Typically, such lofty expectations are accompanied by an increase in attendance. But 1995 was not a typical year for major-league baseball; the prior season had been cut short due to the players strike and fans across the country were reluctant to return. Even the New York Yankees coming to town for the final exhibition game of the spring resulted in only “between 8,000 and 9,000” actually in attendance (though the team announced a crowd of 25,309).3

The sparse crowd did not go unnoticed by the players. Outfielder David Justice said, “There’s nobody here. The fans are upset at what’s gone on. [T]hey’re showing it by not showing up. I can’t blame them.”4 Player representative Tom Glavine was more optimistic, attributing the sparse crowd to a number of factors: “It’s cold. [I]t’s an exhibition, and it’s a school night.”5 Glavine added, “I think it’s foolish or naïve to think that everyone who wasn’t here stayed away because of the strike’ … [But] every time there’s a low crowd, people are going to blame the strike.”6

Whatever the reason for the low turnout for the exhibition game, the Braves hoped for a livelier crowd for Opening Day, April 26. A 4:05 P.M. start time on a Wednesday did not help matters, though, and only 24,091 showed up at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to see the Braves open the season against the San Francisco Giants.7 One local writer opined that such an attendance figure was “the sort of crowd once reserved for Sunday afternoons in the ’80s.”8 The team was even “greeted by scattered boos” to start the game.9 On the field, however, the Braves wasted little time giving those who did show up something to cheer about.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux, who had made only one spring-training start due to a bout with chickenpox,10 got the season off on the right foot by setting down the Giants in order in the top of the first. In the Braves’ first, the newly acquired Grissom got an early start toward endearing himself to Atlanta fans as he led off with a double. Five consecutive singles followed, by Jeff Blauser, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Justice, and Javy Lopez, and the Braves took an early 4-0 lead.

After the game, Giants manager Dusty Baker lamented his club’s poor start. “Maddux is the premier pitcher in baseball,” and if you “spot him four runs it’s just about over,” he said.11 That was just about right, as Maddux did not allow a hit until J.R. Phillips connected for a solo home run with one out in the fifth inning. By that time, even Maddux himself had a hit, having led off the second inning with an infield single. Maddux scored on a throwing error as the Giants tried to turn a double play to get out of the inning, and McGriff singled home another run to make the score 6-0 after two innings.

The score remained the same until the fourth inning, when McGriff tallied his third hit, a solo home run to right field. McGriff, in the last year of the contract he had signed with the San Diego Padres before being traded to Atlanta, showed that a slow spring training, in which he hit only .240 with one home run, was nothing to worry about. Manager Bobby Cox said he never had any doubt that McGriff would be ready to go at the opening bell. Cox said McGriff “starts out slow, but he’s always working on things. Everything he does builds up to Opening Day.”12

Phillips’s home run in the fifth put the Giants on the board, and accounted for the first run Maddux had surrendered in three previous Opening Day starts, over a span of 20⅔ innings.13 The Giants added two more runs in the sixth with an RBI single and groundout from Robby Thompson and Matt Williams, respectively. An RBI single by Brad Woodall in the seventh pushed Atlanta’s lead to 8-3, but the Giants continued to pull closer in the eighth, when a single by John Patterson and a home run by Robby Thompson made the score 8-5.

But the Braves would not be overtaken on this day. Jeff Blauser doubled to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Chipper Jones, making the first Opening Day start, followed with an RBI single to center field. Jones had actually won the Braves’ shortstop job in the spring of 1994, but a knee injury sidelined him for the year and he re-emerged in 1995 as the team’s third baseman for the foreseeable future.14 Following Jones was McGriff, who continued to have a memorable day by blasting his second home run, giving himself five RBIs for the game. David Justice capped the scoring with a solo home run, and the Braves had a 12-5 lead. Brad Clontz closed out the game for the Braves with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

The Braves’ 12 Opening Day runs were their third highest total in 1995, surpassed only by outbursts of 15 and 17 against the Rockies and Cubs, respectively. The victory was also part of the team’s fast start, as they won seven of their first eight games on their way to 90 wins and the National League East crown. That title would of course later be overshadowed when the Braves topped the Cleveland Indians to win the 1995 World Series, proving general manager Schuerholz’s April prediction correct.

Sources

In addition to the sources noted in the Notes, the author accessed Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 “NL East: The Best, Braves, Just Got Better,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 26, 1995: 61.

2 “Astros, Padres Test Value of Big Trade,” Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana), April 26, 1995: 25. 

3 Tom Saladino, “Braves Searching for Fan Support at Home,” Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana), April 25, 1995: 7.

4 Saladino.

5 Saladino.

6 Mark Bradley, “Braves Fans Reveal Remaining Ill Will by Their Absence,” Atlanta Constitution April 27, 1995: 50.

7 Rand Cawthon, “24,091 Respond to National Pastime’s Lure,” Atlanta Constitution, April 25,1995: 50. The announced attendance for the game was 32,045, but actual attendance in the “half-filled” ballpark seemed to belie that figure. Mark Bradley’s accompanying article cited the same “actual attendance” figure of 24,091.

8 Bradley.

9 “Braves Start Fast, Rout Giants, 12-5,” Santa Cruz (California) Sentinel, April 27, 1995: 13.

10 Denise N. Maloof, “McGriff Quickly Resumes Role as Braves’ Main Power Source,” Atlanta Constitution, April 27, 1995: 50.

11 “McGriff Crushes 2 HRs, Braves Rip Giants 12-5,” Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida), April 27, 1995: 25.

12 “McGriff Quickly Resumes Role as Braves’ Main Power Source.”

13 “Braves Beat Giants 12-5,” Selma (Alabama) Times-Journal, April 27, 1995: 9.

14 “Atlanta Braves,” New York Daily News, April 23, 1995: 15C.

The game drew an announced crowd of 14,882 to see an intriguing pitching matchup that pitted two of the National League’s more notable pitchers against each other. Neither pitcher had distinguished himself in his first two starts of the season.

Left-handed change-of-speed artist Steve Avery was the starter for the Braves. The two-time 18-game winner entered the game with a record of 0-1 and a 5.19 ERA. The Mets countered with two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen. The Mets right-hander also entered the game with a 0-1 record and an elevated 7.50 ERA.

The game-time temperature was a seasonably cool 62 degrees and conditions were dry when Saberhagen delivered the game’s first pitch at 7:35 P.M. Saberhagen and Avery traded 1-2-3 innings in the first before the Braves scored first in the top of the second. Dwight Smith drew a one-out walk off Saberhagen, the only walk he would yield in the game, before Charlie O’Brien lined a home run deep into the bleachers down the left-field line. After an inning and a half, the score stood at Braves 2, Mets 0.

For a while it seemed as though “the 25th career home run of eternally light-hitting former Met backup catcher O’Brien”2 might be the difference as the two starters engaged in a classic pitching duel. Avery kept the Mets off the board until the bottom of the sixth, when the home team scored a run. Saberhagen led off the inning with a double to left. Brett Butler laid down a sacrifice bunt to third, moving Saberhagen to third. Edgardo Alfonzo followed with a fly to deep right-center to score Saberhagen and make the score 2-1.

Greg McMichael replaced Avery in the bottom of the seventh. The move was part of a double switch that sent Mike Kelly into right. McMichael, who was the Braves’ closer a year earlier and was now a right-handed setup man, pitched a scoreless seventh.

Josias Manzanillo relieved Saberhagen in the top of the eighth. The right-hander from the Dominican Republic entered the game with a record of 0-0 and and 11.12 ERA. Manzanillo retired the Braves to keep the Mets within a run.

McMichael returned to the mound for a second inning in the bottom of the eighth. After retiring Brett Butler on a grounder to second and getting Alfonzo to fly out to right, McMichael appeared headed for an easy inning as Mets second baseman Jeff Kent came to the plate. Kent, who was mired in an early-season slump (.167 with one home run and three RBIs), deposited an 0-and-1 offering from McMichael into the left-field bullpen, tying tie the game.

