# 1973 Atlanta Braves season

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.

## Offseason

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

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 49‍–‍32 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 66 | .590 | 3½ | 50‍–‍31 | 45‍–‍35 |
| San Francisco Giants | 88 | 74 | .543 | 11 | 47‍–‍34 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Houston Astros | 82 | 80 | .506 | 17 | 41‍–‍40 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Atlanta Braves | 76 | 85 | .472 | 22½ | 40‍–‍40 | 36‍–‍45 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | .370 | 39 | 31‍–‍50 | 29‍–‍52 |

### Record vs. opponents

1973 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 5–13 | 11–7 | 2–15–1 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 10–7 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 4–8 | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Los Angeles | 15–2–1 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 7–11 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 10–2 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | 9–9 | 13–5 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 |
| New York | 6–6 | 7–10 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | — | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 12–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 |
| San Diego | 6–12 | 5–7 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–8 | — | 7–11 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 10–2 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | — |

### 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.
* 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.
* 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.
| Home Run | Date | Pitcher | Inning | Location |
| 700 | July 21, 1973 | Ken Brett | Bottom 3rd | Fulton County Stadium |
| 701 | July 31, 1973 | Pedro Borbón | Bottom 9th | Fulton County Stadium |
| 702 | August 16, 1973 | Jack Aker | Top 8th | Wrigley Field |
| 703 | August 17, 1973 | Steve Renko | Top 6th | Parc Jarry |
| 704 | August 18, 1973 | Steve Rogers | Top 8th | Parc Jarry |
| 705 | August 22, 1973 | Reggie Cleveland | Bottom 6th | Fulton County Stadium |
| 706 | August 28, 1973 | Milt Pappas | Bottom 1st | Fulton County Stadium |
| 707 | September 3, 1973 | Clay Kirby | Top 3rd | San Diego Stadium |
| 708 | September 3, 1973 | Vicente Romo | Top 5th | San Diego Stadium |
| 709 | September 8, 1973 | Jack Billingham | Bottom 7th | Fulton County Stadium |
| 710 | September 10, 1973 | Don Carrithers | Bottom 3rd | Fulton County Stadium |
| 711 | September 17, 1973 | Gary Ross | Bottom 8th | Fulton County Stadium |
| 712 | September 22, 1973 | Dave Roberts | Top 6th | Astrodome |
| 713 | September 29, 1973 | Jerry Reuss | Bottom 5th | Fulton County Stadium |

### Roster
## 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 | Johnny Oates | 93 | 322 | 80 | .248 | 4 | 27 |
| 1B | Mike Lum | 138 | 513 | 151 | .294 | 16 | 82 |
| 2B | Davey Johnson | 157 | 559 | 151 | .270 | 43 | 99 |
| 3B | Darrell Evans | 161 | 595 | 167 | .281 | 41 | 104 |
| SS | Marty Perez | 141 | 501 | 125 | .250 | 8 | 57 |
| LF | Hank Aaron | 120 | 392 | 118 | .301 | 40 | 96 |
| CF | Dusty Baker | 159 | 604 | 174 | .288 | 21 | 99 |
| RF | Ralph Garr | 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 |
| Rod Gilbreath | 29 | 74 | 21 | .284 | 0 | 2 |
| Oscar Brown | 22 | 58 | 12 | .207 | 0 | 0 |
| Freddie Velázquez | 15 | 23 | 8 | .348 | 0 | 3 |
| Jack Pierce | 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 |
| Leo Foster | 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 |
| Phil Niekro | 42 | 245.0 | 13 | 10 | 3.31 | 131 |
| Ron Reed | 20 | 116.1 | 4 | 11 | 4.41 | 64 |
| Gary Gentry | 16 | 86.2 | 4 | 6 | 3.43 | 42 |
| Pat Dobson | 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 |
| Roric Harrison | 38 | 177.1 | 11 | 8 | 4.16 | 130 |
| Jimmy Freeman | 13 | 37.1 | 0 | 2 | 7.71 | 20 |
| Wenty Ford | 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 |
| Danny Frisella | 42 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4.20 | 27 |
| Tom House | 52 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4.68 | 42 |
| Adrian Devine | 24 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6.40 | 15 |
| Jim Panther | 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 |
| Max León | 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 |
| Al Closter | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.54 | 2 |
| Dave Cheadle | 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)

### All-Stars

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

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Richmond Braves | International League | Bobby Hofman and Clint Courtney |
| AA | Savannah Braves | Southern League | Clint Courtney and Tommie Aaron |
| A | Kinston Eagles | Carolina League | Gene Hassell |
| A | Greenwood Braves | Western Carolinas League | Hoyt Wilhelm |
| Rookie | Wytheville Braves | Appalachian League | Paul Snyder |
Kinston affiliation shared with New York Yankees