1966 Atlanta Braves season

1966 Atlanta Braves
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Location
Atlanta Stadium (since 1966)
Atlanta (since 1966)
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

• November 29, 1965: Jesse Gonder was drafted from the Braves by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1965 rule 5 draft.^[1]
• January 29, 1966: Tom Seaver was drafted by the Braves in the secondary phase of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft, but the pick was voided.^[2]

Regular season

• July 3, 1966: Tony Cloninger became the first National League player—and, as of 2010, the only pitcher—to hit two grand slams in one game.^[3]
• September 11, 1966: Rookie pitcher Pat Jarvis of the Braves became the first of 5,714 strikeout victims of Nolan Ryan's career.^[4]

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.^[5] 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,^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

National transactions

• April 4, 1966: Marty Keough was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds.^[8]
• April 5, 1966: Frank Thomas was released by the Braves.^[9]
• April 28, 1966: Billy Cowan was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for future Braves manager Bobby Cox and cash.^[10]
• May 29, 1966: Marty Keough and Arnold Earley were traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for John Herrnstein.^[11]
• June 7, 1966: Al Santorini was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft.^[12]

Roster

1966 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 39 Ted Abernathy 36 Wade Blasingame 20 Clay Carroll 40 Tony Cloninger 34 Hank Fischer 24 Herb Hippauf 33 Pat Jarvis 42 Joey Jay 30 Ken Johnson 22 Dick Kelley 23 Denny Lemaster 35 Phil Niekro 22 Billy O'Dell 38 Chi-Chi Olivo 22 Ron Reed 26 Jay Ritchie 25 Dan Schneider 37 Don Schwall 32 Arnold Umbach 34 Cecil Upshaw 34 Charlie Vaughan		Catchers 12 Gene Oliver 45 Ed Sadowski 15 Joe Torre Infielders 16 Sandy Alomar 29 Felipe Alou 11 Lee Bales  2 Frank Bolling  7 Mike de la Hoz 11 Marty Keough  9 George Kopacz 41 Eddie Mathews 19 Denis Menke 11 Félix Millán  9 Lee Thomas 14 Woody Woodward		Outfielders 44 Hank Aaron 43 Rico Carty 27 Ty Cline 18 Adrian Garrett 31 Gary Geiger 26 John Herrnstein 48 Mack Jones 24 Bill Robinson		Manager 10 Bobby Bragan  8 Billy Hitchcock Coaches  8 Billy Hitchcock  6 Grover Resinger  3 Ken Silvestri  4 Jo-Jo White  5 Whit Wyatt

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. The Associated Press, June 26, 1966
6. United Press International August 31, 1966
7. Baseball America Executive Database
8. Marty Keough at Baseball Reference
9. Frank Thomas at Baseball Reference
10. Bobby Cox at Baseball Reference
11. John Herrnstein at Baseball Reference
12. Al Santorini at Baseball-Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1966 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference