I spent a good deal of time today thinking about 1977.  On this date that year, the Braves lost 6-3 to the Montreal Expos.  That lost put them 29.5 games behind the Dodgers.  They were well on the way to their ultimate 61-101 record, finishing last in the West, 37 games out. 

That 1977 team was by one measure the worst team in history.  According to Wikipedia: “The 1977 Braves had the fewest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of any team in a single season in major league history, at -10.0.” 1977 Atlanta Braves season – Wikipedia.  By way of comparison, last year’s White Sox team, which lost 121 games, was just negative 6.7 bWAR.  It’s a miracle the ’77 Braves only lost 101.

You might think it’s not possible for a team to be ten wins worse than replacement.  But if, like me, you remember the 1977 Braves, it’s not surprising.  When your starting lineup includes Rod Gilbreath, Pat Rockett, Junior Moore, and Rowland Office, it starts to make sense.  And get this: Phil Niekro contributed 8.4 bWAR all by himself.  I’m not great at math, but I think that means the rest of the roster was 18 wins below replacement.  The highest bWAR among all the position players was Gary Mathews at 2.0.  Jeff Burroughs had a good offensive year, but his defense was as bad as his offense was good.  And apart from Knucksie, the rotation was abysmal.  Buzz Capra and Andy Messersmith had finished first and fifth in ERA in the NL in 1974, but by 1977 injuries had ruined both of them.

So, as bad as 2025 has been for the Braves, things can be and have been worse.  But I haven’t been thinking about 1977 today just to feel better about the 2025 Braves.  I watched most of the games in 1977, but I did not see that loss to the Expos on August 20; I had more important things to do.  On this date 48 years ago, my wife and I got married.  And here we are 48 years later, going strong.  I’m blessed in a lot of ways far beyond what I deserve, and my marriage is the best evidence of that. 

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But enough about me.  The Braves celebrated our anniversary by defeating the White Sox 1-0.  The story of the game was another phenomenal outing by Hurston Waldrep.  The Millionaire went seven scoreless, striking out seven and surrendering just four hits and one base on balls.  His ERA in 24.1 innings is 0.73.  His splitter is a terrific pitch (shades of Mike Scott), but he is successful this year because he is commanding and getting ahead with his sinker and his cutter.  He can then use the splitter to maximum effectiveness.  It’s a joy to watch him pitch.

The Braves scored the only run of the game in the 4th.  The Big Bear doubled and came home one out later on a grounder by Ozzie that the shortstop couldn’t handle.  It was ruled an error so the run was unearned.  That run held up thanks to Waldrep and two scoreless innings from Johnson and Iglesias.  Perhaps AA should have traded Ozuna, Iglesias, and Johnson at the deadline, but if he had I probably wouldn’t be recapping another win.

I wrote a week or two ago about how hard it is to watch in August when the team has no shot at the playoffs.  But in the last two weeks, our guys have won four straight series and 11 out of 14 games.  This is becoming pretty fun!   And it’s a damn sight better than 1977.

Day off tomorrow, then a long road trip to Seattle, Chicago, and Houston.  I’ll keep watching.

EDIT: After the day off tomorrow, it’s the Mets in Truist this weekend followed by a road trip to Miami, Philly and Chicago. Much as was the case on August 20, 1977, my mind last night may have been elsewhere than on the Braves. In any event, I’ll keep watching whoever and wherever they play.