The 1984 Atlanta Braves season was the 19th season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

along with the 114th overall.

Offseason

* October 4, 1983:

Tommy Boggs Thomas Winton Boggs (October 25, 1955 – October 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the ...

was released by the Braves. * October 21, 1983: Brett Butler,

Brook Jacoby Brook Wallace Jacoby (born November 23, 1959) is an American former third baseman. He played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. His father, Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr., played in the Philadelphia Phillies organizati ...

, and Rick Behenna were sent by the Braves to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

to complete an earlier deal (the Braves traded players to be named later to the Indians for

Len Barker Leonard Harold Barker III (born July 7, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched the tenth perfect game in baseball history. Barker pitched with the Texas Rangers (1976–78), Cleveland Indians (1979–83 ...

) made on August 28, 1983.

Regular season

The 1984 Braves third season with Joe Torre at the helm was a disappointing one. Despite a winning record throughout most of the season they finished the campaign with an 80-82 mark, tied for second with the Houston Astros, 12 games behind the San Diego Padres. Atlanta stumbled out of the gate with a 2-7 mark on April 13, and were six games out of first place. The Braves had a 6-11 record on April 25 but won three in a row and later won eight of nine to go above the .500 mark for the first time in 1984. They were 18-15 on May 13, tied for third and two games out of first. On May 24 Atlanta lost a double-header to the Cubs 10-7, 7-5 to drop to the .500 mark at 21-21. Atlanta rebounded to win 13 of its next 15 games to surge into first place with a 34-23 mark on June 7. The Braves were 32-16 since April 14 and were in first place by 1½ games. The season was beginning to look good for Atlanta. Unfortunately for the Braves this would prove to be the high water mark for the season. Atlanta lost five in a row from June 8 to 12 to fall into second place, 3½ games out of first. They were never to be in first place again in 1984. June 16, 1984: The Braves were playing the Cincinnati Reds in Atlanta. Mario Soto threw several

brushback pitch In baseball, a brushback pitch is a pitch–usually a fastball–thrown high and inside the strike zone to intimidate the batter away from the plate on subsequent pitches. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batte ...

es at Braves slugger Claudell Washington. Washington tossed his bat in the direction of Soto, appeared to go out to retrieve it, but instead walked toward the mound. Umpire

Lanny Harris Lanny Dean Harris (February 21, 1940 – June 16, 1991) was a Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the National League from to , wearing uniform number 29 during his career. Harris umpired 851 Major League games. MLB career Harris was prom ...

attempted to restrain Washington. Harris was thrown to the ground. Soto used the distraction to punch Washington. Several of Washington's teammates attempted to hold Washington to the ground. While they were doing that, Soto fired the baseball into the crowd of players, striking Braves coach

Joe Pignatano Joseph Benjamin Pignatano (August 4, 1929 – May 23, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach (baseball), coach. As a catcher, Pignatano played in Major League Baseball during all or part of six seasons (1957–1962) for th ...

. He was suspended three games for this incident; Washington received a five-game suspension for shoving (umpire) Lanny Harris. (Both Soto and Washington were ejected from the game.) On June 20 the Braves were 39-29 and in second place, 1½ games out of first. By the end of June they were 43-35 and three games out of first. July would prove to be tougher for the Braves however. Atlanta went 5-12 to begin the month of July. On July 19 the Braves owned a 48-47 record and were seven games out of first and still in second place. It was growing more obvious that this wouldn't be the magical season fans had wished it would be. Atlanta was 8½ games out of first on the last day of July. On August 3 the Braves were six games over the .500 mark with a 57-51 record following a 2-1 win over the Giants. The league leading San Diego Padres lost that day and the Braves closed within 7½ games of the lead. The Braves were still hopeful of a late season surge but it appeared that might not happen. After August 3 things turned rotten on the Braves. From August 4 to September 9 the Braves posted a 12-23 record that reduced them to 69-74 with an eleven-game deficit with 19 games to play. The Braves had also slipped to third place. The "pennant race" was over.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 24, 1984: Biff Pocoroba was released by the Braves. * June 4, 1984:

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

was drafted by the Braves in the 2nd round of the

1984 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable players * Jeff Blauser†, 1st round (secondary phase), 4th overall by the Atlanta Braves * Greg Maddux‡, 2nd round, 31s ...

. * June 15, 1984: Ken Dayley and

Mike Jorgensen Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...

were traded by the Braves to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for

Ken Oberkfell Kenneth Ray Oberkfell (born May 4, 1956) is an American former third baseman. He played from 1977 to 1992 for six different teams. Oberkfell primarily played third base but he also played over 400 career games at second base. After retiring as a p ...

.Ken Dayley
at ''Baseball Reference''

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note" G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

References

External links

1984 Atlanta Braves season
at ''Baseball Reference'' {{DEFAULTSORT:1984 Atlanta Braves Season Atlanta Braves seasons Atlanta Braves Season, 1984