John Smoltz: ‘The Success Of The Atlanta Braves Won’t Be Duplicated’

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Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine

I am a big fan of the Atlanta Braves. What they did by winning 14 division championships is stunning. I agree with John Smoltz. I don’t think it will happen again.

This documentary sounds great.

“All these years later, it is still incredible to think that the Atlanta Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005. The Braves won the World Series in 1995, played in the Fall Classic five times in the 1990s and had a roster that featured four Hall of Fame players and a Hall of Fame manager. Yet this was a dynasty that was supposed to win multiple championships. The Braves lost in extra innings of Game 7 of the 1991 World Series and blew a 2-0 series lead against the New York Yankees in 1996.

“A new documentary “Atlanta Rules: The Story of the ’90s Braves,” produced by MLB Network, includes interviews with Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Bobby Cox and several others who helped transform Atlanta from one of the worst teams in baseball into a perennial championship contender.”

Source: John Smoltz: ‘The Success Of The Atlanta Braves Won’t Be Duplicated’ « CBS Boston

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John Smoltz’s — watch him rob old friend Tom Glavine of a hit (April 22, 2007)

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2007, April 22, Atlanta Braves, John Smoltz, New York Mets, Tom Glavine

John Smoltz was an amazing pitcher for the Braves. A staple in the Major Leagues for two decades, he spent 16 years pitching alongside fellow Hall of Famer Tom Glavine. They were teammates until Glavine signed with the Mets after the 2002 season.

Glavine was still with the Mets when the two squared off at Shea Stadium on April 22, 2007. It was on that day that Smoltz took the opportunity to show his old friend that he was still as athletic as ever, despite approaching his 40th birthday.

“Chicks Dig the Long Ball”, a Nike Commercial, airs starring Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux (May 2, 1999)

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1999, Atlanta Braves, Greg Maddux, Mark McGwire, May 2, Tom Glavine

Now this is classic. On May 2, 1999, Nike’s ‘Chicks Dig the Long Ball’ commercial, starring Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, airs for the first time.

The television ad depicts the Braves hurlers, both who have won multiple Cy Young Awards, as pitchers-who-want-to-become-worshipped-home-run- heroes after becoming frustrated over the attention being shown to Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire by Heather Locklear and a friend.

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Braves begin new ballpark chapter at SunTrust Park with 5-2 win (April 14, 2017)

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2017, April 14, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, Dale Murphy, Hank Aaron, Jimmie Carter, John Smoltz, Phil Niekro, Tom Glavine

It was a great day in Atlanta Braves history. Once again, a new stadium.

Chipper Jones sat in the Atlanta Braves dugout Friday afternoon, a few hours ahead of the Braves’ first regular-season home game at their new stadium, SunTrust Park, the future Hall of Famer fielded a question about what fans might be saying as they entered the ballpark for the first time.

“I would venture a guess the word mumbled the most — maybe not even mumbled — would be ‘Wow,'” the Braves’ icon said.

“I mean, look at that video board. Look at the LED lights, the incredible green grass, this incredibly orange clay. They watch how balls fly out of here and they see the skyline and everything, and they say, ‘Wow.’ I said it. Everybody else is going to say it. …This is very impressive.”

In addition to Jones, Braves legends Hank Aaron, Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro, John Smoltz were present. They were honored as theirs and other retired numbers were unveiled. Aaron threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Cox. A prominent fan, former President Jimmy Carter, also was in attendance.

And the Braves beat San Diego 5-2.

 

Some fun Opening Day facts about the Braves (April 3, 2017)

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2017, April 3, Atlanta Braves, Greg Maddux, John Smolts, Phil Niekro, Tie Game, Tom Glavine, Tony Cloninger

I love opening day. There is nothing like it.

Here are some fun facts!

