1966 Atlanta Braves season


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 while also the 96th season overall. 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. The home attendance for the season was 1,539,801, sixth in the ten-team

Offseason

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. Braves' starting pitcher Cloninger, a 24-game winner in Milwaukee in 1965, pitched a 13-inning complete game but absorbed a hard-luck, With the game tied at one in the top of the 13th, future 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.

Starting lineup

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

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. The Braves were then a disappointing 34–42 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, 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 9, with the Braves still mired in the second division at, 12½ games behind and in fourth-year skipper Bragan was dismissed and replaced by bench coach like Richards a former teammate of McHale's with the Detroit Tigers. Hitchcock's hiring would pull the Braves out of their tailspin, and they won 33 of 51 games, 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. 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.

National transactions

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C148546172.31536101
1B154666218.3273174
2B144455120.264043
SS138454114.2511560
3B134452113.2501653
LF151521170.3261576
CF118417110.2642366
RF158603168.27944127

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
7522748.211118
7619137.194824
7812633.262410
3912625.198615
7111024.21827
379125.27505
427118.25406
31444.09102
17184.22201
17171.05901
12161.06300
6113.27303
690.00000
391.11101
430.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
39257.214114.12178
32215.21483.30105
271711183.74139
1667.2375.3234
1062.1622.3141
929.2047.8919
28.1112.166
17102.576

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
2081753.2250
1448.1233.9122
1145.1334.3727

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
7387112.3767
475474.2341
384443.8642
284324.1117
242362.4020
220203.1023
220144.0833
140003.4211
301013.501
10000.002

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Austin