1977 Atlanta Braves season
Major League Baseball team season
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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]
| 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) |
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]
The 1977 Braves had the fewest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of any team in a single season in major league history, at -10.0.[3]
Offseason
- 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.[4]
Regular season
Turner's one-day reign as manager
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.[5]
Notable events
- 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
| 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
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Notable transactions
- April 30, 1977: Mike Marshall was purchased from the Braves by the Texas Rangers.[7]
- June 7, 1977: Larry Owen was drafted by the Braves in the 17th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.[8]
Roster
| 1977 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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; 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
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
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | 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
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
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
Awards and honors
League leaders
- Phil Niekro, National League leader, Losses[10]