Milwaukee Braves, 1959-62:  A Case Study

In 1958, the Milwaukee Braves won their second straight pennant, losing the World Series in seven games to the Yankees, the team they had beaten in the Fall Classic the year before.  It was a team with two stars in their prime, as 1957 MVP Hank Aaron was 24, and third baseman Eddie Mathews was 26.  Pitching ace Warren Spahn was 37, but showed no signs of slowing.  #2 pitcher Lew Burdette was 31 and had productive years left.  This was a team that was set to dominate the league for the next several years.

They didn’t.  They did not win another pennant until 1991, after moving to Atlanta.  What happened?  Or, perhaps, what didn’t happen?

That 1958 squad had great front-line talent, but some obvious holes to fill.  Catcher was solid with Del Crandall at age 28, but most other positions could use attention.  Red Schoendienst, 35, held down second base.  Shortstop Johnny Logan, 31, had hit just .228.  Speedy center fielder Bill Bruton, 32, had stolen just four bases and was looking old.  Left field had been a revolving door all season, with primary player Wes Covington a solid hitter but a butcher in the field.  Frank Torre, 26, a solid fielder and .300 singles hitter, shared first base with Joe Adcock, 30, less of a fielder but a powerful hitter.  The pitching behind Spahn and Burdette was adequate, as youngsters Joey Jay (22) and Juan Pizarro (21) had shown promise.  Bob Buhl sported a 5-2 record for 1958 while missing time with injuries.  Bob Rush and Carl Willey had been valuable supporting pitchers.  A couple new regulars and an emergence by a young pitcher ought to keep the Braves on top.  No one else in the league looked particularly strong, with San Francisco probably the club to watch.

The 1959 club actually had little change.  Schoendienst went down early, and was replaced by bench man Felix Mantilla, 24, who hit .215.  Veteran Bobby Avila was acquired during the year, but had little left.  Logan recovered to hit .291, but Covington slumped to .279 and his bat didn’t carry his glove.  Mathews and Aaron were super, Adcock hit 25 HR, the pitching was solid with Buhl returning to the #3 spot, and the Braves were contenders.  But this strong front line won just 86 games on the year, and tied the Dodgers for the NL pennant.  The patchwork Dodgers swept a pennant playoff in two games, and the Braves went home.

So, for 1960, still as talented as any NL team, the Braves needed to address their second base situation, look for another outfielder, and maybe pick up another pitching arm.  Things were still looking good for Milwaukee.  They fired manager Fred Haney and his odd fascination with Frank Torre and hired flashy Charlie Dressen.

The Braves again failed to address their weaknesses.  Second base went to Red Schoendienst again, who shared time with Mantilla, and Chuck Cottier came out of the minors to take the most playing time and hit .227.  Covington sank farther to .249, with less power.  Top reliever Don McMahon had a bad year, and the pitching behind the front three of Spahn, Burdette and Buhl was shaky.  Joey Jay had a good year in swingman role.  For all the difficulties, the Braves finished second to the Pirates with 88 victories.

The problems remained the same:  Strong frontline talent, with shaky second-line players.  In the offseason, the Braves traded young pitchers Joey Jay and Juan Pizarro to Cincinnati for shortstop Roy McMillan, 31, and swapped Bill Bruton and Chuck Cottier to Detroit for second baseman Frank Bolling, 29.  Veteran OF Frank Thomas came from the Cubs for little-used utilityman Mel Roach.  Lots of youngsters were auditioned in spring training.  It was hoped the new middle infield would provide a spark, and Thomas would help supply power.

The McMillan trade blew up in the Braves’ faces.  McMillan, never a strong hitter, was worse than ever and his range had decreased with age.  They missed the young pitchers for depth, as well.  Bolling did play a good second base, and Thomas added power, but Del Crandall went down early and 20-year old Joe Torre was called in to be the catcher.  Hank Aaron ended up spending most of the season in CF, with minor league vet Lee Maye in RF.  The bench was weak, and only Spahn had a good year on the pitching staff.  The team faded to fourth, and Dressen was fired as August ended, yielding to Birdie Tebbetts.

Thomas went in the expansion draft, but otherwise the team was mostly unchanged for 1962.  Mack Jones and Tommie Aaron, Hank’s brother, were in line for playing time.  A lot of hope was pinned on Crandall returning behind the plate.  Instead the Braves finished fifth with 86 victories, as everyone beat up on new expansion clubs New York and Houston.  Hank Aaron was split between CF and RF again, Joe Adcock at 34 was fading, and Lew Burdette was looking done at 35.  The Braves’ moment had passed.

So what happened, that the Braves did not become the bad boys of the National League?  For one thing, they failed to address obvious weaknesses.  Then, when they did, they made a classic trading mistake in giving up two good young players to get a veteran on the wrong side of 30.  When the smoke cleared, pennants had been piddled away and the Braves were no longer the darlings of Milwaukee.  With astute management, the Milwaukee Braves might have won six straight pennants and become a dynasty.  Instead, they became also-rans.  It’s a sad story, and led directly to the Braves move to Atlanta after the 1965 season.  And that led to Bud Selig getting into baseball.

A butterfly flaps its wings in Kansas, and a hurricane….?