Buzz Capra

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1977)

Buzz Capra was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1977 for the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves, a span of 7 seasons. Across 142 career appearances, he went 31-37 with a 3.87 ERA and 362 strikeouts. Buzz Capra was an All-Star.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 31–37
ERA 3.87
WHIP 1.35
SO 362
Pitcher PIV -6427.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 168 lb
Born
10/1/1947 in Chicago, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1971-09-15
Last Game
1977-09-26
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Lee William Capra

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Career Pitching Statistics

Buzz Capra — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
31 37 142 61 16 5 5 544.1 479 234 60 258 362 3.87 -6427.1

Career ERA 3.87 vs. league average 3.63 across their career seasons — 6.7% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Buzz Capra — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1971 NYN NL 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 5.1 3 5 5 6 8.44 — 0.0
1972 NYN NL 3 2 14 6 0 0 0 53.0 50 27 27 45 4.58 3.26 (-40%) -903.9
1973 NYN NL 2 7 24 0 0 0 4 42.0 35 18 28 35 3.86 3.75 (-3%) -560.6
1974 ATL NL 16 8 39 27 11 5 1 217.0 163 55 84 137 2.28 3.63 (+37%) 1871.3
1975 ATL NL 4 7 12 12 5 0 0 78.1 77 37 28 35 4.25 3.71 (-15%) -824.6
1976 ATL NL 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 9.1 9 9 6 4 8.68 3.51 (-147%) 0.0
1977 ATL NL 6 11 45 16 0 0 0 139.1 142 83 80 100 5.36 4.00 (-34%) -6009.4
Career · 7 seasons 31 37 142 61 16 5 5 544.1 479 234 258 362 3.87 — -6,427

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Buzz Capra — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
142 141 9 19 0 0 0 5 0 17 40 .135 .226 .135 .361 -388

Career AVG .135 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 47.2% below league average.

Career OBP .226 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 29.7% below league average.

Career SLG .135 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 63.8% below league average.

Career OPS .361 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 48.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Buzz Capra — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1971 NYN NL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1972 NYN NL 14 12 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 .250 — — — — 0.0
1973 NYN NL 24 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 ATL NL 39 67 4 11 0 0 0 1 0 8 23 .164 .256 (-36%) .324 (-22%) .369 (-56%) .693 (-40%) -387.8
1975 ATL NL 12 23 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 .043 — — — — 0.0
1976 ATL NL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 ATL NL 45 36 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 3 9 .111 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 142 141 9 19 0 0 0 5 0 17 40 .135 — — — — -388

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (284 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Buzz Capra — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home69634701.111
Away737851204.154

Pitching — Home / Away

Buzz Capra — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home69263.12231121351823.83
Away73281.02561221231803.91

Last 10 Games — Batting

Buzz Capra — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1977-09-26 ATLHOUW 100000000
1977-09-23 ATLCINL 000000000
1977-09-18 ATLLADW 000000000
1977-09-15 ATLSDPW 100000000
1977-09-13 ATLSFGL 000000000
1977-09-07 ATLLADL 200000001
1977-09-02 ATLNYNW 201000100
1977-08-29 ATLPHIL 200000001
1977-08-25 ATLCHCW 000000000
1977-08-20 ATLWSNL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Buzz Capra — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1977-09-26 ATLHOU W 3.0311031
1977-09-23 ATLCIN — 2.0311121
1977-09-18 ATLLAD W 1.1000100
1977-09-15 ATLSDP W 2.0000020
1977-09-13 ATLSFG — 0.1233100
1977-09-07 ATLLAD L 4.2654223
1977-09-02 ATLNYN W 6.1622341
1977-08-29 ATLPHI — 7.0522681
1977-08-25 ATLCHC — 1.0200220
1977-08-20 ATLWSN L 4.0644132

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Buzz Capra — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 142 61 31 71 4 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Buzz Capra — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1971 NYN P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1972 NYN P 14 6 5 10 0 2
1973 NYN P 24 0 1 7 0 0
1974 ATL P 39 27 13 19 3 2
1975 ATL P 12 12 6 13 0 1
1976 ATL P 5 0 0 3 0 0
1977 ATL P 45 16 6 18 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Buzz Capra — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 142

Awards & Honors

Buzz Capra — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1974 Player of the Month June
1974 Player of the Week Week of 1974-06-28

College History

Buzz Capra — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Illinois State University Normal IL 1967, 1968, 1969

Award Voting History

Buzz Capra — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1974 Cy Young Award NL 9th 1.0 120 0
1974 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Buzz Capra (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Chris Nabholz
    37-35, 3.94 ERA
  2. 90
    Marcelino Lopez
    31-40, 3.62 ERA
  3. 90
    Brian Barnes
    14-22, 3.94 ERA
  4. 87
    Tom Cheney
    19-29, 3.77 ERA
  5. 87
    Ken McBride
    40-50, 3.79 ERA
  6. 86
    Gene Brabender
    35-43, 4.25 ERA

Buzz Capra: the record in brief

September 15, 1971 and September 26, 1977 bracket Buzz Capra's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the New York Mets (1971 through 1973) and the Atlanta Braves (1974 to 1977). At 5 feet, 10 inches and 168 pounds, Capra is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Capra both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is October 1, 1947, in Chicago, IL, USA. Buzz Capra was the playing name; the full given name is Lee William.

Capra went 31-37 with a 3.87 ERA in 142 games, 61 of them starts. Also on Capra's record: 362 strikeouts, 16 complete games, and 5 shutouts. The league ERA over Capra's seasons was 3.63, so the 3.87 figure ran 6.7% worse than average. 1974 brought Capra a season-high 16 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.28 in 1974, when the league's was 3.63.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buzz Capra

What years did Buzz Capra play?
Buzz Capra played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1977.
Was Buzz Capra a pitcher?
Yes. Buzz Capra pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 362 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Buzz Capra hit?
Buzz Capra hit 0 career home runs with 19 hits.
What was Buzz Capra's career batting average?
Buzz Capra batted .135 over his career, with 19 hits in 141 at bats.
How many RBI did Buzz Capra have?
Buzz Capra drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Buzz Capra's career ERA?
Buzz Capra finished with a 3.87 career ERA, going 31-37 with 362 strikeouts.