1969 Atlanta Braves season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1969 Atlanta Braves season was the fourth in Atlanta and the 99th overall season of the franchise. The National League had been split into two divisions before the season, with the Braves somewhat incongruously being assigned to the National League West. The Braves finished with a record of 93–69, winning the first ever NL West title by three games over the San Francisco Giants.
| 1969 Atlanta Braves | |
|---|---|
| National League West champions | |
| League | National League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Atlanta Stadium |
| City | Atlanta |
| Record | 93–69 (.574) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Owners | William Bartholomay |
| General managers | Paul Richards |
| Managers | Lum Harris |
| Television | WSB-TV (Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton, Bob Uecker) |
| Radio | WSB (Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton) |
After the season, the Braves played in the first inter-divisional National League Championship Series. They went on to lose the NLCS to the eventual World Champion New York Mets, three games to none.
Offseason
The new National League
The 1969 season marked the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball. The Braves (along with the Cincinnati Reds) were placed in the National League West division, despite being located further east than the two westernmost teams in the new National League East, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. This was because the New York Mets wanted to be in the same division as the reigning power in the NL, which were the Cardinals at the time (to compensate for playing against the Dodgers and Giants fewer times each season). The Cubs consequently demanded to be in the NL East as well in order to continue playing in the same division as the Cardinals, one of the Cubs' biggest rivals. But the primary reason for this odd alignment was that the Cardinals, Giants, and Cubs finished 1-2-3 the previous two seasons and it was feared putting them all in the West would create too big of a disparity in strength between the West and East.
Notable transactions
- October 14, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
- Al Santorini was drafted from the Braves by the San Diego Padres with the 7th pick.[1]
- Skip Guinn was drafted from the Braves by the Montreal Expos with the 17th pick.[2]
- Carl Morton was drafted from the Braves by the Expos with the 45th pick.[3]
- Cito Gaston was drafted from the Braves by the Padres with the 59th pick.[4]
- December 2, 1968: Darrell Evans was drafted by the Braves from the Oakland Athletics in the 1968 rule 5 draft.[5]
- March 17, 1969: Joe Torre was traded by the Braves to the St. Louis Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda.[6]
Regular season
Second baseman Félix Millán started the All-Star Game, along with right fielder Hank Aaron, and won his first Gold Glove.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 50–31 | 43–38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 52–29 | 38–43 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4 | 50–31 | 39–42 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 8 | 50–31 | 35–46 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 12 | 52–29 | 29–52 |
| San Diego Padres | 52 | 110 | .321 | 41 | 28–53 | 24–57 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 12–6 | 15–3 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–3 | — | 6–6–1 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 9–9 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 6–6–1 | — | 9–9 | 10–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–4 | |||||
| Houston | 3–15 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 6–12 | 11–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 7–5 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 10–2 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 3–9 | |||||
| Montreal | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 2–10 | — | 5–13 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 7–11 | |||||
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 12–6 | 10–8 | 11–1 | 8–4 | 12–6 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–11 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 10–2 | 5–7 | 9–9 | |||||
| San Diego | 5–13 | 1–11 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 4–8 | 2–10 | — | 6–12 | 4–8 | |||||
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 12–6 | — | 3–9 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–3 | — | |||||
Opening Day starters
Notable transactions
- June 5, 1969: Larvell Blanks was drafted by the Braves in the 3rd round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.[7]
- June 13, 1969: Van Kelly, Walt Hriniak and Andy Finlay (minors) were traded by the Braves to the San Diego Padres for Tony González.[8]
- August 19, 1969: Claude Raymond was purchased from the Braves by the Montreal Expos.[9]
- September 8, 1969: Mickey Rivers and Clint Compton were traded by the Braves to the California Angels for Hoyt Wilhelm and Bob Priddy.[10]
- September 11, 1969: Chico Ruiz was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.[11]
Roster
| 1969 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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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 | Bob Didier | 114 | 352 | 90 | .256 | 0 | 32 |
| 1B | Orlando Cepeda | 154 | 573 | 147 | .257 | 22 | 88 |
| 2B | Félix Millán | 162 | 652 | 174 | .267 | 6 | 57 |
| 3B | Clete Boyer | 144 | 496 | 124 | .250 | 14 | 57 |
| SS | Sonny Jackson | 98 | 318 | 76 | .239 | 1 | 27 |
| LF | Rico Carty | 104 | 304 | 104 | .342 | 16 | 58 |
| CF | Felipe Alou | 123 | 476 | 134 | .282 | 5 | 32 |
| RF | Hank Aaron | 147 | 547 | 164 | .300 | 44 | 97 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony González | 89 | 320 | 94 | .294 | 10 | 50 |
| Gil Garrido | 82 | 227 | 50 | .220 | 0 | 10 |
| Bob Aspromonte | 82 | 198 | 50 | .253 | 3 | 24 |
| Bob Tillman | 69 | 190 | 37 | .195 | 12 | 29 |
| Mike Lum | 121 | 168 | 45 | .268 | 1 | 22 |
| Tito Francona | 51 | 88 | 26 | .295 | 2 | 22 |
| Tommie Aaron | 49 | 60 | 15 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Ralph Garr | 22 | 27 | 6 | .222 | 0 | 2 |
| Darrell Evans | 12 | 26 | 6 | .231 | 0 | 1 |
| Walt Hriniak | 7 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 0 |
| Dusty Baker | 3 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Oscar Brown | 7 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Breazeale | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 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 | 40 | 284.1 | 23 | 13 | 2.56 | 193 |
| Ron Reed | 36 | 241.1 | 18 | 10 | 3.47 | 160 |
| Pat Jarvis | 37 | 217.1 | 13 | 11 | 4.43 | 123 |
| Milt Pappas | 26 | 144.0 | 6 | 10 | 3.62 | 72 |
| Mike McQueen | 1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 3 |
| Garry Hill | 1 | 2.1 | 0 | 1 | 15.43 | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Stone | 36 | 165.1 | 13 | 10 | 3.65 | 102 |
| Jim Britton | 24 | 88.0 | 7 | 5 | 3.78 | 60 |
| Ken Johnson | 9 | 29.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.97 | 20 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cecil Upshaw | 62 | 6 | 4 | 27 | 2.91 | 57 |
| Paul Doyle | 36 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2.08 | 25 |
| Claude Raymond | 33 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5.25 | 15 |
| Gary Neibauer | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.90 | 42 |
| Hoyt Wilhelm | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.73 | 14 |
| Larry Maxie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 |
| Bob Priddy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Rick Kester | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |
| Charlie Vaughan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |
Postseason
National League Championship Series
Awards and honors
- Rawlings Gold Glove Award
- Félix Millán, second base
- Clete Boyer, third base
All-Stars
1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Hank Aaron, OF, starter
- Félix Millán, 2B, starter
- Phil Niekro, reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greenwood