Braves rookie left fielder Chipper Jones led off the top of the ninth. The switch-hitting Jones, who entered the game hitting .233, was playing because regular outfielders David Justice and Ryan Klesko were injured. With the count 2-and-0, Jones, who was batting left-handed, crushed a fastball into the right-field loge seats off Manzanillo.3 Jones’s first major-league home run gave the Braves a 3-2 lead and put McMichael in a position to earn the victory. After the game, Jones told reporters, “I can’t tell you the feeling I had when I was rounding first base. It is really a weight off my shoulders.”4 

Right-handed rookie Brad Clontz, who had saved three of the Braves’ first seven victories but faltered in his previous outing, came on in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory for McMichael. Clontz hit leadoff batter Todd Hundley and Carl Everett sacrificed the Mets catcher to second. Clontz then retired Ricky Otero and David Segui on fly balls to end the game. Acknowledging his failure to hold a one-run lead two days earlier, Clontz said afterward, “I wanted to get back out there in a one-run game and finish it out.”5

McMichael earned the victory and moved his record to 2-0. Clontz earned his fourth and final save of the season. He blew a save opportunity in his next outing and relinquished the closer role to right-hander Mark Wohlers. Manzanillo, who less than a month later was claimed off waivers by the pitching-starved New York Yankees, suffered the loss for the Mets. The time of the game was 2:21.

The victory was the Braves’ sixth in seven on the road. Manager Bobby Cox put the victory in context after the game: “After losing four straight at home and coming in here to face one of the best pitchers of the last 15 years, I’d say that was a great win for the Braves.”6

Jones’s first major-league home run was a long time coming for the future Hall of Famer, who was ticketed for superstardom after being selected number one in the 1990 amateur draft out of the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. He played in eight games with the Braves when the rosters expanded in September of 1993 and was slated to start the 1994 season as the team’s left fielder. This all changed on March 19, 1994, in an exhibition game against the Yankees at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the top of the fifth inning, Jones hit a groundball to shortstop, but the throw pulled Yankees first baseman Jim Leyritz off the bag. In an effort to avoid the tag, the rookie angled his body awkwardly and then crumpled to the ground.7 Jones missed the entire 1994 season.

Over the years, the Braves-Mets rivalry brought out the best in Jones. In 245 games against the Mets, he hit .309 with 49 home runs and 159 RBIs. As the rivalry heated up, New York fans increasingly focused their wrath on Jones, serenading the Braves star with chants of “Lar-ry, Lar-ry” — after pitcher Orel Hershiser mentioned in an interview that the Braves’ star hated being called by his given name.8

Jones finished the season with a batting average of .265 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs, numbers that in many years would have earned him Rookie of the Year honors. However, in a controversial vote, Jones finished runner-up to Japanese phenom Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 26-year-old Nomo had pitched for five years before coming to the Dodgers as a free agent and leading the National League in strikeouts in his first season.9

Jones went on to have a legendary career with the Atlanta Braves and finished his Hall of Fame career with a .303 average, 468 home runs, and 1,623 RBIs. Along the way he won the 1999 NL MVP Award, captured the 2008 NL batting title, and thrilled baseball fans everywhere.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 The start of the 1995 season was delayed as a consequence of the 1994-95 players strike. The season did not open until April 26.

2 Howard Blatt, “Not Feeling Chipper: Jones’ HR in 9th Beats Josias,” New York Daily News, May 10, 1995: 52.

3 Blatt.

4 I.J. Rosenberg, “And Then Along Came Jones in the 9th,” Atlanta Constitution, May 10, 1995: 21.

5 Rosenberg.

6 Rosenberg.

7 William Juliano, “Remembering a Not So Chipper Start to Future Hall of Famer’s Career,” The Captains Blog, March 22, 2012. Retrieved from https://captainsblog.info/2012/03/22/remembering-a-not-so-chipper-start-to-future-hall-of-famers-career/13990/.

8 John Romano, “Braves-Mets: War of the Words,” Tampa Bay Times, October 12, 1999: 10C, as cited by Jacob Pomrenke in “Chipper Jones,” SABR BioProject. Retrieved from https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b7c916e5.

9 Pomrenke.

The 32,402 fans attending the June 6 contest against the Chicago Cubs in Atlanta witnessed the team’s best offensive performance of the season. The game was marked by the Braves’ 20 hits and five home runs, led by left fielder Ryan Klesko and rookie third baseman Chipper Jones, who together drove in 10 of the runs. The rout was highlighted by eight Braves runs in the fourth inning, their most in one inning since 1991.

The day before, the Cubs had fallen out of first place in the NL Central Division for the first time in the season after losing to the Braves. The Cubs’ pitching staff had the best ERA in the league coming into this game.1 Right-hander Steve Trachsel, who hadn’t recorded a winning decision in his last three starts, took the hill in his first-ever appearance against the Braves.

The Braves were in a battle with Montreal for second place in the East Division, which Philadelphia led by three games. On a mound staff that included future Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz, 27-year-old left-hander Kent Mercker took his turn in the rotation. Now in his seventh season with the Braves, he had been converted into a full-time starter in 1994.

After the Cubs scored a run in the top of the first on a single, a balk by Mercker, and two groundouts, Atlanta started its onslaught in the bottom half. Marquis Grissom and Chipper Jones singled (his first of four hits in the game) and Fred McGriff hit a sacrifice fly. Klesko then hit a two-run blast, his first homer of the season. He had been a slump, batting .211 with only three extra-base hits coming into the game.

The Braves scored again in the second, when Mark Lemke hit a leadoff single, took second on Mercker’s sacrifice, and scored on Grissom’s second single of the night. Grissom, who had recently lost his leadoff role to rookie Brian Kowitz because of poor hitting, seemed to be adjusting well to the number-two slot in the batting order.

After a scoreless third, the Braves had their huge inning in the fourth. Javier Lopez led off with his sixth homer of the season. After walking Lemke and Kowitz, Trachsel was replaced by Willie Banks, who had been struggling with a 10.45 ERA and was reportedly on the trading block. Banks walked Grissom, loading the bases. Jones followed with two-run single. After McGriff was intentionally walked, loading the bases again, Klesko cleared them with his first major-league grand slam. (He would go on to hit 10 during his 16-year career.) Jeff Blauser added to Banks’s grief with a back-to-back solo home run to make the score 12-1.

Perhaps relaxed by his comfortable lead, Mercker gave up a leadoff triple to Shawon Dunston and a run-scoring single to Jose Hernandez in the top of the fifth. The Braves retaliated in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer by Jones, his eighth of the season. Blauser added a run-scoring single.

The Cubs scored their last run of the game in the sixth, with Mercker yielding a single, a double, and an RBI groundout by Todd Pratt.

Turk Wendell, who had relieved Banks in the fifth, finished the game for Cubs. He allowed two more Braves runs in the seventh inning, on a two-run single by Lopez.

Braves relievers Brad Clontz, Pedro Borbon Jr., and Steve Bedrosian succeeded Mercker and closed out the game without allowing any baserunners.

Klesko finished the day going 4-for-5 including his two round-trippers, with six RBIs and three runs scored. He avoided the sophomore jinx stigma (he was third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1994) when he finished the season with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs, and a slash line of .310/.396/.608. Klesko seemed relieved after the game, saying, “I’m here to drive in runs and I finally did my job.”2

Jones was also 4-for-5, with four runs scored and four RBIs. As the runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 1995, the switch-hitter collected 23 home runs and 86 RBIs for the season. Braves manager Bobby Cox gushed about Jones’s potential after the game, saying, “I’m going to get his uniform after the season and get him to autograph it. It will be worth more [than two of his baseball cards].”3

The Braves’ five home runs were their most in a game in 1995. The franchise record was eight, hit on August 30, 1953, against Pittsburgh. Grissom, Blauser, and Lopez each collected three hits. The Braves’ 20 hits matched their total on May 16 when they defeated Colorado, 15-3.

Mercker gave up five hits and struck out five during his six innings. He claimed his third win. Trachsel yielded seven earned runs in 3⅓ innings, with his ERA increasing from 2.86 to 3.99. Banks, who gave up eight runs, was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers two weeks later.

