He became another highly touted pitching prospect for the early 1970’s Mets, having a great minor league career going 44 -18 with a 2.86 ERA overall.
In 1971 after going 3-0 at AA Memphis, Capra was promoted to AAA Tidewater. There he went 13-3 second to Jim Bibby in victories while posting a .219 ERA. Capra earned a September call up & debuted at Shea Stadium on September 15, 1971.
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In 1972 he was with the club out of Spring Training in April. He earned his first career victory on April 25th in San Diego while making in his first career start.
He allowed just one run in six innings of work. In his next start he was roughed by the Dodgers in Los Angeles, as he allowed seven runs on nine hits, getting knocked out in the 4th inning.

After that he struggled & found himself pitching out of the bull pen. He had control issues & got sent back down to AAA Tidewater in July.
He finished the 1972 season 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA, striking out 45 batters while walking 27 in 56 innings pitched over 14 games.
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On June 27th, Capra got his first save, coming against the Philadelphia Phillies after pitching four shutout innings. He struggled in his first two months back up, finding himself at 1-5 with two blown saves at the end of July.
Capra improved from there settling down to go 2-3 with three saves the rest of the year. On August 7th he pitched three innings of relief earning a win against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Overall in the 1973 Mets NL Championship season, Capra appeared in a total of 24 games, going 2-7 with four saves, 35 strikeouts & 28 walks in 42 innings pitched, while posting a 3.86 ERA.
1973 Post Season-NLCS: Although he did not pitch in any 1973 post season games, he did have a part in some of the theatrics.
Both teams just milled around the infield for a while, until Cincinnati Reds reliever Pedro Borbon landed a sucker punch to the right temple of Buzz Capra’s head.
After the dust settled and the teams were going back to their dugouts, Borbon was walking off the field & put a cap on his head. But to his surprise it was pointed out by another Reds player, that it wasn’t his Reds cap but Buzz Capra’s Mets cap.
After the 1973 season the Mets sold Capra to the Atlanta Braves in what turned out to be a bad deal for New York.
Capra had a fantastic 1974 season, leading the major leagues with a 2.28 ERA, going 16-8 (7th most wins in the NL) with five shutouts (Third in the NL) & 11 complete games (10th in the NL).
Capra struck out 137 batters, walking 84 in 217 innings & had the best hits per nine innings ratio in the league.
The following year in 1975, he only pitched in 12 games going 4-7 with a 4.25 ERA. He suffered a shoulder injury which ended up ruining the remainder of his career.
Capra attempted a comeback in 1977, going 6-12 pitching in 45 games with an ERA of 5.36. The shoulder injury forced him to retire at age 30 by 1978.
In a seven year career he was 31-37 with five saves, 362 strike outs & 258 walks in 544 innings pitched posting a 3.38 ERA in 142 appearances. At the plate he had a decent .135 batting average for a pitcher.
Retirement: After retiring as a player, Capra spent over twenty years as a professional pitching coach for the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves & Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
He was the pitching coach for the A ball St. Lucie Mets in 2007.
He is also available year round for private and group pitching instruction at the Fox Valley Sports Academy in Elgin, Illinois. Buzz also frequently appears at Mets Fantasy camps as well as Atlanta Braves alumni functions.
1 comment:
I suspect his role in the Rose-Harrelson brawl gave M.Donald Grant the excuse he needed to trade another talented young Mets farmhand. Two patterns persisted with the Buzz Capra trade : Grant's desire to unload anyone who violated his old-fashioned idea of how a Major Leaguer should behave, and the instant success enjoyed by the ex-Mets,especially pitchers, casting doubt on the alleged ”genius” of Gil Hodges & Pitching Coach Rube Walker. Long-term, this trade didn't hurt the franchise due to Capra's quick demise. But it would've been nice to count him properly as the Mets' 2nd ERA champ.
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