Bobby Cox as a player (1967)

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1967, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Clete Boyer, Graig Nettles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankee

Bobby Cox New York Yankee – 1967

Bobby Cox played with Mickey Mantle. They were both from Oklahoma. I wish I could have played with Mickey. How cool that would have been? I am thinking he learned some stuff from that. It was Mickey’s last season as a Yankee.

He also played with Clete Boyer and Graig Nettles. That was on the Yankees in 1967. He played there two seasons after being traded from the Dodgers (he never actually played for them). He mostly played third base. He had bad knees though. After the Yankees, he was acquired by the Braves. He never actually ended up playing for them though.

And so, he was destined to be a coach.

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Bobby was right even though he was fired (1981)

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1981, 1982, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre

Bobby Cox – Manager – Atlanta Braves

It is hard to believe that Bobby Cox was fired but in 1981 it happened. And so, Joe Torre took the helm in 1982 for his first season. In fact, when Bobby was fired, he said “Believe me, this team is awfully close.”

And so they were. Under Joe, in 1982, they came to a 89-73 season ending first in the West. They ended one game ahead but that is all they needed.

So, was Bobby right or was Joe just that good? My guess is it was both. Bobby had a huge sense of building for the future. When he would return as manager, that is what he would do. And it would pay off.

It was the Big Train year (1913)

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1913, Big Train, Walter Johnson, Washington Senators

The Boston Braves finished fifth in 1913. It was the year for the “Big Train” (a life long player for the Washington Senators. Walter Johnson went 36-7 and won the “pitching triple crown”. Walter has been thought of as the greatest right hander ever. It was the best season of his career.

In addition to going 36-7, he led the AL in wins, had an ERA of 1.09, strikeouts of 243. He is one of only six AL pitchers to win the triple crown. His ERA is the third lowest of all time. He had 11 shutouts and 55 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

What can I do? 18 years in the making! (April 7, 2010)

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2010, April 17, Atlanta Braves, No Hitter, Turner Field, Ubaldo Jimenez

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies finally got a no hitter on April 17, 2010. It was 18 long seasons to get there. Unfortunately, it was against the Atlanta Braves at home. Ubaldo Jimenez bowed his head and raised his arms in fittingly quiet celebration, as joyful noise broke out around him at the end. Jimenez always had been a quiet, regal sort who lets his fastball, which often reaches triple digits and rarely travels at less than 96 mph, causes others to shout. And shout they did, after he completed the first no-hitter in the Rockies‘ 18-year history, a 4-0 victory over the Braves at Turner Field.

“Before the ninth, I was like, ‘What can I do? I’m going to ask God to give me strength to keep going,‘ ” Jimenez said. “Keep pounding the strike zone, make them swing the bat, and it could probably happen. “It was a long way to get to the ninth inning”

The slip and a tragedy for Charlie Bennett (1894)

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1894, Boston Beaneaters, Charlie Bennett, Frank Selee, January 9, South End Grounds

The slip began. It wasn’t a huge slide, but the Boston Beaneaters (now known as the Atlanta Braves) dropped to third in 1894. They had won the pennant the year before. They ended up 83-49 and eight games behind under Frank Selee as the manager that year. Frank Selee served as manager from 1890 to 1901.

Charlie Bennett

They had been favored to win in 1894. Not in the cards at all though. It ended up being a very tragic season. It started out with a stunning accident to Charlie Bennett. He was a very good catcher.

He lost both legs on January 9th when he fell under the wheels of a train in Kansas. The loss set the tone for a very bad year for the Braves. Bennett returned each year to his home in Detroit for the off-season, and also traveled with his dog to Williamsburg, Kansas, for extended hunting trips. In 1894, Bennett was joined on his annual hunting trip by pitcher John Clarkson. On January 10, 1894, Bennett’s legs were crushed by a Santa Fe Railroad passenger train in Wellsville, Kansas, while traveling from Kansas City to Williamsburg.

