After being sold by the pitching-rich Mets, Capra earned a starter's role and turned
in a stellar 1974 season in which he set an Atlanta Braves consecutive victory mark
(9), won the league ERA crown (2.28), and averaged the fewest hits per nine innings
of all NL pitchers. The following year he suffered the shoulder injury which drove
him to early retirement.
(CR)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»April 4, 1974: At Riverfront Stadium, in his first swing of the season, Hank Aaron hits a 3-run home run off Jack Billingham as the Braves lose to the Reds 7–6 in 11 innings. It comes on a 3–1 pitch. It is home run 714 for Aaron to tie him with the Babe and Hank is greeted by Bowie Kuhn and Vice-president Gerald Ford. The Reds, trailing 6–2 in the 8th, get a 3-run homer from Tony Perez, tie in the 9th on an RBI-double from Rose, and win it in the 11th when Rose scampers home from 2B on a wild pitch by Buzz Capra.
»September 23, 1977: George Foster belts home run #50, off Buzz Capra, as the Reds beat the Braves, 5–1. Foster is the first Reds player to reach 50 homers: Ted Kluszewski held the Reds record with 49 homers in 1954.
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