Pop quiz, Atlanta Braves fans. Who is NCAA DII baseball’s all-time single-season batting champion?
If you cleverly guess Ralph Garr thanks to the headline of this piece, give yourself a pat on the back.
Spending the past five seasons covering DII baseball, I have not been shy at all in expressing my admiration for those small college players in the Atlanta Braves system. With no minor league system, our Talking Chop MiLB team decided to take a look at some of those memorable names from the past and current rosters.
Garr was a NAIA superstar for Grambling State that continued to prosper in his tenure with the Braves as an amateur scout for their front office. Maybe that’s why the Braves can uncover so many under-the-radar prospects.
Let’s take a look at one of small college balls’ memorable players.
A Grambling baseball hit machine
Garr went to Grambling, then an NAIA program, and put together quite the impressive career. His 1967 season was one for the record books. While there are question marks about what his actual batting average was, we’ll go with .582. We’re taking this number, because it is still considered the all-time single-season record in the history of NCAA DII baseball.
He helped lead Grambling to a 35-1 record that same season and one game short of the NAIA championship. He racked up 71 hits in 122 at bats and quickly became known as a speedster who could take the ball to any field on the diamond.
The Braves took notice.
The “Road Runner” comes to Atlanta Braves baseball
The speedy, hot-hitting second baseman was selected in the third round of the 1967 MLB draft. As was the case often back then, if you could make solid contact and contribute to the baseball team, you made the big-league club pretty quickly. Garr, after slashing .293/.341/.371 with 32 stolen bases at Double-A Shreveport in his second pro season, made his Atlanta Braves debut on September 3, 1968.
He bounced up and down over the next few seasons, winning the International League batting crown in both 1969 (.329) and 1970 (.386) with Richmond. By 1971 he was a regular for the Braves, but not at second base. Now as a right and left fielder — and coined the “Road Runner” because of his speed — his hit tool and legs were his calling cards as the Braves were seemingly always looking for an outfielder a bit better with the glove. But you couldn’t keep Garr out of the lineup. He finished second in the N.L. in hitting in both 1971 (.343) and 1972 (.325) before a huge season in 1974.
That 1974 season was insane. Garr led the NL with a .353 average and 214 hits while racking up an MLB-high 17 triples and 26 stolen bases. He set the record with 149 hits before the All Star break. The end of the ‘74 season capped a remarkable run in which he tallied 813 hits in his first four years, a feat only matched by Ty Cobb at that point before being surpassed by Ichiro Suzuki in 2005. Some pretty solid names to be surrounded by in conversations about hitting the baseball, and Garr was known as one of the best singles hitters in the game.
Another fun fact about that same 1974 season: Garr was on base when his close friend and teammate Hank Aaron hit No. 714 to tie Babe Ruth.
Garr would play one more season in Atlanta before his playing days were done for the Braves. His eight-year stint in Atlanta was a memorable one: he slashed .317/.350/.429 with 1022 hits and 137 stolen bases.
The legacy of Ralph Garr
Garr rose from obscurity making quick friends with Dusty Baker and Hank Aaron along the way. When Garr retired and was looking for a foot in the door for a front office position, the Braves immediately hired him. Aaron of course was the director of player development that made the hire.
He made the Road Runner famous, so much so that the Braves had to work out a deal with Warner Brothers to get the rights to use the likeness on the scoreboard. Every time Garr reached first base, you heard the “beep beep” and fans roared. Sometimes you have to wonder how many more stolen bases he could have had if the guy with 755 career home runs wasn’t hitting behind him.
His .317 career batting average with the Braves is still in the all-time top 10. He finished his playing career with an impressive .306 batting average. He could flat out hit the baseball, there was no question about it. Amongst the Hall of Fames he is a part of, the Braves and International League stand out.
Garr was a special player and although his playing tenure with the Braves ended on somewhat a sour note, he didn’t seem to hold much of a grudge. He came right back to the team as a scout for a career that, if you include playing time, has spanned parts of six decades.
That’s not a bad career at all.
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July 12, 2020 at 09:00PM
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Ralph Garr: The Braves original diamond in the rough? - Talking Chop
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