Atlanta Braves Opening Day Countdown: the 70s
As we catch up on the Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown, we continue through the 70s to today’s number
In our Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown, frigid winter weather of the upper Midwest caused internet issues and put me behind. We caught up on the #80-89 posts yesterday, and we’ll continue with the 70s today, leading up to today’s #72.
79. Cecil’s saves
A towering player in his era at 6’6″, Cecil Upshaw was also a rarity in that he never pitched an inning as a starter in his entire major league career, the first seven seasons of which were with the Atlanta Braves. He took over the duties at the back end of the bullpen in 1967, and though he missed all of the 1970 season due to injury, he had an impressive run before being traded early in the 1973 season. Overall, he saved 79 games for the Braves over 241 appearances, logging 409 2/3 innings with a 3.01 ERA.
78. Druw’s extras in 2005
Andruw Jones patrolled center field for the Atlanta Braves for a dozen years, and his defense in his time in Atlanta is world class, to say the least. However, often just how good his offense was gets overlooked in the grand picture of a great career.
While Andruw hit 368 home runs over his Braves career, he only had one season like 2005. In that season, Andruw hit .263/.357/.575, and he led the major leagues with 51 home runs that season. Altogether, he had 78 extra base hits that season, as he also led the National League in RBI with 128. In spite of his brilliance, he finished 2nd in the MVP voting to Albert Pujols.
77. Rico
One of the best pure hitters in the history of the Atlanta Braves organization, Rico Carty was a strong outfielder from the Dominican who broke through with the Atlanta Braves in 1963. While many players wear high numbers only in spring training and then something different once they make the team, Rico chose to keep his #77 for most of his first full season with the Braves in 1964, switching only once he took over as a full-time player midway through his rookie year, a year he would go on to finish second in the NL in hitting with a .330 average and second in the Rookie of the Year balloting as well.
76. 2005 games for Reitsma
While the Braves really did not give up much to acquire Chris Reitsma, one would have thought they did as one of the prospects sent in the deal for him, Jung Bong, had developed a following among fans if only because of his name. However, another concern was the big righty’s role in Atlanta, where he was immediately moved into the bullpen and used prominently.
Certainly not the most “shut down” of relievers, Reitsma was effective for the 2004 and 2005 seasons before simply losing the feel for his pitches in 2006 and ending up out of the league after 2007. In 2005, Reitsma led the Braves in saves, posting a 3.93 ERA over 76 games and 73 1/3 innings, saving 15 games.
75. Milly’s Braves wins
After watching Steve Avery fade away, Braves fans were eager to have another home-grown pitcher come up and succeed, and they got that with Kevin Millwood, who won 17 games in his first full season in 1998. He followed that up with 18 wins and 205 strikeouts in 1999 in arguably his best year with the Atlanta Braves.
He was just finding his groove in the rotation when finances forced his trade to the Phillies in the 2002-2003 offseason after he’d won 18 games the previous season. Overall, in 6 seasons with the Braves, he won 75 games, tossing 1,004 1/3 innings, with a 3.73 ERA.
74. Rocker’s 1999 games
After the 1999 season, John Rocker would give a Sports Illustrated interview that would essentially derail his career, but in 1999, he led an excellent Braves bullpen in nearly every statistical category, saving 38 games, pitching 74 games, tossing 72 1/3 innings, with a 2.49 ERA, and a 37/104 BB/K.
73. Remmy’s games in the amazing 2002 bullpen
Originally a first-round pick back in 1987, Mike Remlinger had some tread on his tires and had been part of trades for some big names over his career already before he was traded before the 1999 season to the Braves along with Bret Boone in the deal that sent Denny Neagle and Michael Tucker to Cincinnati.
In his first season with the Braves, Remlinger won 10 games out of the bullpen and finished with a 2.37 ERA. That would set up his brilliant Braves career that spanned 5 seasons, lasting 327 games and 321 2/3 innings. He would post a 2.74 ERA over that time and strike out better than a batter per inning.
In 2002, Remlinger had his best year as a Braves. The issue is that most missed it because that 2002 bullpen was absolutely incredible. While Remlinger put up a 1.99 ERA over his 73 games, fellow lefty Chris Hammond sported an incredible 0.95 ERA over 63 appearances. John Smoltz saved 55 games in 2002, and three other relievers made at least 50 appearances with an ERA under 3.