Atlanta scores seven runs in seventh inning (April 4, 2003)

Tags

2003, Andruw Jones, April 4, Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones, Gary Sheffield, Miami Marlins, Montreal Expos

Andruw Jones

In one inning, the Atlanta Braves wiped out three games’ worth of frustration. The Braves scored seven runs in the seventh, highlighted by Andruw Jones’ three-run homer, and went on to beat the Florida Marlins 12-7 on April 4, 2003.

It was Atlanta’s first victory after an 0-3 start — the team’s worst since 1988.

We relaxed and did our thing. We’ll be OK. We got the jitters out. Now we can play our game. That was obvious in the seventh inning. ~Marcus Giles who had three of Atlanta’s 16 hits

The Braves were swept by Montreal in the first series of the year, getting outscored 17-2. Atlanta, which had won 11 straight division titles, had not started so poorly since going 0-10 in 1988. All that changed in the seventh, when the Braves pounded on Marlins relievers Blaine Neal and especially Vladimir Nunez (0-1).

Trailing 5-2, Atlanta started the inning with five straight hits. Gary Sheffield had a run-scoring single, Chipper Jones hit an RBI double off the center-field wall and Andruw Jones followed with a three-run homer into the center-field stands off Nunez.

 

Atlanta Braves establish a franchise-record 14th straight victory (May 1, 2000)

Tags

2000, Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, May 1, Quilvio Veras

Quilvio Veras

The Braves establish a franchise-record 14th straight victory on May 1, 2000, with a 2-1 victory at Dodger Stadium.

Quilvio Veras’, playing second, third-inning homer proves to be the difference. Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1989, Veras made his Major League Baseball debut with the Florida Marlins on April 25, 1995, and appeared in his final game on July 13, 2001.

Andruw Jones will bat 2-4.

Atlanta Braves Table

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Quilvio Veras 2B	4	2	2	1	0	0	4	.330	.412	.420	.832
Andruw Jones CF	4	0	2	0	0	1	4	.304	.398	.554	.952
Chipper Jones 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	4	.297	.393	.516	.909
Andres Galarraga 1B	3	0	1	0	1	0	4	.294	.375	.671	1.046
Brian Jordan RF	3	0	0	0	1	1	4	.208	.309	.313	.622
Javy Lopez C	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.263	.313	.408	.721
Bobby Bonilla LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.292	.346	.521	.867
Trent Hubbard LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.190	.320	.381	.701
Walt Weiss SS	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.302	.412	.349	.761
Kevin Millwood P	3	0	0	0	0	3	3	.000	.091	.000	.091
Rudy Seanez P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
John Rocker P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team Totals	33	2	6	1	2	8	35	.182	.229	.303	.532

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/10/2017.

Homer History: When Jim Leyritz halted hopes of a Braves dynasty (October 23, 1996)

Tags

1991, 1996, Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, Jim Leyritz, Mark Wohlers, New York Yankee, October 23, World Series

Jim Leyritz

In the Homer History series, writers re-tell the stories of memorable home runs from their perspective. In this installment, Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee talks about the 1996 World Series homer that sank the Braves’ chance at a dynasty.

The Atlanta Braves of 1991-2005 will go down in history as a dynasty that wasn’t, alongside similar ‘90s relics like the would-be Super Bowl champion Buffalo Bills and the would-be President Al Gore. Sure, they rolled off 14 division titles, an accolade which carries all the weight of 14 straight perfect-attendance awards, but when it mattered the most, the Braves came up small, year after year after year.

What would the all time roster for the Braves look like?

Tags

Andruw Jones, Bobby Lowe, Chipper Jones, Craig Kimbrel, Dale Murphy, Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron, Herman Long, Joe Torre, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn

Atlanta Braves Logo

How would you fill out the all time roster for a team with as much talent as the Braves have had since 1871? Not easy. Recently Nick Selbe gave it a shot.

Here is his list.

Year founded: 1871

1966-present: Atlanta Braves
1953-1965: Milwaukee Braves
1936-1940: Boston Bees
1912-1935, 1941-1952: Boston Braves
1911: Boston Rustlers
1907-1910: Boston Doves
1883-1906: Boston Beaneaters
1876-1882: Boston Red Caps
1871-1875: Boston Red Stockings

Total WAR: 819.9

C: Joe Torre (1960-1968; 33.3)
1B: Dale Murphy (1976-1990; 46.9)
2B: Bobby Lowe (1890-1901; 19.1)
3B: Eddie Mathews (1952-1966; 94.4)
SS: Herman Long (1890-1902; 35.4)
OF: Hank Aaron (1954-1974; 142.1)
OF: Chipper Jones (1993-2012; 85.0)
OF: Andruw Jones (1996-2007; 61.0)

SP: Kid Nichols (1890-1901; 108.5)
SP: Warren Spahn (1942, 1946-1964; 92.0)
SP: Phil Niekro (1964-1983, 1987; 90.0)
RP: Craig Kimbrel (2010-2014; 12.2)

Making the all-time roster for MLB’s oldest continually running franchise was no small task. To make room for the three outfielders, we shifted Dale Murphy to first base, despite his primarily playing the outfield. Murphy made 205 appearances at first base in his first two big league seasons.

