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At the start of the 1990s, the Atlanta Braves were probably the franchise least likely to go on a nine-year run of success. After all, they had finished with baseball's worst record in 1990, going 65-97. They had also finished last in the majors in attendance, the only team that drew fewer than one million fans.
Record: 94-68, .580 Second place: Dodgers, 93-69 Highlights: Braves become first team in NL history to go from last place to first place in one season. Tied with the Dodgers heading into the final weekend, the Braves beat Houston twice while the Dodgers lost twice at San Francisco. Rotation: Tom Glavine (20-11, 2.55); Steve Avery (18-8, 3.38); Charlie Leibrandt (15-13, 3.49); John Smoltz (14-13, 3.80) Closer: Juan Berenguer (17 saves, 2.24); Alejandro Pena (11 saves, 1.40)
Record: 98-64, .605 Second place: Reds, 90-72 Highlights: The Braves made few changes, relying on a league-best 3.14 ERA to win the West. The Braves started off slow (23-27 through May), but went 75-37 the rest of the way. Rotation: Tom Glavine (20-8, 2.76); Charlie Leibrandt (15-7, 3.36); John Smoltz (15-12, 2.85); Steve Avery (11-11, 3.20); Pete Smith (7-0, 2.05) Closer: Alejandro Pena (15 saves, 4.07); Mike Stanton (8 saves, 4.10); Jeff Reardon (3 saves, 1.15) Lineup: C Greg Olson/Damon Berryhill, 1B Sid Bream, 2B Mark Lemke, SS Rafael Belliard/Jeff Blauser, 3B Terry Pendleton, OF Ron Gant, Otis Nixon, David Justice, Deion Sanders Baseball America NL All-Stars: Tom Glavine Key addition: Two-sport star Deion Sanders became the team's fourth outfielder and hit .304 and led the NL with 14 triples. Key trade: With another closer injured late in the season, the Braves picked up veteran Jeff Reardon from the Red Sox. He pitched well down the stretch, but lost Game 2 of the World Series to the Blue Jays when Ed Sprague hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the ninth. Postseason: The Braves beat the Pirates in a dramatic Game 7 of the NLCS. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth against Doug Drabek, the Braves rallied for three runs, with Francisco Cabrera delivering a two-run, two-out single to win it. The Blue Jays won the World Series in six games even the Braves outscored Toronto 20-17. 1993 Atlanta Braves Record: 104-58, .642 Second place: Giants, 103-59 Highlights: In one of the great pennant races of all time, the Braves and Giants battled down to the season's final day. Atlanta was 10 games out on July 22 but went 41-15 the final two months. The Braves won five of six from the Giants in late August and early September and Ron Gant drove in 15 runs in one four-game as the Braves took a four-game lead. But the Giants won 14 of 16 down the stretch, leaving the teams tied on the final. The Braves beat the Rockies 5-3 while the Giants lost 12-1 to the Dodgers. Rotation: Tom Glavine (22-6, 3.20); Greg Maddux (20-10, 2.36); Steve Avery (18-6, 2.94); John Smoltz (15-11, 3.62) Closer: Mike Stanton (27 saves, 4.67); Greg McMichael (19 saves, 2.06) Lineup: C Damon Berryhill/Greg Olson, 1B Fred McGriff/Sid Bream, 2B Mark Lemke, SS Jeff Blauser, 3B Terry Pendleton, OF Ron Gant, Otis Nixon, David Justice, Deion Sanders Baseball America NL All-Stars: Jeff Blauser, Ron Gant, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux Key addition: Signed as a free agent after winning the 1992 Cy Young Award with the Cugs, Greg Maddux won 20 games to win his second of four straight Cy Youngs. Key trade: First baseman Fred McGriff was acquired from the Padres on July 18 for prospects Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliot and Vince Moore. He hit .310 with 19 home runs in 68 games. Postseason: The Braves bowed out with a disappointing six-game loss to the Phillies in the NLCS. 1994 Atlanta Braves Record: 68-46, .596 (second) First place: Expos, 74-40 Highlights: The Braves trailed the Expos when the players went on strike, marring the incredible season Greg Maddux was putting together. Despite offensive numbers reaching their highest totals since the 1930s, Maddux posted a 1.56 ERA. It would be the only season between from 1991 to 1999 that the Braves would not finish in first place. Rotation: Greg Maddux (16-6, 1.56), Tom Glavine (13-9, 3.97), Kent Mercker (9-4, 3.45), Steve Avery (8-3, 4.04), John Smoltz (6-10, 4.14) Closer: Greg McMichael (21 saves, 3.84) Lineup: C Javy Lopez/Charlie O'Brien, 1B Fred McGriff, 2B Mark Lemke, SS Jeff Blauser, 3B Terry Pendleton, OF Ryan Klesko, Roberto Kelly, David Justice, Deion Sanders Baseball America NL All-Stars: Greg Maddux Key additions: Two 23-year-old rookies, Ryan Klesko and Javy Lopez, joined the lineup for the first time. Klesko hit .278 with 17 home runs while Lopez hit .245 with 13 homers. Another promising rookie, Chipper Jones, tore up his knee in spring training and missed the season. Key trade: In May, Deion Sanders was traded to the Reds for Roberto Kelly. Postseason: None due to players' strike. 