1966 Atlanta Braves season

1966 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 85–77 (.525)
League place 5th
Other information
Owner(s) William Bartholomay
General manager(s) John McHale, Paul Richards
Manager(s) Bobby Bragan, Billy Hitchcock
Local television WSB-TV
Local radio WSB
(Larry Munson, Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton, Dizzy Dean)
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The 1966 Atlanta Braves season was the first for the franchise in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee, where the team had played the previous 13 seasons. The Braves finished their inaugural year in Atlanta in fifth place in the National League with a record of 85–77, ten games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves played their first season of home games at Atlanta Stadium.

Offseason

Regular season

Opening day

The Atlanta Braves' first-ever game was played at home, at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, on Tuesday, April 12, 1966, against the Pittsburgh Pirates before 50,671 fans.[5] Braves' starting pitcher Cloninger, a 24-game winner in Milwaukee in 1965, pitched a 13-inning complete game but absorbed a hard-luck, 3–2 loss. With the game tied at one in the top of the 13th, eventual Hall of Famer Willie Stargell hit a two-out, two-run home run to put Pittsburgh ahead 3–1. Atlanta catcher Joe Torre hit his second solo homer of the game to narrow the deficit to one run, but the Pirates held on to win. Earlier, in the fifth inning, Torre had hit the first homer in Atlanta's Major League history.[5]

Starting lineup

29 Felipe Alou CF
41 Eddie Mathews     3B
44 Hank Aaron RF
43 Rico Carty LF
15 Joe Torre C
19 Denis Menke SS
  9 Lee Thomas    1B
  2 Frank Bolling 2B
40 Tony Cloninger P

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 67 0.586 — 53–28 42–39
San Francisco Giants 93 68 0.578 1½ 47–34 46–34
Pittsburgh Pirates 92 70 0.568 3 46–35 46–35
Philadelphia Phillies 87 75 0.537 8 48–33 39–42
Atlanta Braves 85 77 0.525 10 43–38 42–39
St. Louis Cardinals 83 79 0.512 12 43–38 40–41
Cincinnati Reds 76 84 0.475 18 46–33 30–51
Houston Astros 72 90 0.444 23 45–36 27–54
New York Mets 66 95 0.410 28½ 32–49 34–46
Chicago Cubs 59 103 0.364 36 32–49 27–54

Record vs. opponents

1966 National League Records

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Atlanta — 7–11 10–8 14–4–1 7–11 14–4 11–7 7–11 8–10 7–11
Chicago 11–7 — 6–12 5–13 8–10 8–10 5–13 6–12 6–12 4–14
Cincinnati 8–10 12–6 — 4–14 6–12 10–7 10–8 8–10 7–10 11–7
Houston 4–14–1 13–5 14–4 — 7–11 7–11 7–11 4–14 6–12 10–8
Los Angeles 11–7 10–8 12–6 11–7 — 12–6 11–7 9–9 9–9 10–8
New York 4–14 10–8 7–10 11–7 6–12 — 7–11 5–13 9–9 7–11
Philadelphia 7-11 13–5 8–10 11–7 7–11 11–7 — 10–8 10–8 10–8
Pittsburgh 11–7 12–6 10–8 14–4 9–9 13–5 8–10 — 7–11 8–10
San Francisco 10–8 12–6 10–7 12–6 9–9 9–9 8–10 11–7 — 12–6
St. Louis 11–7 14–4 7–11 8–10 8–10 11–7 8–10 10–8 6–12 —

Front-office and managerial turnover

The Braves' first year in Atlanta featured an unusual amount of management churn in both the front office and dugout. On June 28, it was announced that Paul Richards, a veteran former MLB manager and general manager, would join the team as a roving troubleshooter in its farm system.[6] The Braves were then a disappointing 34–42 (.447) and in eighth place in the ten-team National League. Braves president and GM John McHale remarked that Richards, 57, was poised to assume greater responsibilities within the Atlanta organization if called upon,[6] leading to speculation that he would replace embattled field manager Bobby Bragan. More than a quarter-century earlier, in 1938, Richards had begun his management career as the successful player-manager of the minor league Atlanta Crackers.

On August 8, with the Braves still mired in the second division at 52–59 and in seventh place, Bragan was finally dismissed as skipper, and replaced by bench coach Billy Hitchcock, like Richards a former teammate of McHale's with the Detroit Tigers. Hitchcock's hiring would pull Braves out of their tailspin, winning of 33 of 51 games (.647) and advancing to fifth place. But Richards was indeed destined to rise within the Atlanta organization. On August 31, he was named director of player personnel at both the Major and minor-league levels, effectively becoming general manager of baseball operations without the formal title, which McHale temporarily retained.[7] Four months later, McHale resigned from the Braves to join the office of Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert, and on January 11, 1967, Richards was formally named Braves' general manager. He would serve in the post through June 1, 1972.[8]

National transactions

Roster

1966 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

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
Millán, FélixFélix Millán 37 91 25 .275 0 5
Alomar, SandySandy Alomar 31 44 4 .091 0 2
Herrnstein, JohnJohn Herrnstein 17 18 4 .222 0 1
Keough, MartyMarty Keough 17 17 1 .059 0 1

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
Cloninger, TonyTony Cloninger 39 257.2 14 11 4.12 178
Blasingame, WadeWade Blasingame 16 67.2 3 7 5.32 34
Jarvis, PatPat Jarvis 10 62.1 6 2 2.31 41

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
Fischer, HankHank Fischer 14 48.1 2 3 3.91 22

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
Carroll, ClayClay Carroll 73 8 7 11 2.37 67
Olivo, Chi-ChiChi-Chi Olivo 47 5 4 7 4.23 41
Abernathy, TedTed Abernathy 38 4 4 4 3.86 42

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Bill Adair
AA Austin Braves Texas League Hub Kittle
A Kinston Eagles Carolina League Andy Pafko
A West Palm Beach Braves Florida State League Buddy Hicks
A Yakima Braves Northwest League Eddie Haas
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Tom Saffell

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Austin

Notes

  1. ↑ Jesse Gonder at Baseball Reference
  2. ↑ Tom Seaver at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 259, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  4. ↑ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 32, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
  5. 1 2 Retrosheet box score: 1966-4-12
  6. 1 2 The Associated Press, June 26, 1966
  7. ↑ United Press International August 31, 1966
  8. ↑ Baseball America Executive Database
  9. ↑ Marty Keough at Baseball Reference
  10. ↑ Frank Thomas is place on waivers
  11. ↑ Bobby Cox at Baseball Reference
  12. ↑ Cubs, Atlanta trade again
  13. ↑ Al Santorini at Baseball-Reference

References

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