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Buzz Capra

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Buzz Capra

Lee William Capra (born October 1, 1947), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, from 1971 to 1977. Nicknamed "Buzz", by a neighbor as a child, Capra was a National League (NL) All-Star and the NL earned run average (ERA) leader, in 1974.

Capra was a shortstop at Lane Technical College Prep High School in the Roscoe Village neighborhood on the Northside of Chicago. Besides playing shortstop, he began pitching at Illinois State University, and compiled a 17–5 record & 1.58 ERA. Capra was a team co-captain his senior year, and led the Redbirds to the 1969 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship.

Capra was selected late in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft, by the New York Mets. Though primarily a pitcher, he played some shortstop and second base with the Pompano Beach Mets in 1969. He went 33–10 with a 2.49 ERA & 367 strikeouts, over three seasons in the Mets' farm system, to earn a September call-up in 1971.

In 1971, Capra made three appearances out of the bullpen, and did not allow an earned run in his first two big league appearances. However, he was not so lucky in his third appearance: Facing the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium, Capra entered the game in the tenth inning, and retired only one of the seven batters he faced, Jorge Roque, who bunted Joe Torre to second after Torre had led off the inning with a single), on his way to allowing five runs and taking his first major league loss.

Capra won his first major league start, over the San Diego Padres, on April 25, 1972; however, he found himself back in the minors by the All-Star break. Capra also split the 1973 season between the Mets & the Triple-A Tidewater Tides. While all ten of his Tidewater appearances were starts, he was used exclusively in relief at the major league level. Capra earned his first major league save, on June 27, 1973, against the Philadelphia Phillies, pitching four innings of no-hit ball. Although he was on the Mets’ 1973 World Series roster, he did not appear in the 1973 National League Championship Series or World Series.

During spring training in 1974, the Mets sold Capra's contract to the Atlanta Braves. His record as a reliever stood at 0–2, with one save (earned the evening Hank Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run, on April 8, 1974), and a 3.06 ERA, when he replaced an injured Ron Reed, in the first inning, on May 15, against the Padres. Capra pitched six innings of one-hit ball to earn the win — and Reed's spot in the starting rotation.

Over his next three games, Capra went 2–0, with a 1.00 ERA. He allowed just three walks, while striking out fifteen, and began a Braves-record streak of 26 innings pitched without allowing an earned run. Over the month of June, Capra went 6–0 with a 1.05 ERA, three shutouts, and another complete game, to set a team record with nine consecutive wins, on his way to earning NL Player of the Month honors, and selection to the NL All-Star team by his former manager with the Mets, Yogi Berra. (He did not make an appearance in the game.)

During his winning streak Capra became a sensation in Atlanta. In a season in which the Braves averaged 12,112 attendance per home game, Capra's home starts in June and July averaged over 39,000. Capra cooled off during July and August (3-5, 4.43 ERA), but reverted to form in September, to end the season with a major league-best 2.28 ERA, 0.10 better than teammate, Phil Niekro (who finished second in the NL), and .21 better than American League (AL) leader, Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A's. He also held opposing batters to an NL-leading .208 batting average against (BAA).

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