The Cubs seemed to take the loss in stride, even though it was their fourth in six games, all on the road. Manager Jim Riggleman said, “We just got whipped. They just pounded the ball and beat us.”4 Cubs outfielder Brian McRae echoed Riggleman’s sentiments: “We got our butts whipped.”5 The Cubs failed to regroup and get back into first place again.

A month later the Braves took hold of first place and never relinquished it. They wound up with the best record (90-54) in the NL, carried largely by their pitching staff, which led the league in ERA and WHIP. While the Braves were second in the league in home runs, they finished second lowest in batting average and fifth lowest in on-base percentage.

Atlanta fulfilled the preseason prediction of a World Series appearance. The Braves lost only one game to the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS and then swept the Cincinnati Reds in the ALCS. Their defeat of the Cleveland Indians in the World Series was their only World Series championship from 1991 to 2005, when they won consecutive division titles (except for the strike year). Altogether they won five pennants in the 1990s. As such, they became known as the Team of the ’90s.

Sources

In addition to the sources listed in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the 1996 Atlanta Braves Media Guide.

Notes

1 Joseph A. Reaves. “June Not Kind to Cubs’ NL-Best Pitching Staff,” Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1995: Section 4, 3.

2 I.J. Rosenberg. “Braves Crank Up Power 17-3,” Atlanta Constitution, June 7, 1995: D1.

3 Rosenberg.

4 Reaves.

5 Reaves.

The Milwaukee Braves stood in third place, 42-32 and a game and a half out when play finished on July 3, 1957. They finished 95-59, eight games ahead, to win the National League pennant then beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.2

By the end of the 1990 season, the ebb and flow of mediocrity that had plagued the Braves since their move from Milwaukee to Atlanta left the team at with a 65-97 record in last place in the National League West Division. There was no place to go but up — and the 1991 Braves did just that, with a rejuvenating mix of veteran and young players. That team was 38-37 and 8½ games out at the close of play on July 3 before charging to a 94-68 record under reinstalled manager Bobby Cox to win the NL West divisional pennant by one game.3 They went on to nip the Pittsburgh Pirates four games to three in the NLCS, then fall to the Minnesota Twins by the same count in a World Series that many still count among the most exciting in baseball history.

The suddenly relevant Braves repeated as West Division champions in 1992 and 1993. But whatever the 1994 standings might have been will forever be an unsolvable mystery, as player-management discord resulted in a strike that stopped play after the August 11 games, wiped out the postseason, and extended into 1995 spring training.4

Baseball initially struggled through a farce of spring training with what ownership termed “replacement players” before the strike was settled by court injunction on March 31. Traditional spring training got a late start, which delayed the start of the 1995 regular season.5

Striving for a fourth straight divisional title, the 1995 Braves, now in the reconfigured National League East, initially had trouble getting traction.6 Yet they never fell below third place, and by June 25 had climbed back to second, but were still 4½ games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. But by June 29, an off day on which the Phillies lost, Atlanta was 2½ games back after a walk-off win at home against Montreal the night before. The Braves rolled into Philadelphia on Friday, June 30, for a four-game set that could set the tone for the rest of the divisional race.

The Braves’ division deficit was back to 3½ games when the Phillies’ Tyler Green outdueled John Smoltz on Friday night, 3-1. Then, the dominance of the Braves’ starting pitching asserted itself as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Steve Avery paced Atlanta to wins in the next three games. After Avery’s 10-4 win on July 3, the Braves were 38-25, had cut the margin to a half-game, and were on their way back home to meet the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, July 4.

The Phillies had an afternoon game that day in Pittsburgh. Despite Philadelphia’s heritage as the home of the Liberty Bell, they absorbed some cracks of their own, losing 7-0 to their cross-state rival Pirates. That evened the National League standings, giving the Braves an opportunity to move back into first place for the first time since May 7, when the Phillies had slipped past them.

On the Fourth, 49,104 fans filled Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for traditional holiday fireworks and to greet their team after the success in Philadelphia. The Dodgers were in their own pennant race; the Rockies had increased their lead in the NL West to one game with a win on Monday while the Dodgers were idle.

Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda tabbed 21-year-old righty Ismael Valdez, a second-year man, as his starter. Valdez sported a 2.53 ERA and had won five straight starts in June before losing his last outing, against the San Diego Padres on June 28. The fifth starter in Atlanta’s rotation, lefty Kent Mercker, was Bobby Cox’s choice. On paper the Dodgers appeared to have the best of it — Mercker’s ERA over 12 starts through June 28 was a pedestrian 4.68 on a starting staff featuring three future Hall of Famers in Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, along with 1991 National League Championship Series MVP Avery.

The pitchers dominated both halves of the first inning, getting all six outs on a total of 14 pitches. Valdez was especially effective, retiring the Braves on five, with an outfield assist by right fielder Raul Mondesi thwarting Chipper Jones’s attempt to stretch a single into a double. Mercker’s first-inning success evaporated in the second. Eric Karros ripped his first pitch into left field for a double, went to third base on Roberto Kelly’s sharp single up the middle, then scored on Mondesi’s sacrifice fly to center fielder Marquis Grissom. Mercker got some help when Kelly strayed far enough off first base for Grissom to double him up there as he tried to scramble back. That out saved a run when the next batter, Tim Wallach, homered to left to make it 2-0, Dodgers. Mercker then fanned Billy Ashley to escape further damage. The Braves responded, getting one run back in their half of the second on a solo home run down the right-field line by David Justice.

Los Angeles got runners as far as third base in each of the third and fourth innings, while Valdez kept the Braves in check until Ryan Klesko’s solo homer on an 0-and-2 pitch tied the game with two outs in the Atlanta seventh. Then, after Greg McMichael, who had replaced Mercker to open the seventh inning, and Brad Clontz, who replaced McMichael for the final two outs in the Dodgers’ eighth, kept the score knotted, Cox pulled managerial magic as the Braves batted in the their eighth. He used Dwight Smith to pinch-hit for number-eight hitter Rafael Belliard, who had done nothing with Valdez.

Smith worked a six-pitch walk. Pinch-hitter Mike Mordecai bunted him to second on the first pitch. Lasorda elected to intentionally walk Grissom to pitch to Jeff Blauser, who was in the midst of a prolonged slump.7 This time, Blauser got to a 3-and-2 count and broke his bat on Valdez’s seventh pitch, but managed to bloop the ball just out of reach of shortstop Jose Offerman as Smith roared home with the lead run. “I’ll take it. Texas Leaguers aren’t too bad. The past few days I hit a few balls hard and they didn’t fall in,” Blauser told writers.8

That run was enough to move the Braves into first place, as closer Mark Wohlers polished off Mondesi, Wallach, and pinch-hitter Dave Hansen on nine pitches to seal the win for Clontz.

It had indeed been another significant July 4 for the Braves franchise. Atlanta went on to win eight of their next nine games. By July 15 they were 21 games over .500 and led second-place Philadelphia by 6½ games in the division. The Braves cruised in first place the rest of the way, finished 90-54 with the shortened schedule, and won the 1995 NL East crown — their fourth straight — by a tidy 21-game margin. With that kind of dominance and the playoffs looming, another miracle might be in the offing.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for box scores, team and player pages, and game and season logs.

Notes

1 “Braves Ready to Fight for World Honors,” Boston Globe, October 4, 1914: 53.

2 The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 season. The franchise left Milwaukee for Atlanta after the 1965 season.

3 Cox, who had managed the Braves from 1978 through the 1981 season, took over from Russ Nixon on June 23, 1990.

4 The 1994 Braves stood 68-46 and in second place, six games behind the Montreal Expos in the new NL East, when the strike stopped play.

5 Gershon Rabinowitz, “Revisiting Replacement Players,” blog at Baseball Essential.com, posted March 15, 2015, accessed June 10, 2019. Major-league schedules were shortened to 144 games for 1995. The Braves didn’t open their regular season until April 26.