Bennett stepped off the train to talk to an old friend who lived in Kansas and whom Bennett had arranged to greet when the train stopped at Wellsville. It was raining, and the platform was wet. When the train started moving, Bennett “swung around to catch the railing,” but his foot slipped, and his left foot went over the rail. Bennett pushed his right leg against the rail to push himself back, but it also slipped and went over the track. The train’s wheels ran over his left foot and right leg at the knee.

That evening, doctors at the North Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Kansas, amputated Bennett’s left leg just above the ankle and his right leg just above the knee. In June 1894, he was fitted with artificial limbs, but his baseball career was over. In August 1894, a benefit to raise money for Bennett was held at Boston’s South End Grounds; the event included a baseball game between the Boston team and a team of collegiate players as well as foot races and other attractions. The boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett attended and briefly played in left field with the Boston team. The benefit was attended by nearly 9,000 people and raised $6,000 for Bennett. Bennett walked to home plate during the event, aided by crutches and artificial limbs, and bowed to the crowd “until the grounds fairly shook with cheers.”

Baseball is a game of second chances (1940)

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Billy Southworth, Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals

Billy Southworth

Billy Southworth got a second chance as a manager. Billy had played for the Boston Braves from 1921 to 1923.

1940 the Cardinals, were struggling and fired Ray Blades. In comes Billy, from Rochester. So, what happens. The Cardinals take off. They had some talented players like Stan Musial coming in from the farm teams. This started their “golden age”. After he came on board that season, they won 69 of 109 games. They move from seventh to third place. In 1941 they came in second. The next three years they won three penants and two World Series titles.

How is that for a second chance?

The first uniform numbers (1929)

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1929, Babe Ruth, Cleveland Naps, Jack Graney, Lou Gehrig, New York Yankee, Uniform Numbers

Lou Gehrig

Jack Graney was an innovator although it didn’t take hold. In 1916 he was the leadoff batter for the Cleveland Naps. He wore a miniscule number one on his sleeve. This numbering system didn’t catch on and was discontinued the next year. Oh well. That is the way of innovation some times.

Very soon though the Yankees saw a rise in popularity. A whole bunch of new fans started coming to see them play but they didn’t know who the players were by sight. So, in a bold move, they introduced numbers in 1929. They made them very big. And they put them on the back of the uniform.

The original numbering system followed the batting order so Ruth was number 3, Gehrig was 4 and so on. All teams eventually matched this by 1932. In 1952 the next “innovation” occurred with the Dodgers putting them on the front as well but never became universal.

Knowing how to lose and ending up in last (1989)

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1989, Atlanta Braves, John Smoltz, Russ Nixon, Tom Glavine

John Smoltz

The bottom line in 1989 was last place, sixth in the Western Division with a record of 63-97. The Atlanta Braves were 28 games behind the leader. The manager Russ Nixon was trying to create some positive momentum. It didn’t help.

Nixon’s focus was on some relatively unknown (at the time) pitchers. John Smoltz was a 22 year old. Tom Glavine was 23. They managed to post winning records on a team that knew how to lose.

The first home run for Hank Aaron (April 23, 1954)

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1954, April 23, Hank Aaron, Home Run, Milwaukee Braves, Sportsman Park, St. Louis Cardinals, Vic Raschi

Hank Aaron

Although the Milwaukee Braves had bet a lot on Bobby Thompson in 1954, all was not lost.

They replaced Thompson with the then “unknown” Hank Aaron. He played left field as a 20 year old rookie. On April 23 at Sportsman Park in St. Louis, he connected, like he would do so many more times, for his first big league home run. Vic Raschi was the pitcher. Hank helped the Braves to a 7-5 victory.

How often would this same story be written over the next two decades?

Hammerin Hank came on the scene.

