Harris led Atlanta to 93 victories and the first National League West Division championship in 1969—an expansion year when both the National and American leagues grew to 12 teams and adopted divisional play for the first time. It was the franchise's first postseason berth since losing the 1958 World Series as the Milwaukee Braves; however, Harris' squad lost the 1969 National League Championship Series to the eventual world champion New York Mets in three straight games. When the Braves slumped in ensuing years, Richards was fired during the 1972 season, on June 1; slightly more than two months later, on August 6, Harris was replaced as manager by former Braves' third baseman Eddie Mathews. Harris' final managerial record was 466–488 (.488).