1969 Atlanta Braves: Hammerin’ Hank’s Best

1969 Atlanta Braves: Hammerin’ Hank’s Best

1969 Atlanta Braves: Hammerin’ Hank’s Best

Nicknamed the “Hammer” or simply “Hammerin’ Hank”, right fielder Henry Aaron had established a legacy in the game of baseball that is incomparable in many ways. After making his Major League debut with the then Milwaukee Braves in 1954, Aaron had no idea that he would come close to a storied milestone such as the 714 career home runs set by New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth. While he was still 5 years away from passing that milestone, 1969 was still by far one of Aaron’s best years as a baseball player. Plus, it also helped that the Atlanta Braves had a good team full of players.

The Braves went 93-69 in just their 4th year in Atlanta, winning the newly formed National League West division by 3 games over the San Francisco Giants. The Braves went 9-9 against the Giants in head-to-head play. The Braves went 50-31 at their home ballpark Atlanta Stadium and they went 43-38 on the road. Except for the month of August the Braves remained on top of their game through each month, going 14-7 in April, 14-9 in May, 16-14 in June, 16-16 in July and 20-6 in September.

Hank Aaron statistically had one of his best seasons in 1969 as he batted .300 with 44 home runs and 97 RBI’s off 164 hits, 30 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Left fielder Rico Carty batted .342 with 16 home runs, 104 hits and 15 doubles in 104 games. Center fielder Felipe Alou batted .282 with 134 hits and 13 doubles in 123 games. Second baseman Felix Millan had 174 hits, 23 doubles, 5 triples and 14 stolen bases.

On March 17 the Braves traded catcher, first baseman and third baseman Joe Torre to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for first baseman Orlando Cepeda, and this turned out to be one of the best trades in Braves franchise history. Cepeda had 22 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 147 hits, 28 doubles and 12 stolen bases. Third baseman Clete Boyer had 14 home runs, 124 hits and 16 doubles. Reserve outfielder Tony Gonzalez had 10 home runs, 94 hits and 15 doubles in 89 games. Catcher Bob Didier had 90 hits and 16 doubles in 114 games. Shortstop Sonny Jackson had 76 hits and 12 stolen bases in 98 games. Catcher Bob Tillman had 12 home runs in 69 games.

Starting pitcher Phil Niekro was one of the best knuckleball pitchers in baseball history, making a career out of fooling batters with pitches that danced and floated. Niekro went 23-13 with 193 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA, recording 21 complete games, 4 shutouts and 1 save. Ron Reed went 18-10 with 160 strikeouts and a 3.47 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 1 shutouts. George Stone went 13-10 with 102 strikeouts and a 3.65 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 3 saves. Pat Jarvis went 13-11 with 123 strikeouts, 4 complete games and 1 shutout. Jim Britton went 7-5 with a 3.78 ERA, 2 complete games, 1 shutout and 1 save. Despite going 6-10 Milt Pappas had a 3.63 ERA and 1 complete game.

Closer Cecil Upshaw went 6-4 with 27 saves and a 2.91 ERA. Relief pitcher Paul Doyle went 2-0 with 4 saves and a 2.08 ERA. Hoyt Wilhelm also knew a thing or two about throwing the knuckleball as he went 2-0 with 4 saves and a 0.73 ERA. Claude Raymond went 2-2 with 1 save. Ken Johnson had 1 save and Gary Neibaner had a 3.90 ERA.

Low scoring games were normal for the Braves as their pitching made sure that some of those games ended up in their favor. On August 5 the Braves blanked the Montreal Expos 1-0. Jim Britton pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits and 2 walks while recording 6 strikeouts. The only run Atlanta needed came from Orlando Cepeda who drove Tony Gonzalez home by grounding into a forceout at second base.

Just 3 days later on August 8 the Braves blanked the New York Mets 1-0 in 10 innings. Ron Reed pitched all 10 innings, giving up just 5 hits and recording 2 strikeouts. The only run of the game finally came in the bottom of the 10th when Felipe Alou got the walk-off RBI single.

On August 27 the Braves blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0. Phil Niekro had the knuckleball working as he pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits and 1 walk while recording 8 strikeouts. In the top of the 6th inning Tony Gonzalez had an RBI single.

September was the month when the Braves made their run at championship gold as they went on a 10-game winning streak which began on September 19 with a 12-3 pounding of the San Diego Padres, and it ended with a close 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on September 30. Awards were in order for Braves players as Felix Millan won a Gold Glove for his respective position along with Clete Boyer. Millan would also join Hank Aaron as starters for the National League All-Star team in the 1969 MLB All-Star Game while Phil Niekro would be ready as a reserve.

Everything appeared to be in place for the Atlanta Braves to make a serious run at the Commissioner’s Trophy, but there was only one problem. The New York Mets got hot at the right time as they were in the process of becoming the “Miracle Mets” that would eventually win the 1969 World Series. In the National League Championship Series the Braves would be swept by the Mets 3 games to none. It would take the Braves 13 years to get back to the NLCS. Nonetheless Hank Aaron was only 5 years away from making his crowning achievement as the new career home run king, and that piece of baseball history proved to be much more significant.