Can the Atlanta Braves really be a contender in 2015? John Hart thinks so. (January 15, 2015)

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Atlanta Braves, Evan Gattis, Free Agent, Jason Heyward, John Hart, Justin Upton

John Hart

It doesn’t take much to see that the Atlanta Braves are rebuilding.  So, President of Baseball Operations, John Hart says they still can be a contender in 2015.

So what have done in the off season to make that happen? How about trade away your top three hitters – Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis. What did they get in return? Not much.

“We may not be the prettiest girl at the dance, but we’re going to be a lot of fun to dance with.” ~John Hart

Really?

And the kicker is that Gattis wasn’t even a contract issue has he had four more years until he was a free agent.

“Look, we weren’t going to be favored even if we kept everybody and added two pitchers. But I think the future is significantly brighter because of what we were able to do this winter.” ~John Hart

300, 300, 2,000 Club — Chipper Jones joins the club

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Atlanta Braves, Babe Ruth, Chipper Jones, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Ted Williams

Chipper Jones

There is a very elite club in baseball: Hitters with 300 home runs who batted .300 for their careers and amassed at least 2,000 hits. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron are in it. Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg are not. Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones is one of those in the club after retiring in 2012. He has 468 homers, 2,726 hits and batted .303 for his career.

“There are guys spraying the ball around and batting over .300. And there are guys who club the 30 to 40 home runs. But there are not many who can do both. That’s what makes you an elite hitter. It’s difficult, very difficult, for most players to do that.” ~Chipper Jones

The difficulty can be measured by the exclusions from the list. Kaline missed it by finishing at .297, and Pete Rose had only 160 homers. Barry Bonds ended his career batting .298, while Ken Griffey Jr. finished at .284. Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson also fall short.

Joe Adcock hits 2 homers in Braves loss (August 9, 1961)

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1961, August 9, Don Drysdale, Don Nottebart, Grand Slam, Joe Adcock, Los Angeles Dodgers

Joe Adcock – Milwaukee Braves

On August 9, 1961, the Dodgers win their 17th out of 20 to stay a game ahead of the Reds‚ beating the Milwaukee Braves 8-3. Pretty good for the Dodgers. Pretty bad for the Braves.

What is remarkable is that pitching great, Don Drysdale hits a grand slam‚ off Don Nottebart in the 2nd‚ and allows just 4 hits while striking out 11. Two of the 4 hits are homers by Joe Adcock. Tough going to hit that well and end up loosing. But that is baseball.

Braves mathematically eliminated from playoff contention (September 21, 2014)

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2014, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, September 21, Washington Nationals

Baseball Statistics

The Atlanta Braves were mathematically eliminated from postseason play after falling to the Mets, 10-2, Sunday, coupled with the Pirates defeating the Brewers. Only in a statistically oriented game like baseball does this have much significance because we all knew it was going to happen. We just weren’t sure when. So it happened on September 21.

The Braves entered that Sunday with a slim shot of rallying for a wild card berth but had been out of contention — both mathematically and otherwise — in the NL East for several weeks.

Their division hopes officially ended with the loss to the first-place Washington Nationals on Sept. 15.

Atlanta experienced a rapid drop-off that saw them go 17-28 between July 29 and Sept. 16. The team navigated through multiple injuries to its starting rotation and bullpen to post a 54-44 record through 96 games, good enough for a share of the division lead on July 20. Strong pitching was the main reason; the Braves’ 108 ERA+ ranked second behind only the Nationals 124 and the team benefited from the breakout campaigns of fellow 23-year-olds Julio Teheran and Alex Wood.

The Braves’ big problem was offense. Andrelton Simmons, Chris Johnson and B.J. Upton all received significant playing time despite posting on-base percentages under .300. That contributed to the team getting well-below-average production from its second basemen, shortstops, third basemen and center fielders.

Braves loose to the Phillies (July 4, 1918)

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1918, Boston Braves, Everett Wiley Wilson, July 4

The Boston Braves would lose the first game of a double header on July 4, 1918. This was the year before my dad (Everett Wiley Wilson) would be born.

