House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves Opening Day Countdown: the 70s

By Benjamin Chase

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: The New York Mets honor the passing of Major League Baseball executive Katy Feeny before the Opening Day game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves on April 3, 2017 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: The New York Mets honor the passing of Major League Baseball executive Katy Feeny before the Opening Day game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves on April 3, 2017 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
atlanta braves
6 Mar 1998: Outfielder Andruuw Jones of the Atlanta Braves in action during a spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at Disney”s World of Sports Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. The Braves defeated the Indians 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Anndy Lyons /Allsport /

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.

Home/Braves History