6 Beginning with the 1994 season, the National League reconfigured its divisional alignment with a new Central Division. Before the 1994 realignment, the East and West Divisions had seven teams each; as realigned, the East and new Central Divisions had five teams each, and the West had four. The Braves and Dodgers, former rivals in the West Division, were now in different divisions.

7 In the preceding Philadelphia series, Blauser had been 1-for-19. Jack Wilkinson, “Blauser Breaks Bat, Slump, Dodgers,” Atlanta Constitution, July 5, 1995: 25. He was hitting .222 going into this game, but had managed a single in the fourth inning. The hit was a nonfactor when Blauser was promptly erased on Jones’s double-play ball.

8 Wilkinson.

San Francisco arrived in Atlanta after splitting six games to start July. The Giants started the month just 1½ games behind the first place Colorado Rockies in the National League West Division. After losing the first two games of the series in Atlanta, the Giants had fallen to five games behind the Rockies. The Giants were hitting just .251, last in the National League.

Giants general manager Bob Quinn was trying to find a way to get the team back on track. He was preparing to attend the coming All-Star Game as part of his search for another pitcher to help a pitching staff that had been racked by injuries. “We’ve scored enough runs to win our share of games, but as is so often the case in baseball, our pitching hasn’t always caught up with our hitting,” Quinn said.1

Kent Mercker started the July 9 game for Atlanta. Mercker joined the Braves in 1990 and by 1995 he was the fifth pitcher in a rotation that included Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux. He entered the game with a 4-4 record. He had thrown well in his previous two starts but failed to pick up a win.

Mercker pitched solidly for the first four innings. He surrendered just one hit, a single to Mark Carreon in the second. The Giants reached base again in the fifth when Royce Clayton singled. Clayton put himself in scoring position when he stole second, but Mercker struck out Giants starting pitcher Terry Mulholland to end the threat.

Mulholland had won his first two starts in May but had struggled recently. He entered the game with a 2-7 record, having lost six times in his previous seven starts. His ERA over that time was 7.41.

Mulholland started shakily, giving up consecutive singles to Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff with two outs in the first. After walking David Justice to load the bases, Mulholland struck out Javy Lopez to end the inning.

After the first, Mulholland settled down and seemed to shake the mound struggles he had suffered over the past two months. He gave up just two more hits, groundball singles, over the next five innings while striking out six Braves. One of the hits was a second single by McGriff with two outs in the sixth. When Mulholland threw a wild pitch to Justice, the ball hit the backstop and bounced straight back to the catcher, who threw a dart to second to get McGriff and end the inning.

“That was probably the best that I’ve thrown in two years,” Mulholland said after the game. “My arm felt great, I had a good curve, fastball, slider, and I felt like I could pitch the ball where I wanted to. I actually had fun out there for six innings.2 Giants general manager Quinn was likely encouraged by his performance as well.

With the game scoreless, Mulholland was taken out for a pinch-hitter in the seventh when a walk and single put a Giant at third. Mercker gave up a single to Kirt Manwaring and walked Mike Benjamin. Giants manager Dusty Baker sent right-handed batter Rikkert Faneyte to hit for Mulholland against the lefty Mercker. Mercker struck him out on three pitches and then got Darren Lewis to fly out to center field to keep the game scoreless.

Braves skipper Bobby Cox replaced Mercker with Greg McMichael in the top of the eighth. Mercker had given up only four hits in one of his best performances of the season.

McMichael got the first two batters out. Glenallen Hill then singled through a hole in the left side of the infield. The next batter, Carreon, on a 3-and-1 count, hit a home run over the left-field wall to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

Shawn Barton who had replaced Mulholland in the seventh, pitched two perfect innings. With two outs in the Giants’ ninth, Barton was removed for pinch-hitter John Patterson as the Giants tried to build on their lead. Patterson singled and went to third when Lewis singled. Lewis stole second, but Braves reliever Mark Wohlers struck out Robby Thompson to end the threat.

In the bottom of the inning, Rod Beck came in to close out the game for the Giants. Beck walked leadoff batter Jeff Blauser. Jones then ripped the ball to center for a single. It was hit so hard that it looked for a moment that Lewis might catch it. This brought up McGriff. Beck threw him two splitters in the dirt and McGriff swung at them, missing by a wide margin.

Beck threw the next pitch higher, figuring that McGriff would be looking for another low pitch. McGriff was not and he connected on the pitch, sending it over the wall in dead center for a walk-off home run. “The pitch worked; it went down. He was waiting on it; he knew it was coming,” said Beck afterward.3

The walk-off homer was McGriff’s first round-tripper since June 21. “I was trying to push the runners over. The way that Lewis was going back, I thought that he had plenty of room. [The home run] is something to build on for the second half of the season. I haven’t had a great start so far,” McGriff said.

McGriff also noted that it was only his 11th home run of the season. “It hasn’t been a great year for me homer-wise,” he said. “It’s one of those things. Beck’s a great pitcher. If this was a month ago, this was a fly ball. Right now everything we do is working.”4

It was the first blown save for Beck since May 23. “I figured that I’d throw one for a strike, he figured that I’d throw one for a strike and he hit it out of the ballpark. It didn’t work out very well,” Beck said.5

The win made it nine in a row for the Braves. “That team over there, they believe they can’t lose any more,” Giants first baseman Carreon said.6 The win put the Braves up by four games over the Phillies. “We’re up four and that’s pretty good for this club,” said Cox, understating his team’s accomplishment.7

Blauser, the Braves shortstop, was more emphatic: “You never feel like you are out of it. That is a pretty good feeling to have.”8

As the Braves celebrated their victory and prepared for a few days off for the All-Star break, Baker shared his disappointment with the loss. It was the Giants’ 13th loss in 19 games. “This was a big game because we could have started the second half one game under .500 instead of three,” Baker commented. “It hurts you when you lose three games in three days. This is something that we’ll have to use as a source of hunger when we get back home.”9

The Braves lost when play resumed after the All-Star break, falling to the Pirates 2-1 in a makeup game in Pittsburgh. But they quickly put that loss behind them and won the first three games of a series against the Padres. The Braves finished July with a 20-7 record and an eight-game division lead over the Phillies.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for box-score, player, team, and season information as well as pitching and batting game logs, and other pertinent material.

Notes

1 Henry Schulman, “Giants Gone Fishing for Pitching,” San Francisco Examiner, July 10, 1995: 41.

2 Ibid.

3 I.J. Rosenberg, “McGriff HR in 9th Saves Braves,” Atlanta Constitution, July 10, 1995: 17.

4 Henry Schulman, “Giants Beat,” San Francisco Examiner, July 10, 1995: 45. McGriff finished the season with 27 home runs.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Rosenberg.

8 Ibid.

9 Schulman, “Giants Gone Fishing.”

A crowd of 24,613 turned out at Busch Stadium to see their beloved Cardinals, sporting what many considered the worst offense in baseball, take on the game’s stingiest pitcher, Greg Maddux. Before this series, the Cardinals had lost 16 of 19 games, dating back to July 27. In that stretch, they had scored more than four runs only twice, and they had been shut out four times. Atlanta had fared much better, winning 11 of 15 contests before visiting Busch Stadium, and although they weren’t scoring many runs, their pitching was holding opponents to even fewer tallies. Braves skipper Bobby Cox handed the ball to Maddux (12-2) to try to win the third game and stop the mini-skid. Maddux “had extra incentive as he took the mound.”3 In what could be termed bragging rights, he was facing his boyhood friend and Las Vegas neighbor,4 Cardinals starter Mike Morgan (4-6).

Maddux was hands-down the best pitcher in baseball. The ace of the Atlanta staff, he had won the last three Cy Young Awards in the National League. However, the right-hander had not pitched in 10 days, having missed his last start in Atlanta with a bad case of the flu. Morgan, on the other hand, was not having a great year. He had started the season with the Chicago Cubs, and came to St. Louis with minor leaguers Paul Torres and Francisco Morales in a June 16 trade for Todd Zeile and cash. Coming into this game, Morgan had lost his last three starts.