Art Nehf was the loosing pitcher for the Braves.  At this point in the season, Al Wickland had the best batting average for the team with .289. Al was playing right field that day.  He would go 0-4

July 4 1918 Braves lose to Philly

Amazing year for Frank Selee with a .705 record (1897)

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1897, 1993, Boston Beaneaters, Frank Selee

Frank Selee – Boston Beaneaters

Finally!! In Frank Selee‘s 8th season (1897) as manager, the Braves (then known as the Boston Beaneaters) had the best record in the franchise history at that time. They finished first, 93-39 and 2 games ahead. Frank was able to get the best out of them like he did earlier in his career.

How good would this record be in the modern era? A team today would have to win 115 games out of the current 162 game schedule. It was a .705 percentage record.

In 1993, the Braves had a .642 record which brought them 104 wins.

This was an amazing year for sure!!

John Smoltz elected to the Hall of Fame (January 6, 2015)

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2015, Hall of Fame, January 6, John Smoltz

You have to love this. The Atlanta Braves’ Big 3 pitchers of the 1990s will be reunited in Cooperstown. What a glorious reunion that will be.

John Smoltz was elected Tuesday (January 6, 2015) to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the largest class in 60 years. Smoltz joins former teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who were inducted last year alongside former Braves manager Bobby Cox, among baseball’s immortals.

John Smoltz

As part of a dominant starting rotation for the Braves in the 1990s that included Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, Smoltz helped make Atlanta perennial contenders, highlighted by a championship in the 1995 World Series. Though predominantly known as a starting pitcher, Smoltz was converted to a reliever in 2001, following his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he spent four years as the team’s closer before returning to a starting role. In 2002, he became only the second pitcher in history to record a 20-win season and a 50-save season (the other being Dennis Eckersley).

He is the only pitcher in major league history to top both 200 wins and 150 saves. In 2008, he became the 16th member of the 3,000 strikeout club. Smoltz left the Braves after 2008 and split his final season with the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Since retiring as a player, he has served as a color commentator and analyst on television.

Smoltz threw a four-seam fastball that was clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, a strong, effective slider, and an 88–91 mph split-finger fastball that he used as a strikeout pitch. He also used a curveball and change-up on occasion, and in 1999, he began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a screwball, though he rarely used either in game situations.

There is little distinction when you lose a hundred games (1910)

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1910, Boston Doves, Fred Lake

Fred Lake

A change doesn’t always bring the results you want. It was change though. 1910 brought the fifth new manager in four seasons. Fred Lake would be at the helm.

The Boston Doves (now known as the Atlanta Braves) would end up in eight place that season, 50 1/2 games out of first. They had a record of 53-100. Yep, they lost a hundred games. That still amazes me. How do you lose a hundred games.

Fred was a catcher. He played for Boston in 1891 and again in 1897. They won the pennant that year. It is thought he wasn’t that great of a catcher. In 1910 he wasn’t that great of a manager either.

1910 would also be the last year for the use of the name “The Doves”. Good riddance.

Continuity since 1871

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1871, Boston Red Stockings, January 20, National Association of Professional Baseball Players

Boston Red Stockings

On January 20, 1871 (yes, that is 1871) the Boston Red Stockings incorporated. It just so happened they were a charter member of National Association of Professional Baseball Players. Pretty innocuous beginnings. This was the first professional base ball association.

And so … they are still playing. They are the Atlanta Braves. They are the only team today to have fielded a team every day of every season professional base ball has been in existence.

Why do I love baseball? How can you beat consistency like this? You can’t. It is that simple.

1959 is a year of great expectations with 3 future Hall of Famers on the roster

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1959, Eddie Matthews, Fred Haney, Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves, Warren Spahn

Hank Aaron

There were great expectations of the Braves in 1959. The 2 years before, they had brought the Division championships home. The team had 3 great future hall of famers; Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn and Eddie Matthews. They had a lot of talented veterans. Fred Haney was returning as the manager for the fourth year.

