1977 Atlanta Braves | ||
---|---|---|
League | National League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | |
City | Atlanta | |
Record | 61–101 (.377) | |
Divisional place | 6th | |
Owners | Ted Turner | |
General managers | Bill Lucas | |
Managers | Dave Bristol (games 1–29, 32–162) Ted Turner (game 30) Vern Benson (game 31) | |
Television | WTCG (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray) | |
Radio | WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren) | |
|
The 1977 Atlanta Braves season was the 107th season for the franchise and their 12th in Atlanta. The team finished in last place in the six-team National League West with a record of 61–101, 37 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves hit a major league-leading seven grand slams.[1]
All Braves home and away games were broadcast on WTCG-TV which during the offseason, under its owner Ted Turner, became the pioneer superstation in the United States and thus making the Braves the first MLB team to have its games telecast to millions of television viewers around the country aside from the national broadcasts on ABC and NBC which had been the case before the team's opening series of the season.[2]
Offseason[edit]
- November 17, 1976: Gary Matthews was signed by the Braves as a free agent.
- December 9, 1976: Carl Morton, Adrian Devine, Ken Henderson, Dave May, Roger Moret, and $250,000 were traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Jeff Burroughs.[3]
Regular season[edit]
Turner's one-day reign as manager[edit]
Midway through the 1977 season, with the Braves mired in a 16-game losing streak, owner Ted Turner sent Dave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip" and took over as his own manager. This only lasted for one game (a 2–1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates) before National League president Chub Feeney ordered Turner to give up the reins, citing major league rules which forbid managers or players from owning stock in a team. After the Braves broke the skid under third-base coach Vern Benson, Bristol—who had spent the time at his offseason home in Andrews, North Carolina—was given his old job back for the remainder of the season.[4]
Notable events[edit]
- September 15, 1977 - Dale Murphy hits two home runs in an 8–7 win over the San Diego Padres, the first home runs of his major league career.
Season standings[edit]
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Dodgers | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 51–30 | 47–34 |
Cincinnati Reds | 88 | 74 | .543 | 10 | 48–33 | 40–41 |
Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 17 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
San Francisco Giants | 75 | 87 | .463 | 23 | 38–43 | 37–44 |
San Diego Padres | 69 | 93 | .426 | 29 | 35–46 | 34–47 |
Atlanta Braves | 61 | 101 | .377 | 37 | 40–41 | 21–60 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
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 | — | 5–7 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 1–11 | |||||
Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | |||||
Cincinnati | 14–4 | 5–7 | — | 5–13 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 5–7 | |||||
Houston | 9–9 | 6–6 | 13–5 | — | 9–9 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | |||||
Los Angeles | 13–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 6–6 | |||||
Montreal | 6–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 10–8 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–6 | |||||
New York | 5–7 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 5–13 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–10 | |||||
Philadelphia | 10-2 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 11–7 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 9–3 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 14–4 | 10–8 | — | 10–2 | 2–10 | 9–9 | |||||
San Diego | 7–11 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | |||||
San Francisco | 10–8 | 3–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–2 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | |||||
St. Louis | 11–1 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Opening Day starters[edit]
- Jeff Burroughs
- Vic Correll
- Rod Gilbreath
- Gary Matthews
- Willie Montañez
- Rowland Office
- Pat Rockett
- Jerry Royster
- Dick Ruthven[5]
Notable transactions[edit]
- April 30, 1977: Mike Marshall was purchased from the Braves by the Texas Rangers.[6]
- June 7, 1977: Larry Owen was drafted by the Braves in the 17th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.[7]
Roster[edit]
1977 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
|
Player stats[edit]
= Indicates team leader |
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Biff Pocoroba | 113 | 321 | 93 | .290 | 8 | 44 | 3 |
1B | Willie Montañez | 136 | 544 | 156 | .287 | 20 | 68 | 1 |
2B | Rod Gilbreath | 128 | 407 | 99 | .243 | 8 | 43 | 3 |
3B | Junior Moore | 112 | 361 | 94 | .260 | 5 | 34 | 4 |
SS | Pat Rockett | 93 | 264 | 67 | .254 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
LF | Gary Matthews | 148 | 555 | 157 | .283 | 17 | 64 | 22 |
CF | Rowland Office | 124 | 428 | 103 | .241 | 5 | 39 | 2 |
RF | Jeff Burroughs | 154 | 579 | 157 | .271 | 41 | 114 | 4 |
Other batters[edit]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jerry Royster | 140 | 445 | 96 | .216 | 6 | 28 | 28 |
Barry Bonnell | 100 | 360 | 108 | .300 | 1 | 45 | 7 |
Darrel Chaney | 74 | 209 | 42 | .201 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
Tom Paciorek | 72 | 155 | 37 | .239 | 3 | 15 | 1 |
Vic Correll | 54 | 144 | 30 | .208 | 7 | 16 | 2 |
Brian Asselstine | 83 | 124 | 26 | .210 | 4 | 17 | 1 |
Cito Gaston | 56 | 85 | 23 | .271 | 3 | 21 | 1 |
Joe Nolan | 62 | 82 | 23 | .280 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
Dale Murphy | 18 | 76 | 24 | .316 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
Craig Robinson | 27 | 29 | 6 | .207 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Larry Whisenton | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Rob Belloir | 6 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
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 | 330.1 | 16 | 20 | 4.03 | 262 |
Dick Ruthven | 25 | 151.0 | 7 | 13 | 4.23 | 84 |
Andy Messersmith | 16 | 102.1 | 5 | 4 | 4.40 | 69 |
Eddie Solomon | 18 | 88.2 | 6 | 6 | 4.57 | 54 |
Mickey Mahler | 5 | 23.0 | 1 | 2 | 6.26 | 14 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Buzz Capra | 45 | 139.1 | 6 | 11 | 5.36 | 100 |
Max León | 31 | 81.2 | 4 | 4 | 3.97 | 44 |
Don Collins | 40 | 70.2 | 3 | 9 | 5.09 | 27 |
Preston Hanna | 17 | 60.0 | 2 | 6 | 4.95 | 37 |
Jamie Easterly | 22 | 58.2 | 2 | 4 | 6.14 | 37 |
Frank LaCorte | 14 | 37.0 | 1 | 8 | 11.68 | 28 |
Steve Hargan | 16 | 36.2 | 0 | 3 | 6.87 | 18 |
Joey McLaughlin | 3 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 15.00 | 0 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Campbell | 65 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 3.05 | 42 |
Rick Camp | 54 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 4.00 | 51 |
Duane Theiss | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.53 | 7 |
Steve Kline | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.64 | 10 |
Mike Davey | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.06 | 7 |
Bob Johnson | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.25 | 16 |
Mike Marshall | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 6 |
Mike Beard | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.64 | 1 |
Larry Bradford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 1 |
Farm system[edit]
Awards and honors[edit]
League leaders[edit]
- Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses[9]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Team Batting Event Finder: 1977, All Teams, Home Runs, With Runners on 123". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ "Atlanta TV goes national via satellite" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. December 20, 1976. p. 24. Retrieved September 20, 2018 – via American Radio History.
- ^ Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Hannon, Kent. Benched from the Bench. Sports Illustrated, 1977-05-23.
- ^ "1977 Atlanta Braves Roster by Baseball Almanac".
- ^ Mike Marshall page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Larry Owen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b "1977 Atlanta Braves Statistics".
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 348, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
References[edit]
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1977 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference
- Atlanta Braves on Baseball Almanac