Maddux faced his toughest batter when Bernard Gilkey led off the bottom of the first. Gilkey worked a full count and fouled off a few more before flying out to right on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Maddux then threw just three more pitches to retire both Ozzie Smith and John Mabry.

Morgan had allowed a two-out single to Chipper Jones in the first and then a single to Charlie O’Brien and a walk to Mark Lemke in the second, before working out of the jam. The Braves broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the third. Marquis Grissom led off with a double and went to third base on Jeff Blauser’s sacrifice bunt. Jones came through with an RBI groundout to second, bringing Grissom home. In the fourth, Morgan gave up back-to-back singles to David Justice and Ryan Klesko to start the frame, but two grounders led to a double play and the third out, and the score remained 1-0 in favor of Atlanta.

No St. Louis batter reached until Maddux allowed a leadoff single up the middle to Brian Jordan to start the bottom of the fifth. Jordan stole second base, but Maddux stranded him there, striking out Ray Lankford and getting David Bell and Scott Cooper. A leadoff double by Danny Sheaffer opened the bottom of the sixth, but Maddux turned him into an LOB statistic by retiring the next three Cardinals hitters. He had thrown 64 pitches through the first six innings.

Morgan and Maddux sent opposing batters back to the respective dugouts. According to the Atlanta Constitution, “The Braves needed a shutout, considering how they were shut down by Cardinals right-hander Mike Morgan.”5 Despite a rocky start, Morgan faced the minimum in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. Maddux finished the game stronger than how he began. He sent the first 12 batters he faced back to the dugout, “as well as the last dozen.”6

Tony Fossas relieved Morgan to pitch the ninth and Fred McGriff greeted him with a double to center. Justice then launched a fly to deep left for the first out. McGriff tried to advance after the catch, but Gilkey threw a strike to Cooper at third, who tagged out the sliding McGriff for a double play. Klesko grounded out and the Cardinals were down to their last inning. It took Maddux just seven pitches (the third such inning in which he economically used only seven pitches) to get his three foes, and the game was over. Atlanta had prevailed, 1-0.

Morgan got 18 groundball outs in his eight innings of work. When asked after the game about his competition with Maddux, Morgan kept it all in perspective. “I wasn’t pitching against Maddux, I was pitching against the Atlanta Braves. I kept my club in the game and gave us a chance to win. I did my job. That’s the best I can do.”7 Cardinals interim manager Mike Jorgensen praised his starter, Morgan, saying, “Gutsy performance all the way. He did a heck of a job, just got bested by a little bit.”8 The Cardinals suffered their 15th shutout of the season. The next day, Cincinnati came to St. Louis and the Cardinals won in walk-off fashion, starting a stretch in which they won six of seven games, rising out of the bottom of the standings. Another six-game win streak in September put them in fourth place to stay.

After the game, Maddux told reporters, “That is as good as I can pitch. It’s nice to be able to say that. Usually there’s something that could have been better.”9 Only two Cardinals batters had full counts. Regarding his missed start, Maddux said, “I think the time off did me a lot of good. I felt strong. I felt like spring training.”10 Cox’s Braves used Maddux’s victory as confidence to reel off six more victories, but although they had won seven in a row, they gained only a game and a half in the standings. A strong September helped the Braves finish the season with a record of 90-54.

Jorgensen had praise for Maddux, too, saying, “When he gets in a jam, he pitches better, which is unbelievable.”11 He added, “He’s a master, he puts every pitch almost exactly where he wants to. That’s one tough guy to go up against.”12

The 1-hour, 50-minute game was the shortest in the majors to this point of the season. In earning his 13th victory of the year, Maddux threw just 88 pitches, 66 for strikes. Maddux tied Cincinnati Reds hurler Pete Schourek for the NL lead in victories. Since May 23, Maddux was 11-1 with a 1.53 earned-run average. More amazingly, in his last 16 road starts (dating back to the 1994 season), Maddux’s record was 15-0 with a sub-one (0.96) ERA.

Maddux made such quick work of the Cardinals that the team had to wait in the locker room before heading out of St. Louis. According to the Springfield News-Leader, “the Atlanta Braves’ team plane was in another city when (Maddux) got the last out.”13 The plane had been delayed by thunderstorms in Atlanta.

Maddux had seven more starts in the 1995 season. He went 6-0, raising his record to 19-2 and lowering his earned-run average to 1.63, the best in baseball. His 19 wins (and .905 winning percentage) were also tops in baseball,14 and his 209⅔ innings pitched, 10 complete games, and three shutouts led the senior circuit.15 He was rewarded at the end of the season by a unanimous selection for his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. (He received all 28 first-place votes.) Schourek finished a distant second in the voting for the league’s best pitcher.

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the Notes, the author consulted baseball-reference.com and retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 The game-time temperature was 87 degrees Fahrenheit.

2 Atlanta was in the National League East Division, while St. Louis was in the NL Central Division.

3 Dan O’Neill, “Maddux Doesn’t Take Long to Short-circuit Cards 1-0,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 21, 1995: 15.

4 O’Neill.

5 I.J. Rosenberg, “Get Well (vs.) Cards: 2-Hitter for Maddux,” Atlanta Constitution, August 21, 1995: 27.

6 Rosenberg.

7 O’Neill.

8 “Maddux Masterful in St. Louis,” Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader, August 21, 1995: 27.

9 Rosenberg.

10 Rosenberg.

11 Rosenberg.

12 “Maddux Masterful in St. Louis.”

13 “Maddux Masterful in St. Louis.”

14 Baltimore’s Mike Mussina also had 19 wins in 1995.

15 Dodgers rookie Hideo Nomo also recorded three shutouts in 1995.

Greg Maddux pitched for the Braves. He had not pitched in Denver in 1995 although he had pitched there in 1993 and 1994. Pitching in Denver is challenging since pitches move (or don’t move) differently in the mile-high air. Maddux finished the regular season with a major-league-leading 19-2 record and 1.63 ERA. However, one of those losses was his only game against the Rockies (May 17), one of his worst games of the year.

The Rockies sent Kevin Ritz to the mound. His regular-season stats were pedestrian: 11-11 record, 4.21 ERA. However, he had pitched four perfect relief innings against the Braves on September 12.

The game started with Marquis Grissom fouling off several pitches, then grounding out to the shortstop. Mark Lemke lined into right for a single. Chipper Jones, the Atlanta rookie third baseman, was up next. Unlike the other regulars, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox had kept Chipper playing after September 13 to keep him sharp. This was his first postseason appearance. It was not particularly impressive: He grounded into a double play to end the top of the first.

Maddux had little trouble with the Rockies: Eric Young grounded out, then Joe Girardi singled into center. But that was all for the Rockies: Dante Bichette and Larry Walker grounded out.

The top of the second started normally enough: Fred McGriff grounded out to third, then David Justice singled into center. Ryan Klesko hit a dribbler toward the pitcher. Ritz’s throw went by first baseman Andrés Galarraga as Klesko ran past first. Galarraga retrieved the ball and tagged Klesko, who was called out by first-base umpire Jerry Layne. Klesko had not made an obvious turn toward second: He had barely kicked up some chalk dust running past the bag. Cox came out to “state his case” to Layne rather vociferously, but avoided getting tossed. Justice had advanced to third on the bad throw but was left there when Charlie O’Brien grounded out.

The bottom of the second was over on seven pitches. Galarraga grounded out, then Ellis Burks singled but was erased when Vinny Castilla grounded into a double play.

The Braves got on the board first: After Jeff Blauser and Maddux grounded out, Grissom hit a hanging slider just over the fence in center, 415 feet from home plate. Lemke flied out with the score 1-0, Atlanta.

Walt Weiss opened the bottom of the third by tapping back to Maddux, who bobbled the ball but got the out at first. Ritz (.188 BA) hit a slow roller toward second, almost beating the throw. Young hit a standup double into center past the diving center fielder. O’Brien paid a visit to the mound, perhaps just to give his pitcher a break: Maddux hadn’t had a strikeout yet, unusual for a pitcher with a 7.8K/9 ratio in the regular season. Girardi battled but grounded to first to end the inning.