1995 Atlanta Braves Record: 90-54, .625 Second place: Mets and Phillies, 69-75 Highlights: The Expos had won more games the previous season, but the Braves remained the team to beat after the Expos dealt off several star players. Atlanta cruised to another division, led by the remarkable Maddux, who went 19-2 with another microscopic ERA (1.63). He won his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. Rotation: Greg Maddux (19-2, 1.63); Tom Glavine (16-7, 3.08); John Smoltz (12-7, 3.18); Kent Mercker (7-8, 4.15); Steve Avery (7-13, 4.67) Closer: Mark Wohlers (25 saves, 2.09) Lineup: C Javy Lopez/Charlie O'Brien, 1B Fred McGriff, 2B Mark Lemke, 3B Chipper Jones, SS Jeff Blauser, OF Ryan Klesko, Marquis Grissom, David Justice, Dwight Smith Baseball America NL All-Stars: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Mark Wohlers Key additions: Rookie Chipper Jones replaced Terry Pendleton at third base and hit .265 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI. After three seasons as a setup guy, Mark Wohlers assumed the closer duties and excelled with 25 saves in 29 chances and 90 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. Key trades: Right before the season started on April, the Braves acquired center fielder Marquis Grissom from the Expos for OF Roberto Kelly, OF Tony Tarasco and P Esteban Yan. In August, the Braves picked up outfielder Mike Deveraux from the White Sox for minor leaguer Andre King. Deveraux was named MVP of the Braves' four-game sweep of the Reds in the NLCS. Postseason: With the introduction of the Division Series, the Braves faced three rounds of playoffs. They quickly dismissed the Rockies 3 games to 1. They swept the Reds, holding them to five runs in four games. They met the Indians in the World Series, a team that had gone 100-44 during the regular season. The Braves won the first two games, with Maddux pitching a two-hitter in the opener. The Indians won two of the next three but Glavine pitched a masterpiece in Game 6. He allowed one hit in eight innings, David Justice hit a solo homer and Wohlers finished off the 1-0 victory. 1996 Atlanta Braves Record: 96-66, .593 Second place: Expos, 88-74 Highlights: Montreal got off to a hot April to give the Braves a bit of challenge for the NL East title. The Braves went 19-10 to put away the Expos. John Smoltz led the way, winning the NL Cy Young Award with his 24 victories. Chipper Jones finished fourth in the MVP voting. Rotation: John Smoltz (24-8, 2.94); Greg Maddux (15-11, 2.72); Tom Glavine (15-10, 2.98); Steve Avery (7-10, 4.47) Closer: Mark Wohlers (39 saves, 3.03) Lineup: C Javy Lopez, 1B Fred McGriff, 2B Mark Lemke, 3B Chipper Jones, SS Jeff Blauser/Rafael Belliard, OF Ryan Klesko, Marquis Grissom, Jermaine Dye, David Justice Baseball America NL All-Stars: John Smoltz, Greg Maddux Key additions: Rookie right fielder Jermaine Dye filled in for Justice, who played in just 40 games due to injuries. He hit .281 with 12 homers in part-time duty. Late-season callup Andruw Jones was just 19 during his first major-league stint. Key trade: In late August, with Steve Avery struggling for another season, the Braves wanted another starter. They acquired Denny Neagle from the Pirates for rookie pitcher Jason Schmidt and minor leaguers Ron Wright and Corey Pointer. Postseason: After sweeping the Dodgers in the Division Series, the Braves fell behind 3 games to 1 to the Cardinals in the NLCS. The Braves won Game 5 14-0, took Game 6 3-1 behind Greg Maddux, and scored six runs in the first in Game 7 and won 15-0. The Braves continued their hot streak in the first two games of the World Series against the Yankees, winning 12-1 as Andruw Jones hit two home runs and 4-0 behind Maddux. However, the Yankees won the final four games. In Game 4, the Braves led 8-5 in the eighth when Wohlers served up a game-tying homer to Jim Leyritz. Andy Pettitte outdueled Smoltz 1-0 in Game 5 and the Yankees won Game 6 3-2. 