- Rick Camp was a middle reliever for the Braves in 1978. He started four games in June and July and those starts may have landed him on the disabled list. Rick's first start came on June 27. He had pitched 1.2 innings on June 25. Then he made a relief appearance on June 30. Camp started a game two days later on July 3. He made two more starts before going on the DL. Rick pitched pretty well as a starter -- he won two of his four starts and pitched six scoreless innings in another start but didn't get the decision.
- Rick pitched in AAA Richmond in 1979 and then had his two best seasons in 1980 and 1981. In 1980 Camp was just happy to be on the team after enduring a nerve problem in his arm.
- 1978 Stats: 2-4, 3.75 ERA in 42 games (4 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 3 - Went six innings and earned his first win of the season over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves beat the Dodgers 4-2.
- July 15 - Pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his last start and got the victory in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
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- Tom Paciorek spent most of the 1978 season with the Seattle Mariners. Tom was released on March 30 but was resigned on April 7. Tom was assigned to AAA Richmond and was recalled in late April to replace the injured Gary Matthews. He played in a handful of games for the Braves but was released again on May 23. On May 31 Paciorek signed with the Mariners. Tom played for AAA San Jose for about three weeks and then was brought up to Seattle. Paciorek played well for the Mariners and ended up batting .300 for the season as he spent time in the outfield, first base, and as a pinch hitter and a designated hitter.
- 1978 Stats:
- Richmond Braves (AAA): No stats - he may not have actually played any games but was on the roster for about two weeks.
- Atlanta Braves: .333 (3 for 9) in 5 games
- San Jose Missions (AAA): .281, 3 HR, 17 RBI in 16 games
- Seattle Mariners: .299, 4 HR, 30 RBI in 70 games
- Major League Total: .300, 4 HR, 30 RBI in 75 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- July 2: Went 4 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in Seattle's 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tom had started his Seattle career 0 for 9 in three games before breaking out of his slump in a big way.
- July 9: Had three hits including two doubles as the Mariners beat the California Angels 11-7. Tom was on a tear as he had six multi-hit games in eight days.
- Sept 12: Singled in two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to lead the Mariners to a come from behind 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Jamie Easterly had a rough 1978 season for the Atlanta Braves. Then again, just about the entire team had a rough season.
- 1978 Stats: 3-6, 1 save, 5.65 ERA in 37 games (6 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 30 - Pitched a scoreless 10th inning and earned his first win of the year as the Braves scored in the bottom of the 10th and beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3.
- July 29 - Allowed no runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Montreal Expos. The Braves came back from being down 5-0 to beat the Expos 9-6. Easterly picked up the victory.
- Barry Bonnell was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975. Bonnell didn't stay with the organization for very long -- on May 7, 1975 he was traded (with Jim Essian and $150,000) to the Atlanta Braves for Dick Allen and Johnny Oates.
- Barry's rise to the majors was pretty quick. He played in the minors for two years and then had a hot start in AAA Richmond in 1977 (.380 in 14 games). Bonnell was brought up to the majors in early May of 1977. Barry batted .300 in 100 games for the Braves in 1977.
- In 1978 Bonnell was a backup outfielder. The Braves also took a brief look at Bonnell at third base, but that ended after Bob Horner was drafted. Barry batted .240 in 117 games for the Braves in 1978.
- Bonnell got the majority of the starts in left field in 1979. He started to show some power and batted .259 with 12 home runs. Early in the season Bonnell objected to female reporters being allowed in the Braves' locker room. After the 1979 season Bonnell was traded (with Pat Rockett and Joey McLaughlin) to the Toronto Blue Jays for Chris Chambliss and Luis Gomez.
- Barry was a starting right fielder and center fielder for the Blue Jays for most of the year in 1980. He was hit in the face by a Lary Sorenson pitch in August. Early in the season Barry expressed his relief to be out of the turmoil that was affecting the Braves at the time. Bonnell batted .268 with 13 HR and 56 RBI in 127 games.
- Bonnell was a backup in 1981 and batted .220 in 66 games.