The Braves threatened again in the top of the fourth. Chipper lined out, but a single by McGriff and a walk to Justice put two on with one out. But Ritz struck out Klesko and O’Brien to end the threat.

The Rockies took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Bichette grounded out, Walker walked. Galarraga’s single sent Walker to third, then Burks’s sacrifice fly brought him home (although he had to jump over the catcher after touching home plate to avoid a collision). Castilla then homered: 3-1, Rockies. Weiss flied out to end the inning.

Blauser opened the fifth with a strikeout. Maddux’s hit deflected off third baseman Castilla’s glove — right to shortstop Weiss, who made the throw in time for the out. Grissom grounded to Castilla, who couldn’t handle the ball: He didn’t even try a throw. Ritz tried several times to pick Grissom off but to no avail: Grissom probably had second stolen, but Lemke was caught looking for the third out. In the bottom of the fifth, Maddux allowed a single to Young, who was then erased on a double play.

Chipper hit Ritz’s first pitch in the sixth for a home run. After McGriff flied out, Justice walked. Klesko singled and Burks misplayed the ball, allowing Justice to take third. With Ritz at 102 pitches, Rockies manager Don Baylor changed pitchers to side-arming Steve Reed. Luis Polonia hit a groundball toward third: The Rockies got the force out at second but couldn’t turn a double play as the ball was hit too slowly. With Blauser batting, Polonia stole second, then took third on a bad throw by Girardi. After two more pitches, the Rockies intentionally walked Blauser to pitch to Maddux. The strategy worked as he struck out with the score tied, 3-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies got two singles, but one was erased on a double play and the other was left on base when Burks grounded out.

Reed continued pitching the seventh. Grissom was credited with a double when center fielder Burks dived but couldn’t hold the ball. Lemke bunted up the third-base line. Reed grabbed the ball and got the out at third. That was all for Reed. He gave way to Bruce Ruffin, who got Chipper to ground into another double play.

Castilla also opened the home half of the seventh by doubling into center. He was replaced by pinch-runner Trent Hubbard. Maddux hit Weis with the first pitch. Pinch-hitter Jason Bates was ruled not to have been hit by the pitch while bunting, although the slow-motion replay showed the ball hitting his hand. He grounded out, advancing the runners. Atlanta intentionally walked Young. Pinch-hitter John Vander Wal tapped back to the mound: Atlanta was able to get a “home and first” double play to end the inning and keep the score tied. That ended Maddux’s night at 85 pitches with no strikeouts, somewhat unusual for him. During the last two innings the Colorado mascot, Dinger, had been bouncing up and down behind home plate doing his best (worst?) to distract the pitcher.

Mike Munoz took over the pitching for Colorado in the top of the eighth. He got McGriff and Justice out, but then was replaced by Darren Holmes after Klesko singled. Javy López and pinch-hitter Dwight Smith both singled as well, scoring Klesko: 4-3, Atlanta. Another pinch-hitter, Mike Devereaux, flied out to center.

Atlanta’s new pitcher, Greg McMichael, started by walking Bichette. Walker singled to right. Bichette took third when right fielder Justice bobbled the ball. Galarraga’s hit down the third-base line was grabbed by a diving Chipper, who got the force out at second. Atlanta’s next pitcher, Alejandro Peña, gave up a double to Burks on the first pitch, tying the game at 4-4. After Jayhawk Owens struck out, Weiss was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bates battled but flied out to end the eighth with the score still tied.

Curtis Leskanic started out well in the top of the ninth, getting Grissom and Lemke to ground out. Chipper took two balls, then hit his second homer of the game. McGriff struck out but the damage had been done: Atlanta led, 5-4.

Mark Wohlers, with his 100-MPH-plus pitches, took the mound for Atlanta. Young grounded out, then Mike Kingery and Bichette singled. Walker walked to load the bases. Galarraga struck out (not surprising since he led the league in strikeouts). With all the pitching changes and double switches, Colorado found itself out of bench players so sent Lance Painter,2 a relief pitcher, to the plate. As might be expected from a player with four strikeouts in nine at-bats for the year, he struck out to end the game.

Chipper Jones, just beginning his Hall of Fame career, was the hero of the night for Atlanta on both offense and defense despite grounding into two double plays. Greg Maddux, even without having his usual swing-and-miss stuff in this game, went on to postseason success3 — and the Hall of Fame.

The Rockies’ postseason ended quickly: they won only one NLDS game, in Atlanta. Atlanta went on to beat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in six games.

Sources

In addition to the source cited in the Notes, the author consulted the recorded game on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=JymlAJarzB8, as well as Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Not everyone was a fan of the shorter series format. Braves GM John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox both wanted a seven-game series. Tim Tucker, “Baseball is better suited to a best-of-seven playoffs,” Atlanta Constitution, October 4, 1995: D5.

2 Painter had one previous pinch-hit appearance, May 6, 1995. He walked. His career BA was .175 in 51 PA.

3 He pitched two games in the 1995 World Series with a 1-1 record.

During the first three wins against the Reds, the Braves managed to limit the strengths of the Reds’ offense: the ability to hit home runs (third in the NL) and steal bases (first). Future Hall of Fame starting pitchers Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux, aided by relievers Greg McMichael, Alejandro Pena, and Mark Wohlers, had held the Reds to five runs. The Reds hadn’t hit a home run in the series and were prevented from stealing bases in two of the games.

With his team down three games to none, including two extra-inning games the Reds could have won, manager Davey Johnson expressed concern before the fourth game that the players had been pressing too hard.1 They had finished second in the league in runs scored and slugging percentage, so they weren’t accustomed to being held to meager offensive production.

While Braves manager Bobby Cox considered starting Glavine again in Game Four, he settled on left-hander Avery, who had just completed the worst season (7-13, 4.67 ERA) since his rookie year in 1990. Although he had shown improvement in his last three regular-season starts, Avery was still dropped from the rotation for the NLDS against Colorado. He made two brief relief appearances. However, Avery was no stranger to the playoffs, having been named the MVP of the 1991 NLCS against Pittsburgh and having started four World Series games in 1991 and 1992. Before the fourth contest against the Reds, Avery said, “I really wanted to pitch in this series. I’ve been throwing the ball well for the last couple of weeks and I feel I am ready.”2

Devereaux, who had been acquired from the Chicago White Sox six weeks before to serve as a platoon player, got the start in right field in place of David Justice, who had reinjured his knee in batting practice. Devereaux had also gotten starts in left field in Games Two and Three in order to get another righty (instead of Ryan Klesko) in the lineup against Reds lefties.

Left-hander Pete Schourek got the start for the Reds. He had pitched well against the Braves in Game One, yielding only one run on six hits in 8⅓ innings, while striking out eight in a no-decision. He had been 18-7 with a 3.22 ERA during the regular season and would finish as runner-up for the Cy Young Award.

Steve Bedrosian, the Braves relief pitcher who had been released in August, returned to the Atlanta stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. A favorite of Braves fans, he had two stints with them during his 14-year career, 1981-1985 and 1993-1995.

Avery and Schourek were locked in a duel for the first six innings. The only score came in the bottom of the third when Mark Lemke drove in the Braves’ first run with a single that scored Rafael Belliard. Lemke’s hit came at an opportune time, considering that he had gotten only six hits in 34 plate appearances in the previous playoff games. The run would turn out to be the only one the Braves needed.

Schourek gave up eight hits, but had only one other difficult inning, the fifth, when he worked out of a bases-loaded jam.

Avery demonstrated that he was indeed ready for the Reds as he predicted. He struck out six and gave up only two hits and three walks in his six innings. He allowed only one runner past first base.

McMichael replaced Avery in the top of the seventh with his third relief appearance and retired the side in order. The reliever had already picked up a save and a win in the two extra-inning games.

Michael Jackson relieved Schourek in the seventh and immediately ran into trouble. Grissom led off with a triple and scored on a passed ball with Fred McGriff at bat. Devereaux came through with a three-run homer to widen the lead to 5-0. His excitable sprint around the bases didn’t give Braves fans much time to savor the moment.3 The Braves’ final score came on Luis Polonia’s infield single off Dave Burba that scored Lopez.