Though none of them made the final cut, the trio of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine deserve to be mentioned. As teammates from 1993-2002, they combined for a 453-224 record, with 4,616 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Source: Filling Out All-Time Rosters for Each MLB Franchise

Former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones leaning toward retirement

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All Star, Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, Japan

Andruw Jones, one of the greatest defensive players in baseball history, plans to retire after 20 seasons in the U.S. and Japan.

The five-time All-Star had been contemplating a return to Major League Baseball following two seasons playing professionally in the Japan Pacific League, but at the Atlanta Braves’ FanFest event Saturday he said that he will likely be calling it a career. No official retirement announcement has been scheduled.

I’m probably not going to play, probably soon retire. I just feel like I can be at home with my kid and teach him a couple things. I didn’t announce yet, but I probably will.

~Andruw Jones – Source: Former Braves star Andruw Jones planning to retire | FOX Sports

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	Awards
1996	19	ATL	NL	31	113	106	11	23	5	13	3
1997	20	ATL	NL	153	467	399	60	92	18	70	20	RoY-5
1998	21	ATL	NL	159	631	582	89	158	31	90	27	GG
1999	22	ATL	NL	162	679	592	97	163	26	84	24	GG
2000 ★	23	ATL	NL	161	729	656	122	199	36	104	21	AS,MVP-8,GG
2001	24	ATL	NL	161	693	625	104	157	34	104	11	GG
2002 ★	25	ATL	NL	154	659	560	91	148	35	94	8	AS,MVP-16,GG
2003 ★	26	ATL	NL	156	659	595	101	165	36	116	4	AS,MVP-13,GG
2004	27	ATL	NL	154	646	570	85	149	29	91	6	GG
2005 ★	28	ATL	NL	160	672	586	95	154	51	128	5	AS,MVP-2,GG,SS
2006 ★	29	ATL	NL	156	669	565	107	148	41	129	4	AS,MVP-11,GG
2007	30	ATL	NL	154	659	572	83	127	26	94	5	GG
2008	31	LAD	NL	75	238	209	21	33	3	14	0
2009	32	TEX	AL	82	331	281	43	60	17	43	5
2010	33	CHW	AL	107	328	278	41	64	19	48	9
2011	34	NYY	AL	77	222	190	27	47	13	33	0
2012	35	NYY	AL	94	269	233	27	46	14	34	0
17 Yrs				2196	8664	7599	1204	1933	434	1289	152
162 Game Avg.				162	639	561	89	143	32	95	11
				G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	Awards
ATL (12 yrs)				1761	7276	6408	1045	1683	368	1117	138
NYY (2 yrs)				171	491	423	54	93	27	67	0
TEX (1 yr)				82	331	281	43	60	17	43	5
LAD (1 yr)				75	238	209	21	33	3	14	0
CHW (1 yr)				107	328	278	41	64	19	48	9
NL (13 yrs)				1836	7514	6617	1066	1716	371	1131	138
AL (4 yrs)				360	1150	982	138	217	63	158	14

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/31/2016.

50 home runs in a season is not easy to do unless you’re Andruw Jones (September 14, 2005)

Tags

1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, Curacao, September 14

Andruw Jones

Braves’ center fielder Andruw Jones hits his 50th home run on September 14, 2005, in the eighth inning of a 12-4 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The Curacao native is the first major leaguer to reach the plateau since Alex Rodriguez hit 57 homers playing shortstop for the Rangers in 2002.

Jones made his debut during the 1996 season with the Atlanta Braves. In the 1996 World Series, Jones became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason, and just the second player ever to homer in his first two World Series at bats. The following season, Jones batted .231 with 18 home runs and finished 5th in voting for Rookie of the Year. In 1998, Jones batted .271 with 31 home runs and in 1999, he batted .275 with 26 home runs. Jones batted .303 with 36 home runs and 104 runs batted in (RBIs) in 2000 and made his first All-Star team.

The following season, Jones again blasted over 30 home runs and drove in 104 runs but his average dipped to .251 while his strikeouts increased. Jones played better in 2002 and 2003 and made the All-Star team in both seasons.

However, Jones struggled in 2004 and failed to hit at least 30 home runs for the first time since 1999. However, in 2005, he led the league with 51 home runs and also led the NL with 128 RBIs. He finished 2nd to Albert Pujols for National League MVP. In 2006, Jones batted .262 with 41 home runs and 129 RBI. In 2007, in his last season with the Braves, Jones batted just .222 with 26 home runs and 94 RBIs.

Six Braves hit 20 home runs in the season (September 20, 2003)

Tags

2003, Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, Brad Penny, Chipper Jones, Gary Sheffield, Javy Lopez, Marcus Giles, September 20, Vinny Castilla

Marcus Giles

When Marcus Giles sends Brad Penny’s 3-2 pitch into the stands on September 20, 2003, the Atlanta Braves tie the National League record (held by the Milwaukee Braves) by having six players to hit at least 20 home runs in season. Along with the Atlanta’s second baseman, Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Vinny Castilla.

This equals the mark established by Eddie Mathews (32), Hank Aaron (32), Joe Torre (27), Felipe Alou (23) Mack Jones (31) and Gene Oliver (21) of the 1965 Milwaukee Braves.