Early years 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
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 .
New York Mets In , 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 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.
Atlanta Braves 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). Capra won his first two starts of the season; however, a twinge in his pitching arm — that he had begun feeling toward the end of the previous season — worsened. Capra lost his next four starts, and was shut down for the season on June 8, with a 4–7 record and 4.25 ERA. Capra did not return to the Braves until September 1, 1976, and was roughed up by the
Chicago Cubs, in his first game back. He was relegated to mop-up duty over his next four appearances, and ended the season 0–1 with an 8.68 ERA. Capra's first game of the season also went poorly, but he pitched effectively enough in his next four appearances (3 earned runs in 11.1 innings, while holding opposing batters to a .179
batting average), to be placed in the starting rotation when an injury to
Andy Messersmith opened a spot. He went 0–4 with an 8.55 ERA in four starts, before reverting to relief. Capra won his first game back in the bullpen, for his first win since he beat the Mets on May 25, 1975 (two days shy of two years earlier). Messersmith suffered a second injury (on July 3), shutting him down for the season, and gave Capra a second shot at starting. He beat the
Cincinnati Reds' "
Big Red Machine," on July 13, then, on August 10, showed his old form against the Padres, allowing only two hits in nine innings, in an extra-inning game, where he was credited with a no-decision. Capra notched a win in the final game of his career, against the
Houston Astros, September 26, 1977. From the time Capra had re-entered the starting rotation, he had gone 2–4, with a 5.02 ERA, in sixteen starts over the remainder of the 1977 season. Overall, that season, Capra was 2–8, with a 5.84 ERA as a starter, and 4–3, with a 4.58 ERA in relief. ==Coaching==