Pena and Wohlers closed out the eighth and ninth innings for the Braves to complete the shutout and clinch the National League pennant for the fourth time in five seasons.

The Braves’ pitching staff had led the league in ERA and WHIP during the regular season. They were again outstanding throughout the series as they recorded a 1.15 ERA and 1.026 WHIP. Atlanta turned eight double plays in the series, including three in the final game.

Devereaux’s performance earned him the Championship Series MVP Award. It was the only time he was recognized with such an honor during his 12-year major-league career.

Reds first baseman Hal Morris offered his explanation of the rout of his usually powerful team: “They’re definitely a cut above anyone else in our league and probably in baseball. I’m just amazed we didn’t score more runs. Some of it was bad luck, but the majority of it was the excellent job their pitching staff did.”4

The Braves were the first team to sweep a Championship Series since the best-of-seven format began in 1985. The Atlanta Constitution referred to Cincinnati as the “Big Dead Machine” for being swept.5 This was a takeoff of the Big Red Machine label they earned during their dynasty seasons in the 1970s.

Reds manager Johnson had high praise for his opponent, saying, “This is the strongest team they’ve had in the last few years. It is the best bullpen they’ve had since I can remember. Everybody knows about their starting pitchers and they are pitching better than they have ever pitched. They’ve held a very explosive club under two runs per game.”6 Johnson, whom the Reds’ front office planned to replace as manager by Ray Knight the next season, called his team “the best bunch of guys I’ve ever had to manage.” He added, “The future looks bright for Cincinnati, with or without me.”7

In a raucous clubhouse after the game, Braves owner Ted Turner celebrated as champagne was poured over his head while his players danced around him.8 The celebration wouldn’t end there. The Braves went on to win the World Series in six games against the Cleveland Indians. The only two previous Braves franchise World Series championships had come when the team was located in Boston in 1914 and Milwaukee in 1957.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the following:

Glyer, Ray.  “Devereaux Trades Bench for MVP,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1995: C2.

Tucker, Tim. “These Braves Better than Teams of ’91, ’92,” Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1995: E5.

Notes

1 Thomas Stinson. “‘Nervous’ Reds Went Into Offensive Doldrums at Wrong Time,” Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1995: E6.

2 Jack Nicholson. “Tradition Continues: Avery Shines in NLCS,” Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1995: E4.

3 Allene Voisine. “Devereaux Latest Hero in Braves Playoff Lore,” Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1995: E5.

4 Chris Haft. “No Runs, Three hits, Goodbye,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1995: C1.

5 I.J. Rosenberg. “Avery, Devereaux Shine in 6-0 Finale,” Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1995: E1.

6 Stinson.

7 Rory Glynn. “Shut Out, Sent Home,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1995: A1.

8 Rosenberg.

When Maddux took the mound on October 21, 1995, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, it had been 728 days since the last World Series game. The players’ strike and subsequent owners’ lockout had canceled the 1994 World Series and delayed the start of the 1995 regular season, alienating many fans in the process. The raucous crowds that greeted the Braves and brought Atlanta to a standstill during their first two World Series trips in 1991 and ’92 were nowhere to be found; the city greeted its third National League pennant with skeptical restraint.1

In Cleveland the mood was much more festive as 50,000 fans gathered for a pep rally downtown2 before the World Series opener. The Indians’ 100-win season and their first American League pennant since 1954 captivated a fan base that had waited a long time for success. The last time the Indians had won it all, back in 1948, the Braves played their home games in Boston.

All eyes were on Maddux, baseball’s best pitcher, who was soon to win his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young Award after posting a dominant 19-2 record with a 1.63 ERA. His 260 ERA+, which compares his ERA relative to the league average, ranks as the fifth-best in major-league history. But after signing with the Braves as a free agent in 1993, Maddux had struggled in October, bringing a 5.57 career postseason ERA into Game One.3

No one questioned Maddux’s counterpart on the mound when it came to postseason pedigree. Orel Hershiser had never lost a game in the playoffs (7-0, 1.47 ERA) and was coming off a dominant ALCS against the Seattle Mariners in which he captured MVP honors. When asked how he was able to raise his game in October, the 37-year-old right-hander said, “It’s that nervousness, that little extra edge, like little butterflies. It’s always a constant reminder that something special is going on.”4

The Indians also brought one of the most potent offenses in baseball history to Atlanta. Powered by Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, and Eddie Murray, the Tribe led all major-league teams in hits, runs, home runs, slugging, and on-base percentage in 1995. With seven .300 hitters in the Indians’ lineup for Game One, they were so loaded that future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield — who had driven in the World Series-winning run for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Braves in 1992 — was left off the postseason roster.

Within minutes of Maddux’s first pitch, Kenny Lofton, Cleveland’s speedy leadoff hitter, manufactured the first run of the World Series by reaching on an error, stealing second and third base, and scoring on a groundout by Carlos Baerga. The Braves got the run back on Fred McGriff’s long home run, 436 feet deep into the right-center-field seats, to lead off the second inning. Then the game settled into a tight pitching duel between the two aces.

The Indians broke up Maddux’s no-hitter on a single by Thome with one out in the fifth inning, but they could not break the 1-1 tie. Meanwhile, the Braves could not break through against Hershiser, either. Only one Atlanta baserunner had advanced into scoring position, back in the first inning, but shortstop Omar Vizquel made a diving stop of Chipper Jones’s line drive to start a double play and end the threat. Through six innings, Hershiser had allowed three hits and Maddux only one. But Vizquel’s Gold Glove-winning hands failed him in the game’s most critical moment.

After walking the first two hitters in the seventh, a frustrated Hershiser took himself out of the game after 101 pitches. “Orel was pitching well,” Indians manager Mike Hargrove said. “There was no indication he had run out of gas. … He caught us off-guard, he caught us by surprise.”5

Reliever Paul Assenmacher’s control wasn’t much better, as he loaded the bases with a walk to Mike Devereaux. Julian Tavarez came on to face pinch-hitter Luis Polonia, who hit a soft grounder up the middle that was misplayed by Vizquel. He was still juggling the baseball when he stepped on second base to force out Devereaux, but McGriff came home with the go-ahead run to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Manager Bobby Cox argued with umpire Bruce Froemming to overturn the call at second base, hoping to keep the bases loaded and play for a big inning. When Cox returned to the dugout, he called for a small-ball strategy instead. Rafael Belliard perfectly executed a squeeze bunt, bringing home David Justice with the Braves’ third run. Not a single ball left the infield in the entire inning.

Maddux mowed down the heart of the Indians’ order in the eighth, dispatching Thome and Ramirez on easy groundballs and inducing Sandy Alomar Jr. to pop out to first base. In the ninth, the Indians threatened briefly — thanks again to the speed of Kenny Lofton. With one out, he sliced a single to left field for the Indians’ second hit of the game. He boldly tried to advance to third base on Vizquel’s groundout and scored when McGriff’s throw across the diamond skipped past Chipper Jones. But Maddux retired Baerga on a foul popup to Jones to end the game and give the Braves a 3-2 win.

Maddux threw 95 pitches, 63 for strikes. It was only the 11th recorded instance in World Series history that a pitcher threw a complete game in fewer than 100 pitches; no one has done it since Maddux.6 He allowed just four balls to reach the outfield and faced three batters over the minimum.

“I don’t think you will ever see anyone pitch better than you saw Greg Maddux pitch tonight,” Hargrove said. “He just dominated that game.”7

Maddux’s teammate, John Smoltz, called it a “masterpiece,” adding, “One thing [is] for sure: He put to rest the tag that he can’t pitch in the postseason. I don’t think he’ll ever have to hear that again.”8

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted box scores and play-by-play at Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL199510210.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1995/B10210ATL1995.htm

Notes

1 Charmagne Helton, “No Clean-Up or Festivities for Downtown,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 22, 1995: E9; Bill Torpy, “City Begins to Don a Series Game Face,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 22, 1995: E11.

