Braves great Ralph Garr burst onto the scene and never left

Part 1 of 2

When baseball's top scouts were recently honored in Las Vegas, one of the honorees was a familiar figure to Chicago fans of the 1970s.

Ralph Garr, better known as the Road Runner, earned recognition for his scouting in 2021 with the world champion Atlanta Braves.

It was a big year for the former National League batting champ. Not only did he share in the glory of a championship team, but prior to the season, the Braves hosted the inaugural Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic to showcase the talent of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Southeast. It was held at Coolray Field, home to the Gwinnett Stripers, a Braves affiliate.

I caught up by phone with Garr, who remains a vital part of the organization that gave him his start.

"I've really been blessed to be a part of the Braves organization, and they've been a wonderful organization for me and my family," he said.

His family includes son Ralph Garr Jr. Drafted by the Braves in 1990, his son also became a scout and tracked pitcher Michael Wacha for the St. Louis Cardinals.

A left-handed hitter, the 5-foot-11 Garr was a threat to hit and steal bases, often using his legs to beat out base hits. In a 13-year major-league career, he had a lifetime .306 batting average, 1,562 hits and 172 stolen bases, including 30 in 1971 and 35 in 1973.

He hit .353 to win the batting title in 1974, leading the league with 214 hits and 17 triples and making the All-Star team.

Sportswriter Jim Murray wrote that Garr "was as hard to get out as an impacted tooth. He didn't require strikes. He hit anything that didn't hit him first. He utilized every part of the ballpark except the outfield seats (his few home runs went between, not over, people)."

Garr, who graduated from Lincoln High School in Ruston, La., is an HBCU product, having played under coach Ralph Waldo Emerson "Prez" Jones at Grambling College, now Grambling State University.

Garr said he was discovered when he put on an impressive hitting display against Grambling while playing with a semipro team led by Jones' assistant (and Garr's former Little League coach) Wilbert Ellis.

Under Jones, who was also president of the college, Grambling emerged in the 1960s as a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) powerhouse, led by such stars as Tommie Agee.

Garr - named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013 - won an NAIA batting title in 1967 with a .585 average for the Tigers.

Garr drew the attention of Braves scout Clint Courtney, who had been sent by Atlanta GM Paul Richards to check out several Grambling players.

Garr said Courtney told Richards, "All them guys you sent me to see were OK. But you can have all them if you give me that damn little second baseman."

The Braves drafted Garr in the third round in 1967, but it wouldn't be long before he was moved from second base to the outfield.

"In the first game, I got run over, man, on a double play ball. I got run over like I got killed."

Garr, who won International League batting titles in Richmond in 1969 and 1970, impressed the Braves enough that he spent parts of the 1968, 1969, and 1970 seasons with them.

His Braves manager Lum Harris said in 1970, "He can run like heck and he gives it that full swing, his body spinning around, which seems to create a lot of excitement."

Taking over in left field for an injured Rico Carty in 1971, Garr burst on the scene by hitting .400 in the first month and a half of the season. Not known as a longball threat, he nonetheless hit two extra-inning homers, including a walk-off, against the Mets on May 17.

In 1971 and 1972, Garr finished second in hitting to Joe Torre and Billy Williams, respectively. Then, after slipping to 10th in 1973, he won the batting crown in 1974.

That was a special year for another Braves star, Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.

Garr, the leadoff hitter, went 0-for-3 with an RBI April 8, 1974.

But, Aaron told UPI, "Ralph Garr met me at home plate and helped me plant my foot. Ralph told me before the game to get this thing over with so the team could concentrate on playing baseball."

Garr said Aaron was a key influence on his career.

"He always told me, 'Work on your weaknesses, but really concentrate on your strengths. Whatever you did to get here, that's what's going to keep you here.'"

Aaron also changed Garr's style of play.

"When I first came up, I would steal bases." But, he said, "Batting in front of Henry Aaron, I wasn't worried about stealing a lot of bases. My job was to get on base, because he could drive you in from first base just like he could from second base."

• Next week: Bill Veeck, shorts, and a second baseball life