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.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

Offseason October 27, 1972: Rico Carty was traded by the Braves to the Texas Rangers for Jim Panther.Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference 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).Brian Asselstine page at Baseball Reference January 21, 1973: Curt Blefary was signed as a free agent by the Braves.Curt Blefary page at Baseball Reference February 28, 1973: Pat Jarvis was traded by the Braves to the Montreal Expos for Carl Morton.Carl Morton page at Baseball Reference March 26, 1973: Denny McLain was released by the Braves.Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

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.Joe Pepitone page at Baseball Reference 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.Al Closter page at Baseball Reference 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 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.Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America, Tom Stanton, p. 179,

Home RunDatePitcherInningLocation700July 21, 1973Ken BrettBottom 3rdFulton County Stadium701July 31, 1973Pedro BorbónBottom 9thFulton County Stadium702August 16, 1973Jack AkerTop 8thWrigley Field703August 17, 1973Steve RenkoTop 6thParc Jarry704August 18, 1973Steve RogersTop 8thParc Jarry705August 22, 1973Reggie ClevelandBottom 6thFulton County Stadium706August 28, 1973Milt PappasBottom 1stFulton County Stadium707September 3, 1973Clay KirbyTop 3rdSan Diego Stadium708September 3, 1973Vicente RomoTop 5thSan Diego Stadium709September 8, 1973Jack BillinghamBottom 7thFulton County Stadium710September 10, 1973Don CarrithersBottom 3rdFulton County Stadium711September 17, 1973Gary RossBottom 8thFulton County Stadium712September 22, 1973Dave RobertsTop 6thAstrodome713September 29, 1973Jerry ReussBottom 5thFulton County Stadium

Roster 1973 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 C 93 322 80 .248 4 27 1B 138 513 151 .294 16 82 2B 157 559 151 .270 43 99 3B 161 595 167 .281 41 104 SS 141 501 125 .250 8 57 LF 120 392 118 .301 40 96 CF 159 604 174 .288 21 99 RF 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 Paul Casanova 82 236 51 .216 7 18 Sonny Jackson 117 206 43 .209 0 12 Frank Tepedino 74 148 45 .304 4 29 Dick Dietz 83 139 41 .295 3 24 Chuck Goggin 64 90 26 .289 0 7 29 74 21 .284 0 2 22 58 12 .207 0 0 Freddie Velázquez 15 23 8 .348 0 3 11 20 1 .050 0 0 Larvell Blanks 17 18 4 .222 0 0 Joe Pepitone 3 11 4 .364 0 1 Norm Miller 9 8 3 .375 1 6 Larry Howard 4 8 1 .125 0 0 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 Carl Morton 38 256.1 15 10 3.41 112 42 245.0 13 10 3.31 131 Ron Reed 20 116.1 4 11 4.41 64 16 86.2 4 6 3.43 42 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 Ron Schueler 39 186.0 8 7 3.87 124 38 177.1 11 8 4.16 130 13 37.1 0 2 7.71 20 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 42 1 2 8 4.20 27 Tom House 52 4 2 4 4.68 42 24 2 3 4 6.40 15 23 2 3 0 7.63 8 Joe Niekro 20 2 4 3 4.13 12 Joe Hoerner 20 2 2 2 6.39 10 Gary Neibauer 16 2 1 0 7.17 9 12 2 2 0 5.33 18 Tom Kelley 7 0 1 0 2.84 5 Cecil Upshaw 5 0 1 0 9.82 3 4 0 0 0 14.54 2 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)Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.90, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

All-Stars 1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Hank Aaron, first baseman, starter Darrell Evans, reserve Davey Johnson, reserve

Farm system

Kinston affiliation shared with New York Yankees

Notes

References

1973 Atlanta Braves team page at Baseball Reference 1973 Atlanta Braves team page at www.baseball-almanac.com