If you were a Braves fan during the 90's...

[LiterallyPolice]

you'll love this article about Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. It gives alot of insight into just how good they were.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10...-fame-together

[Political Hack]

I'm so happy they're moving.

[smootness]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

There definitely will never be anything like that period again. I can still remember reading the paper the day after a game and being shocked if Maddux gave up more than 2 runs and thinking, 'What is wrong with him?'

[thunderclap]

Wasted a ton of good pitching that decade. Should've won a few series. Loved those guys.

[msstate7]

Wasted a ton of good pitching that decade. Should've won a few series. Loved those guys.

I agree 100% with this

[LiterallyPolice]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

There definitely will never be anything like that period again. I can still remember reading the paper the day after a game and being shocked if Maddux gave up more than 2 runs and thinking, 'What is wrong with him?'

Yeah, what surprised me from the article was that he averaged 1.8 walks per 9 innings. That is obviously a stellar number.... but it still seems high to me. I thought I recalled a couple seasons where he walked like 10 batters all year.

[The Croom Diaries]

Wasted a ton of good pitching that decade. Should've won a few series. Loved those guys.

I wouldn't say they wasted it. With those two the Braves went to 3 world series, 7 NLCS and the playoffs every single year. The problem is as good as these guys were power pitching is what wins in the postseason, and that's why John Smoltz was the best in that regard. That said, they should have won in 1996 but blew it, and with Millwood they had the arms in 1999 but ran into a buzzsaw in the Yankees.

[LiterallyPolice]

I wouldn't say they wasted it. With those two the Braves went to 3 world series, 7 NLCS and the playoffs every single year. The problem is as good as these guys were power pitching is what wins in the postseason, and that's why John Smoltz was the best in that regard. That said, they should have won in 1996 but blew it, and with Millwood they had the arms in 1999 but ran into a buzzsaw in the Yankees.

Agreed. Some may say they should have won more than 1 world series... but 1 is infinitely better than 0. What can I say, I'm an optimist.

[BrunswickDawg]

Wasted a ton of good pitching that decade. Should've won a few series. Loved those guys.

I've always placed that on Bobby Cox. Cox was possible the greatest coach ever for the regular season. He knew how to motivate through he grind of 162; gave rest and kept the bench sharp; and played with an end game in mind. However, Cox may have been one of the worst post-season managers of all time - especially in a short series. Benching Gant in the WS in '92; not pitching a 20-5 Denny Neagle in '97; never stealing bases when you have Kenny Lofton, Marquis Grissom, or Otis Nixon but letting Lonnie Smith run???; pulling Tommy Hanson after 8 innings and 98 pitches against the Astros then having Soriano blow it. And that is just off the top my head.

[The Croom Diaries]

I've always placed that on Bobby Cox. Cox was possible the greatest coach ever for the regular season. He knew how to motivate through he grind of 162; gave rest and kept the bench sharp; and played with an end game in mind. However, Cox may have been one of the worst post-season managers of all time - especially in a short series. Benching Gant in the WS in '92; not pitching a 20-5 Denny Neagle in '97; never stealing bases when you have Kenny Lofton, Marquis Grissom, or Otis Nixon but letting Lonnie Smith run???; pulling Tommy Hanson after 8 innings and 98 pitches against the Astros then having Soriano blow it. And that is just off the top my head.

I agree that he didn't always make the best decisions, and there are certainly better postseason managers, but he did win 12 postseason series and lost 13 with the Braves...so virtually a .500 record in series play isn't bad for the playoffs.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Yeah, what surprised me from the article was that he averaged 1.8 walks per 9 innings. That is obviously a stellar number.... but it still seems high to me. I thought I recalled a couple seasons where he walked like 10 batters all year.

You're not too far off. From 1995 to 1997, Maddux averaged only 24 walks a season, which equated to about .92 BB/9IP.

Maddux was something special in the 90s.

