In the 1990s, the Atlanta Braves made the National League Championship Series every year from 1991-1999. They made it to the World Series in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. But, of course, just the one title in ’95.
The string of division championships continued until 2005, totaling 14 straight when it all ended. It took me from when I was 7 years old in 1991 and ultimately ended in 2006 when I was 22. It was a great childhood for someone who lived in metro Atlanta, loved the Braves and got to watch every game on TBS.
Every time the Braves’ run is mentioned, the lament is the one championship in 14 consecutive postseason appearances. Those were some really good teams – they all won their division without any appearances as the wild card – so they are seen as choke artists.
The 1996 World Series stands as the one that most Braves fans would like to have back, when they blew a 2-0 series lead heading back to Atlanta against the Yankees. Second would be the 1991 World Series that was a classic against the Twins, ending in the epic John Smoltz vs. Jack Morris duel.
But if I were given the chance to re-write history, and add another championship, I don’t think I’d add either 1991 or 1996.
The first one I’d add is 1999, for several reasons.
While the Braves got swept in 1999 by the Yankees, that’s the one I wanted the most. I was 15 years old and it had been four years since the 1995 championship. New York had won two of the last three World Series and were seen as the much better team. I really hated the Yankees.
If i could, I’d trade the last six division titles from 2000-2005 in exchange for victory in 1999. It was Chipper Jones’ MVP season, and would’ve been a great postseason run to end the streak.
It was also the last time the “Big 3” (Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz) were in the same starting rotation. It was really the big 4 that year, because Kevin Millwood went 18-7 with a 2.86 ERA. The following offseason, Smoltz required Tommy John surgery which caused him to miss all of 2000; then when he finally made it back he was the closer…..then by the time he returned to the rotation, Maddux and Glavine were gone.
The 1999 team went 103-59, and was the third straight 100-win season for Bobby Cox. Those late 90s teams kind of get lost because of the postseason failures, but they were arguably much better overall teams than the early 90s. By ’99, Braves country was really itching for another title to cement their legacy over the powerful Yankees as the team of the decade. It would’ve been nice to notch that in this series.
So if I’m cutting the run of division titles short, and limiting them to the 1990s only, I might as well make one more slight adjustment: I’d trade the 1995 World Series for 1993.
The ’95 World Series was great, but ’93 would’ve been sweeter….for several reasons.
The 1993 Braves were a great team who won 104 games in the epic NL West race with the San Francisco Giants. It was the first year of the “Big 3”, and like 1999, it was really the big 4 because Steve Avery went 18-6 with a 2.94 ERA.
They lost to the Phillies in the NLCS, but I’m not sure how. Game 1 went into extra innings and they lost. Game 2 & 3 were blowout wins. Then with Smoltz on the hill for Game 4 the bats went cold and they lost 2-1. Game 5 was nearly an epic comeback that Mark Lemke missed a game-winning hit by inches.
The 1993 season was also before the bitterness of the 1994 MLB strike. While the 1995 team had a lot of support, it would’ve been a lot better if the Braves had just gotten the job done in ’93. It would’ve been: third time’s a charm.
I wouldn’t want to change anything about the way the 1991 and 1992 seasons went. The first season was magical, and a memory most Braves fans enjoy despite the narrow defeat. Then the 1992 NLCS finish was a classic, and ultimately it’s not so bitter since they eventually got to win it all.
But by 1993, Braves country was the perfect combination of excited, eager, hopeful and restless. It would’ve been a great year to win it all….then lose to the Indians and Yankees in 1995 and 1996. By 1999, when the Yankees were defending champs and it had been six years since the last title, it would’ve been an amazing way to end the run.
The rest of the years, from 2000-2005, were fun to watch but it became mundane. And it’s hard to continually put a product of the field that competes at such a high level….so none of those teams really compared to the 90s teams, or were as fun.
It’s hard to say I’d trade any of the 14-year run the Braves had for another championship, but if I’m going to write a little better way for it all to happen, I’ll take 1993 and 1999 as the years I wanted to win the World Series the most.
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