And yet, they finished in second place in the Division 2 games behind. They had an 86-70 record. Pretty good but definitely not what any one expected. They had been expected to win the pennant. They did not!

Dale Murphy wins the MVP Award (1982)

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1957, 1982, Atlanta Braves, Dale Murphy, Hank Aaron, MVP, November 17

Dale Murphy – Atlanta Braves

On November 17, 1982, Atlanta Braves, Dale Murphy won the National League MVP Award. This is the first Braves player to be so honored since Hank Aaron was in 1957.

The center fielder hit .281 with 36 HR‚ 109 RBI‚ 113 runs‚ and 23 stolen bases.

Quite an accomplishment for Dale and our beloved Atlanta Braves.

1876 Boston Red Caps

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1876, Andy Leonard, Bill Parks, Boston Red Caps, Dick McBride, Foghorn Bradley, Frank Whitney, George Wright, Harry Schafer, Harry Wright, Jack Manning, Jim O'Rouke, Joe Borden, John Morrill, Lew Brown, Sam Wright, South End Grounds, Tim McGinley, Tim Murnane, Tricky Nichols

Boston Red Caps 1876

1876 was the first season for the Braves (then known as the Boston Red Caps) when the National League was formed. While this was the first season for the National League, it was not the first season for the Braves.

They were a charter member of the National Association which had its first season in 1871. So the Red Caps had been playing together for 5 years already.  The team name was changed to the Boston Red Caps to avoid confusion with the new Cincinnati Red Stockings team. Some of the players from the previous year’s team defected to other ballclubs, so the team finished further down in the standings this season.

The Boston club was initially known as the Red Stockings, because four of its key players had come from the famous 1869-1870 barnstorming team known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings and took the nickname with them to Boston

They would have 39 wins and 31 loses (39-31 .557%) finishing 4th. They ended up 15 games behind Chicago who was the champion. They would score 471 runs and allow 450 runs. They were 19-17 at home and 20-14 on the road. As you can see, this was not a 162 game season.

Harry Wright was the manager and they played the season at South End Grounds I. The first South End Grounds was opened on May 16, 1871. The last game was played on September 10, 1887. The ballpark’s stands were demolished later that month to make way for a new structure.

Joe Borden – Pitched 29 games and played 16 in right field. At age 22, he had a 11-12 record with a 2.73 ERA. He pitched 218.1 innings giving up 51 walks with 51 walks.

Foghorn Bradley – Pitched 22 games and 4 at right field. At age 22, he had a 18-5 record with a 2.14 ERA.

Lew Brown – A right handed catcher with a .210 batting average. He was only 18 and the youngest player. He led the team with 6 triples and 2 home runs. Lew also struck out the most on the team with 22.

Andy Leonard – Second base and left field

Jack Manning – Pitched 34 games.

Dick McBride – Pitched 4 games and played 1 in right field.

Tim McGinley – Played 9 games catching and center field.

John Morrill – 23 games as catcher and 37 at second.

Tim Murnane – 69 games as first baseman who batted left and threw right. The only left handed batter on the team.

Tricky Nichols –  Pitched 1 game.

Jim O’Rourke – An eventual Hall of Famer with 60 games in left field and the team best 327 batting average. Jim had the most hits with 102. He had the second most doubles with 17. Jim led the with 43 RBI’s. 15 walks was the most on the team.

Bill Parks – Played 1 game as left fielder.

Harry Schafer – 70 games at third base

Frank Whitney – 24 games in left and 10 in right field.

George Wright – Eventual Hall of Famer with 68 games at short stop and the second best batting average at .299. In 70 games, he led the team with 72 runs scored. He also had the second most hits with 100. He led the team with 18 doubles. George tied Lew Brown with 6 triples.

Harry Wright – Eventual Hall of Famer and played 1 game as right fielder.

Sam Wright – Played 2 games as short stop.