- In 1982 Barry bounced back and batted .293 in 140 games.
- Barry had a career high in batting average (.318) and hit 10 home runs in 121 games in 1983. After the 1983 season Bonnell was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Bryan Clark.
- Bonnell played all of the outfield positions plus first and third base for the Mariners in 1984. He batted .264 in 110 games.
- Barry played sparingly in 1985 (.243 in 48 games) and in 1986 (.196 in 17 games). Bonnell was released in July 1986. He offered to fly Mariners owner George Argoyos' plane in order to earn the rest of his 1986 salary.
- A bout with valley fever hastened the end of Barry's career. Since his retirement from baseball Bonnell has served as a bishop in the LDS church and has been an airline pilot. Barry is now the co-owner of Roy's Boys Pet Toys.
- 1978 Stats: .240, 1 HR, 16 RBI in 117 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 10 - Had three hits and scored the tying run in the bottom of the 9th inning as the Braves came from behind to beat the San Diego Padres 8-7.
- Aug 1 - Went 4 for 5 with a home run and 3 RBI to help the Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 15-3.
- Oct 1 - Had five hits (three of them off of Tom Seaver) in the Braves' 10-8 loss to the Reds.
- This would be Rod Gilbreath's last season in the majors. Gilbreath played most of his games at third base in 1978, but a .331 slugging percentage was way too low for a third baseman.
- Gilbreath was released by the Braves during spring training in 1979. Rod signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent 1979 and 1980 in AAA.
- I just noticed while looking at Rod's cards at zistle.com that someone is selling a PSA-10 of this card for $149.99.
- 1978 Stats: .245, 3 HR, 31 RBI in 116 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 6 - Walked and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Braves beat the Houston Astros 2-1.
- Aug 1 - Had three hits and knocked in three runs in Atlanta's 16-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds
- Sept 5 - Hit a grand slam to help the Braves beat the San Diego Padres 8-1.
- Fans of the Atlanta Braves didn't have much to cheer about in 1977. Phil Niekro led the NL in strikeouts for the only time in his career. He easily outdistanced hard-throwing J.R. Richard.
- Nolan Ryan led the AL in strikeouts for the fifth time in 1977. Ryan led the AL in strikeouts nine times and led the NL in strikeouts twice.
- Hall of Fame count:
- National League: 3 - Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver
- American League: 4 - Nolan Ryan, Jim Palmer, Bert Blyleven, Gaylord Perry
- Jerry Royster was the starting second baseman for the Braves until the All Star break. Rod Gilbreath, who had been starting at third base until Bob Horner came along, moved to second base for a while in July and August and Royster moved to shortstop. Rookie Glenn Hubbard eventually had the second base job at the end of the season.
- Jerry led the Braves in stolen bases for the third straight season with 27 in 1978.
- 1978 Stats: .259, 2 HR, 35 RBI in 140 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 1 - Had three hits and scored two runs to help the Braves beat the New York Mets 6-5.
- May 17 - Knocked in the go ahead run in the top of the 10th inning as the Braves beat the Mets 2-1.
- June 21 - Scored both runs in Atlanta's 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
- Andy Messersmith actually pitched for the New York Yankees in 1978. Messersmith was sold to the Yankees by the Atlanta Braves on December 7, 1977.
- He had a tough time due to injuries. Andy pitched in only six games from late May to early July.
- 1978 Stats:
- New York Yankees: 0-3, 5.64 ERA in 6 games (5 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 29 - Allowed no runs in five innings pitched but didn't get the decision as the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 2-0. It was Andy's only outing in which he didn't give up any runs.
- Jeff Burroughs must have had a great Strat-O-Matic card in 1978. He led the NL in walks (117) and in on base percentage (.432) and had a career-high .529 slugging percentage. Jeff was an All Star for the second (and final) time.
- Burroughs played through the 1985 season, but he never appeared in more than 116 games after the 1978 season.
- 1978 Stats: .301, 23 HR, 77 RBI in 153 games.