1997 Atlanta Braves Record: 101-61, .623 Second place: Marlins, 92-70 Highlights: Once again, the Braves finished with the best record in the National League -- for the fifth time in the decade. Rotation: Denny Neagle (20-5, 2.97); Greg Maddux (19-4, 2.20); John Smoltz (15-12, 3.02); Tom Glavine (14-7, 2.96) Closer: Mark Wohlers (33 saves, 3.50) Lineup: C Javy Lopez/Eddie Perez, 1B Fred McGriff, 2B Mark Lemke/Tony Graffanino, 3B Chipper Jones, SS Jeff Blauser, OF Ryan Klesko, Kenny Lofton, Andruw Jones, Michael Tucker Baseball America NL All-Stars: Chipper Jones, Jeff Blauser, Greg Maddux Key additions: Rookie Andruw Jones stepped into the lineup and hit 18 home runs. In his first full season in the rotation, Denny Neagle led the staff with 20 victories. Key trades: The Braves made two major moves at the end of spring training. Outfielders Marquis Grissom and David Justice were traded to Cleveland for center fielder Kenny Lofton and pitcher Alan Embree, helping clear a position for Andruw Jones. Two days later, Jermaine Dye and was dealt to Kansas City for Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart. Postseason: After quickly dismissing the Astros in the first round, Atlanta played Florida in the NLCS. The Braves outhit the Marlins .253-.199, outscored the Marlins 21-20 and outhomered the Marlins 6-1. They lost in six games. The key contest was Game 5, when Livan Hernandez beat Maddux 2-1, striking out 15 with the help of umpire Eric Gregg. 1998 Atlanta Braves Record: 106-56, .654 Second place: Mets, 88-74 Highlights: Led by a pitching staff that featured five 16-game winners, the Braves cruised to 106 wins, their most of the decade. The offense was powered by four players with at least 30 home runs -- Andres Galarraga, Javy Lopez and both Joneses. Rotation: Tom Glavine (20-6, 2.47); Greg Maddux (18-9, 2.22); John Smoltz (17-3, 2.90); Denny Neagle (16-11, 3.55); Kevin Millwood (17-8, 4.09) Closer: Kerry Ligtenberg (30 saves, 2.71) Lineup: C Javy Lopez, 1B Andres Galarraga, 2B Keith Lockhart/Tony Graffanino, 3B Chipper Jones, SS Walt Weiss/Ozzie Guillen, OF Ryan Klesko, Andruw Jones, Michael Tucker, Gerald Williams Baseball America All-Stars: Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux Key additions: After posting big numbers with the Colorado Rockies, the Braves signed first baseman Galarraga as a free agent. Many didn't expect him to produce the same numbers away from Coors Field but he hit .305 with 44 homers and 121. Kevin Millwood won 17 games in his first year in the rotation. When Wohlers suddenly lost all control of the strike zone, rookie Kerry Ligtenberg stepped in as closer and performed very well. Key trade: Fred McGriff was sold to the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, opening a spot for Galarraga. Outfielder Gerald Williams acquired from Milwaukee for reliever Chad Fox. Postseason: A quick sweep of the Cubs meant the Braves reached the NLCS for the seventh consecutive postseason. It ended in disappointment in a six-game loss to San Diego as the team hit just .235 and scored 18 runs. 1999 Atlanta Braves Record: 103-59, .636 Second place: Mets, 97-66 Highlights: The season started off with plenty of bad news. Galarraga was diagnosed with cancer and missed the season. Closer Ligtenberg blew out his elbow in spring training. Later, catcher Javy Lopez injured his knee and missed the second half. Still, the Braves won 100 games for the fourth time and closed out the Mets in late September by ambushing them five of six games. Chipper Jones, the likely NL MVP, led the way with four homers in the first three-game sweep. Rotation: Greg Maddux (19-9, 3.57); Kevin Millwood (18-7, 2.68); Tom Glavine (14-11, 4.12); John Smoltz (11-8, 3.19); Odalis Perez (4-6, 6.00) Closer: John Rocker (38 saves, 2.49) Lineup: C Eddie Perez/Javy Lopez, 1B Ryan Klesko, 2B Bret Boone, 3B Chipper Jones, SS Walt Weiss/Jose Hernandez, OF Gerald Williams, Andruw Jones, Brian Jordan Key additions: Signed as a free agent, right fielder Brian Jordan knocked in 115 runs. Second-year reliever John Rocker stepped in as closer and set a team record with 38 saves. Key trades: Denny Neagle and Michael Tucker were traded in the offseason to Cincinnati for second baseman Bret Boone and reliever Mike Remlinger. Boone scored 102 runs while Remlinger went 10-1 in relief. Postseason: Stay tuned. | ALSO SEE Cox earns praise for star performance as Braves skipper
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