersTed Turner
ManagersBobby Cox
TelevisionWTCG
RadioWSB
(Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
← 1978 Seasons 1980 →

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 90 71 .559 — 48‍–‍32 42‍–‍39
Houston Astros 89 73 .549 1½ 52‍–‍29 37‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers 79 83 .488 11½ 46‍–‍35 33‍–‍48
San Francisco Giants 71 91 .438 19½ 38‍–‍43 33‍–‍48
San Diego Padres 68 93 .422 22 39‍–‍42 29‍–‍51
Atlanta Braves 66 94 .412 23½ 34‍–‍45 32‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1979 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 — 4–8 6–12 7–11 12–6 1–9 4–8 7–5 4–8 6–12 11–7 4–8
Chicago 8–4 — 7–5 6–6 5–7 6–12 8–10 9–9 6–12 9–3 8–4 8–10
Cincinnati 12–6 5–7 — 8–10 11–7 6–6 8–4 8–4 8–4 10–7 6–12 8–4
Houston 11–7 6–6 10–8 — 10–8 7–5 9–3 5–7 4–8 14–4 7–11 6–6
Los Angeles 6–12 7–5 7–11 8–10 — 6–6 9–3 3–9 4–8 9–9 14–4 6–6
Montreal 9–1 12–6 6–6 5–7 6–6 — 15–3 11–7 7–11 7–5 7–5 10–8
New York 8–4 10–8 4–8 3–9 3–9 3–15 — 5–13 8–10 4–8 8–4 7–11
Philadelphia 5–7 9–9 4–8 7–5 9–3 7–11 13–5 — 8–10 9–3 6–6 7–11
Pittsburgh 8–4 12–6 4–8 8–4 8–4 11–7 10–8 10–8 — 7–5 9–3 11–7
San Diego 12–6 3–9 7–10 4–14 9–9 5–7 8–4 3–9 5–7 — 8–10 4–8
San Francisco 7–11 4–8 12–6 11–7 4–14 5–7 4–8 6–6 3–9 10–8 — 5–7
St. Louis 8–4 10–8 4–8 6–6 6–6 8–10 11–7 11–7 7–11 8–4 7–5 —


Death of GM Bill Lucas

On May 5, 1979, the Braves were staggered by the sudden death, at 43, of the club's general manager, Bill Lucas. The first African-American general manager in Major League Baseball, and the highest-ranking black executive in the game at the time of his death, he had been stricken at home May 2 with a massive cerebral hemorrhage, after watching a Braves' road-game victory on television.[4]

Lucas had been the Braves' top baseball operations official since September 17, 1976, and on his watch the team introduced players who would be integral parts of its early 1980s contending teams—such as Hall of Famer Dale Murphy, Bob Horner and Glenn Hubbard. During Lucas' term, the club had also hired Bobby Cox for his first term (1978–1981) as manager. Lucas had been a player and executive with the Braves since 1957; his sister, Barbara, also was the former wife of Hall of Famer and Braves' legend Henry Aaron.[5]

Lucas was succeeded May 16 by John Mullen, 54, a vice president with the Houston Astros since 1967 but previously a longtime member of the Braves' management team in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. Mullen would serve as the Braves' general manager until his replacement, by Cox, in October 1985.[6]

Notable transactions

Roster

1979 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 Dale Murphy 104 384 106 .276 21 57
2B Glenn Hubbard 97 325 75 .231 3 29
3B Bob Horner 121 487 153 .314 33 98
SS Pepe Frías 140 475 123 .259 1 44
RF Gary 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
Eddie Miller 27 113 35 .310 0 5
Brian 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
Phil Niekro 44 342 21 20 3.39 208
Eddie Solomon 31 186 7 14 4.21 96
Tony Brizzolara 20 107.1 6 9 5.28 64
Tommy 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
Preston 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
Gene Garber 68 6 16 25 4.33 56
Adrian Devine 40 3 2 0 3.24 22
Larry Bradford 21 1 0 2 0.95 11
Jamie 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

Notes

  1. ^ Brook Jacoby page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Mike Davey page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Dave Campbell page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ The Associated Press, May 8, 1979
  5. ^ Bryant, Howard, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. New York: Random House, 2010, page 446
  6. ^ Baseball America Executive Database
  7. ^ Buzz Capra page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Paul Runge page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Brett Butler page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 348, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

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
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