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 23 - Had four hits (including a home run) and knocked in three runs, but it wasn't enough as the Braves lost to the San Diego Padres 5-4.
- July 2 - Walked four times and scored the tying run in the bottom of the 7th inning of Atlanta's 9-7 win over the San Francisco Giants.
- Aug 28 - Hit two home runs and knocked in three runs as the Braves beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3.
- It's hard to believe Bobby Cox was ever this young.
- Cox spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. Bobby spent two seasons (1968-1969) in the majors but he was sent back down in 1970 due to his light hitting.
- Bobby was a player-manager in Class A Fort Lauderdale in 1971. He then managed several teams in the New York Yankees organization from 1972-1976. Cox was the first base coach for the world champion Yankees in 1977.
- After the 1977 season Bobby was hired to manage the Atlanta Braves. The Braves were a struggling ballclub during that time. After two last place finishes, the Braves became a .500 ballclub, but it wasn't enough for owner Ted Turner and Cox was fired after the 1981 season. Bobby's successor (Joe Torre) took the Braves to a division title and two second place finishes after Cox was fired. The most important (and to many unorthodox) move during Bobby's first tenure with Atlanta was moving Dale Murphy from catcher to center field. The move paid huge dividends for Murphy and the team during the 1980s.
- Cox was hired to manage the Toronto Blue Jays after his dismissal from the Braves. The Blue Jays steadily improved and played well under Bobby's tenure. Cox won a division title with Toronto in 1985.
- After the 1985 season Cox left the Blue Jays and returned to the Braves as General Manager. Bobby served as the Braves' GM from 1986 until the middle of the 1990 season. Cox fired manager Russ Nixon and returned to the dugout to manage. In 1991 the Braves went "from worst to first" as they won the first of many division titles under Cox. The Braves lost a thrilling 7-game World Series to the Minnesota Twins.
- The Braves were division champions every year (except the 1994 strike year) from 1991-2005. Atlanta won only one World Championship (1995) during that time, but they had a run of success that may never be equaled.
- Bobby Cox stepped down as the Braves' manager after the 2010 season. After four years of missing the playoffs, the Braves were a wild card in Bobby's final season.
- Cox finished his managerial career with 2504 wins (4th all-time), 5 pennants, and one world championship. Cox was selected as Manager of the Year four times. Bobby was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013 and will be inducted in 2014.
- Managerial record:
- Fort Lauderdale Yankees (A) (1971): 71-70
- West Haven Yankees (AA) (1972): 84-56, .600
- Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) (1973-1976): 304-261, .538
- Atlanta Braves (1978-1981, 1990-2010): 2149-1709, .557
- Toronto Blue Jays (1982-1985): 355-292, .549
- Dick Ruthven was a below .500 pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in the beginning of the 1978 season. On June 15 Ruthven was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies (where he started his career) for Gene Garber. The Phillies needed help in their starting rotation and they had a surplus of good relief pitchers. Dick went 13-5 in 20 starts for the Phillies and helped them to their third straight NL East title.
- 1978 Stats:
- Atlanta Braves: 2-6, 4.11 ERA in 13 starts
- Philadelphia Phillies: 13-5. 2.99 ERA in 20 starts
- TOTAL: 15-11, 3.38 ERA in 33 starts
- NL Championship Series: 0-1, 5.79 ERA in 1 start
- 1978 Highlights:
- Willie Montanez went to the New York Mets as part of that huge 4-team trade on December 8, 1977. Montanez led the Mets in home runs and in RBI. Willie led NL first basemen in assists in 1978.
- 1978 Stats: .256, 17 HR, 96 RBI in 159 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- Here is Knucksie posing in Candlestick Park. The field had artificial turf from 1970-1978.
- Phil had a good year in 1978. He led the NL in losses (18) and in home runs allowed (41), but he also led the league in innings pitched (334.1), starts (42), and complete games. Niekro won the first of his five Gold Glove awards and appeared in the All Star Game
- 1978 Stats:
- 19-18, 1 save, 2.88 ERA in 44 games (42 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