[BrunswickDawg]

I agree that he didn't always make the best decisions, and there are certainly better postseason managers, but he did win 12 postseason series and lost 13 with the Braves...so virtually a .500 record in series play isn't bad for the playoffs.

And doing so well for so long should not be discounted either - which is why I prefaced it the way I did. Definitely frustrates a fan when you are in a position to win it all so many times and you don't. If I had not lived through 70s and 80s Braves baseball, it would have made me more frustrated.

[engie]

I was a pretty big fan**



Of course, this particular one pre-dated Maddux by a couple of years. Has the full 25-man roster + coaches from the team that played in, and consequently lost, the best World Series that I've ever seen in my lifetime. Also started my all-out hatred of the Metrodome as a baseball location. Who plays on astroturf and a WHITE roof that balls hit pretty regularly?

[smootness]

Wasted a ton of good pitching that decade. Should've won a few series. Loved those guys.

I will still always look back on that period fondly as a Braves fan. Obviously the ultimate goal is to win the WS, but I think a little too much focus in sports now is placed on championships. I loved that period of time, despite many years ending in disappointment, and would take the disappointment of losing a WS all day over not ever getting there.

I know you didn't necessarily say the opposite, but I don't look back on it as 'wasting' the pitching. Those games still happened, and they were extremely fun as a Braves fan.

[msstate7]

I was a pretty big fan**



Of course, this particular one pre-dated Maddux by a couple of years. Has the full 25-man roster + coaches from the team that played in, and consequently lost, the best World Series that I've ever seen in my lifetime. Also started my all-out hatred of the Metrodome as a baseball location. Who plays on astroturf and a WHITE roof that balls hit pretty regularly?

Kent hrbek pulling Ron gant off 1st is probably the maddest I've ever been watching a baseball game. Second place is carpenter pitching to uribe with kimbrel available (yes, I'm still upset)

[The Croom Diaries]

I will still always look back on that period fondly as a Braves fan. Obviously the ultimate goal is to win the WS, but I think a little too much focus in sports now is placed on championships. I loved that period of time, despite many years ending in disappointment, and would take the disappointment of losing a WS all day over not ever getting there.

I know you didn't necessarily say the opposite, but I don't look back on it as 'wasting' the pitching. Those games still happened, and they were extremely fun as a Braves fan.

I agree. The Braves started their run when I was in the 1st grade and ended it when I was a senior at MSU. That is one hell of a long ride. And every year I was engaged and having fun watching the team from April to October. Lots of winning and lots of fun. Baseball is a lot of fun when you follow a team throughout the season...but it's really hard to watch a loser night in and night out. I've always said I would take the Braves 14 division titles with 1 World Series over the Marlins 2 World Series and losing seasons in all the rest.

[BrunswickDawg]

I agree. The Braves started their run when I was in the 1st grade and ended it when I was a senior at MSU.

Now I feel old! That '91 season was my Sr. HS/Fr. MSU. Being from Marietta, we always went to a lot of games in HS - and that summer was unreal. People really didn't catch on how good they were until late, so we could get $3 Upper Deck seats, sit where you wanted, and drink and enjoy a couple of games a week cheaply.

[Todd4State]

Kent hrbek pulling Ron gant off 1st is probably the maddest I've ever been watching a baseball game. Second place is carpenter pitching to uribe with kimbrel available (yes, I'm still upset)

That Hrbek call was one of the worst I've ever seen at any level of baseball by an umpire.

[Todd4State]

I think what usually tripped the Braves up in the postseason was their bullpen. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz were awesome- but in the playoffs if you had a starter that was close to as good as them and could match them and get into the bullpen, you had a chance.

[RougeDawg]

I was a huge braves fan until the mid to late 90's. By that time one needed to complete a full Rosetta Stone Spanish course just to pronounce most of the players names. How can you me Americas team with hardly any Americans on ot? It was more like the Centeal American team, and I slowly lost interest in them. Now they are a bunch of spoiled brats, so I still enjoy watching them lose. BitchCann is the main one.