2 Jim Auchmutey, “Baseball’s Old Maid,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 21, 1995: D10.

3 Greg Maddux, Postseason Pitching Game Log, Baseball-Reference.com, baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=maddugr01&t=p&year=0&post=1. Two of Maddux’s seven postseason starts were with the Chicago Cubs in 1989.

4 David Falkner, “Postseason Traumatic Shock Syndrome,” The Sporting News, October 23, 1995: 17.

5 Ross Newhan, “Hershiser Walks Out on Indians at Crucial Moment,” Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1995: C12.

6 Bret Saberhagen of the 1985 Royals was the most recent pitcher before Maddux to accomplish the feat. See https://stathead.com/tiny/nl5fu.

7 I.J. Rosenberg, “Game 1’s a Maddux 2-hitter,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 22, 1995: E1.

8 Phil Sheridan, “Maddux Weaves Some Game 1 Magic,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 22, 1995: D1.

After all, he was on the mound during the franchise’s leanest years, leading the National League in losses in 1988. He was on the mound for the Braves’ dramatic turnaround in 1991, winning the NL’s Cy Young Award for the first time. And he was on the mound in 1995 when major-league players returned to the field after a costly labor dispute that had canceled the previous year’s World Series. Throughout the season, Glavine was booed by the hometown fans for his outspoken role as a representative for the players union.

As the longest tenured player on the Braves World Series roster,1 Glavine had seen it all. On their shared car ride to the ballpark the previous day, teammate Greg Maddux told him “how glad he was that I was getting a chance to win it, that I deserved it, the fact that I had been here longer than anybody. … A lot of people have come up to me and said this is the perfect game for me to pitch. Certainly, this is a unique opportunity,” Glavine said.2

If all eyes were on the Braves’ starting pitcher, their fans’ ears were all tuned in to David Justice. The star right fielder made headlines on the morning of Game Six with a controversial rant about the lack of support from Atlanta’s home crowds during the fall classic:

“What happens if we don’t win? When’s the parade then? They’ll run us out of Atlanta. … If we don’t win, they’ll probably burn our houses down. … If we get down 1-0 tonight, they will probably boo us out of the stadium. You have to do something great to get them out of their seats. … I’m the only guy that will sit here and say it, but there are a lot of people that feel this way.”3

Glavine was far more diplomatic, pointing out that Indians fans in Cleveland were giddy about snapping their 41-year World Series drought and that Braves fans had been just as enthusiastic a few years earlier: “I don’t think it’s fair to expect our fans to be the same as in 1991. … You can’t recapture that,” he said.4

If Justice’s intention was to fire up the sellout crowd of 51,875 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, he certainly accomplished his goal. He was loudly booed during player introductions and one fan behind home plate held up a sign that read, “Justice, hope your bat is as big as your mouth!”

The biggest bats in baseball belonged to the Cleveland Indians, who led the major leagues in nearly every offensive category during the regular season. Their .291 batting average was the highest by any team since the 1950 Boston Red Sox. After beating Maddux in Game Five, the Indians returned to Atlanta with a confident outlook. Glavine took it personally when some Cleveland players said they had already beaten the Braves’ best pitcher.5

On a crisp 56-degree night, Glavine coolly dispatched the Indians from the moment he took the mound in Game Six, holding the Tribe hitters helpless with his trademark circle changeup. Through the first five innings, he didn’t allow a hit at all. His only blemishes were two walks to Albert Belle, Cleveland’s powerful cleanup hitter.

Home-plate umpire Joe Brinkman, who had never called a Glavine start during the regular season,6 said the Braves left-hander lived up to his reputation for making hitters chase outside pitches.

“Tommy had a lot of pop on the outside corner,” Brinkman said. “He just kept popping guys, outside, outside, outside. … He can lull you to sleep out there and finally, as an umpire, you have to say, ‘Okay, that’s as much as you’re going to get out there.’ … It was the most masterful performance.”7   

Tony Peña finally ended Glavine’s bid for a no-hitter to lead off the sixth inning, poking a soft single to right-center field. But Glavine worked around the base hit to keep the game scoreless.

Meanwhile, the Braves could do little damage against Indians starter Dennis Martínez. The 41-year-old right-hander from Nicaragua flirted with danger, allowing four hits and five walks in 4⅔ innings, but Atlanta could not push any runs across. Justice began a two-out rally in the fourth inning with a double to left-center and the Braves quickly loaded the bases, but weak-hitting Rafael Belliard flied out to end the rally.  

Justice had been virtually invisible in the postseason, with no extra-base hits and just five RBIs entering Game Six. As he stepped up to the plate to lead off the sixth inning, Braves fans were ready to forgive him for his critical pregame statements if he could help deliver the city’s first World Series championship.

Facing a tough left-handed reliever in Jim Poole — who had played college baseball just a few miles north at Georgia Tech — Justice drove a 1-and-1 fastball deep into the right-field seats. The ballpark erupted in a pent-up display of emotion and fans showered love on their outspoken outfielder. On NBC’s television broadcast, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan quipped, “It’s okay to talk the talk if you can walk the walk.”8

“I have never felt that much pressure in any game I’ve played in my life,” Justice said. “Nor do I think I ever will again.”9

With a 1-0 lead, Glavine looked nearly invincible. He cruised through the seventh and eighth innings, allowing just three walks and the single to Peña on 109 pitches. But his shoulder stiffened up when the Braves’ offense spent a long time at the plate in the seventh (again failing to score after loading the bases). When manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Leo Mazzone asked Glavine how he felt before the ninth inning, he told them he was tired and getting away with a lot of mistakes. Cox decided to bring in fireballing closer Mark Wohlers to finish the game.  

“It says a lot for the relationship we have with Tommy, that he would be able to come to us in that spot and tell us the truth,” Cox said. “So many other pitchers would have said nothing. … Those who weren’t true to themselves in a situation like that, how would they be able to stomach it if they’d blown it?”10

After struggling to connect with Glavine’s changing speeds for eight innings, the Indians had little chance against Wohlers’ 100-mph fastballs. Wohlers had emerged as a reliable stopper out of the bullpen, which had long been the Braves’ biggest downfall in their disappointing postseason runs since 1991. He set down Kenny Lofton, Paul Sorrento, and Carlos Baerga in order in the ninth. When center fielder Marquis Grissom ran down Baerga’s fly ball and squeezed it in his glove for the final out, Atlanta could finally celebrate its long-awaited championship.

No one was happier than the left-handed pitcher who had been with the Braves since the beginning, through the last-place seasons of the 1980s, two heartbreaking World Series defeats, and the player strike that turned some hometown fans against him.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Glavine, who was honored as the World Series MVP after throwing the first one-hitter in a World Series game since Boston’s Jim Lonborg in 1967.

“The first time we saw Glavine I wondered how this guy had won so many games. Now I know,” Baerga said.11

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Jeff Blauser, like Glavine, made his debut with the Braves in 1987 but he did not play in the 1995 World Series due to a leg injury suffered in a collision with the Reds’ Hal Morris during the NLCS. 

2 I.J. Rosenberg, “It’s Glavine’s Turn for the Clincher,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 28, 1995: D4.

3 I.J. Rosenberg, “Justice Takes a Rip at Braves Fans,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 28, 1995: D1.

4 Rosenberg, “Justice Takes a Rip at Braves Fans.”

5 Gordon Edes, “Bravo for Braves — Finally,” South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 29, 1995: 4C.

6 As an American League umpire, Brinkman’s only prior experience calling Glavine’s pitches was in the 1991 All-Star Game in Toronto.

7 Tom Glavine with Nick Cafardo, None But the Braves: A Pitcher, A Team, A Champion (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), 8.

8 Prentis Rogers, “Justice Stole the Show with Controversy, Bat,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 29, 1995: E7.

9 Jayson Stark, “A Deciding Game That Lived Up to Its Predecessors,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 1995: C4.

10 Glavine, 2.

11 Paul Hoynes, “Oh, So Close,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 29, 1995, accessed online at cleveland.com/tribe/2015/10/1995_world_series_game_6_atlan.html on December 29, 2019.