• Going back all the way to 1876 when they were the the Boston Red Stockings, the Braves have a total record of 78-62-1 on Opening Day.
• Their first Opening Day game, according to Baseball Almanac, was against the Hartford Dark Blues (old time baseball names are weird) which they lost 3-2
• Tie games are rare in baseball these days, but that didn’t stop the Braves from playing the Phillies to a 2-2 tie on Opening Day 1950
• The Braves pitcher with the most Opening Day starts in the franchise’s history is Phil Niekro with 8. Greg Maddux came in a close second with 7.
• Speaking of Maddux, between 1990-2003…the only pitchers to make Opening Day starts for the Braves were Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz to the surprise of exactly no one. Who was the pitcher who broke the streak? Russ Ortiz
• Julio Teheran is about to make his 4th consecutive Opening Day start for the Braves. The other two pitchers for the franchise since it moved to Atlanta to accomplish the same feat? Rick Mahler (1985-1988) and Greg Maddux (1993-1996)
• The Braves played an insane Opening Day game in their game in Atlanta where Tony Cloninger pitched 13 innings (!) while striking out 12 batters and future skipper of the Evil Empire Joe Torre drove in the Braves only two runs on a pair of solo shots. It is worth noting that the Braves lost the game despite Cloninger going 13 innings which had to feel…..not great assuming he had any feeling left in his body after that start.

Source: Some fun Opening Day facts about the Braves – Talking Chop

Braves go deep 4 times against former teammate Tom Glavine (May 30, 2003)

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2003, Atlanta Braves, May 30, New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tom Glavine

Tom Glavine

At Shea Stadium on May 30, 2003, the Atlanta Braves go deep four times off former teammate Tom Glavine to tie a National League record by hitting 55 home runs in a calendar month.

The New York Giants (July, 1947) and the Cardinals (April, 2000) are the other teams to accomplish the feat.

It is ironic this happened against Tom Glavine. With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine earned the second highest amounts of wins as a pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux’s 176. He was a five-time 20-game winner and two-time Cy Young Award winner, and one of only 24 pitchers (and just 6 left-handers) in major league history to earn 300 career wins.

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.

National Baseball Hall of Fame trio (Cox, Glavine &Maddux) transformed Atlanta Braves (July 27, 2014)

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1995, 2014, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Frank Wren, Greg Maddux, Hall of Fame, John Schuerholz, July 27, Tom Glavine, World Series

Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame Trio

The Atlanta Braves knew how to loose. The had, to some extent, built a culture of loosing. But they had a plan. They worked the plan. And the plan became reality.

Today (July 27, 2014), in Cooperstown, N.Y., nobody is laughing at the Braves. And that success story that includes a 1995 World Series championship, five National League pennants, 14 consecutive division titles and a host of individual honors. They were transformed.

Who are the men who helped transform the Atlanta Braves so remarkably?

1. Bobby Cox was the general manager in the 1980s when the club began to draft, cultivate and stockpile talent in the farm system, and became the manager who put it all together on the field.
2. Left-handed pitcher Tom Glavine was one of the talented draft choices taken in 1984 and groomed in the minor leagues.
3. Right-handed pitcher Greg Maddux was a 1993 free-agent acquisition that paid huge dividends.

Cox managed the Braves from 1978-’81, and then returned in 1986 as the general manager.

“When I got there, we made a decision to develop a strong farm system, All of our budget went into scouting, and there was little for the big club. We spent a lot of money on that plan, A plan can be a great plan and fail. Fortunately, our plan worked.” ~~Bobby Cox

It was a great plan and they worked it. My guess is that it would still work for many teams today, including the Braves. In 1990, Atlanta had the worst record in the major leagues. In 1991, the Braves went from worst to first, winning the National League West and the NL pennant. The fairy tale ending fell just short when the Braves lost to the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of the World Series.

John Schuerholz was a another piece of the plan and came over from Kansas City in 1990 as general manager, and Cox moved from the front office back to the dugout.

“What Bobby started and John finished brought winning baseball to Atlanta and the Braves, They transformed this franchise.” ~~General Manager Frank Wren

So what does Tom Glavine think of all this?

“I am not a historian and know some teammates gone into the Hall of Fame, But not together, like this on the first ballot. I know this is a big deal. And from a personal level, to have the others here is pretty cool. We were really good, And we were good for a long time, and we had good players.” ~Tom Glavine

And then there is “The Professor”, Greg Maddux. He’s here at the end of 23 seasons, 355 wins, more than 5,000 innings, four Cy Young Awards and 97.2 percent of the Hall vote, all built and maintained on the 100,000 pitches that resulted from them.

“Good control makes you smart. You throw the ball where you want to throw it, you look smart.” ~~Greg Maddux