1997 Atlanta Braves season

Last updated

1997  Atlanta Braves
National League East Champions
League National League
Division East
Ballpark Turner Field
City Atlanta
Record101–61 (.623)
Divisional place1st
Owners Time Warner
General managers John Schuerholz
Managers Bobby Cox
Television WTBS
TBS Superstation
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
SportSouth
(Tim Brando, Ernie Johnson, Bob Rathbun)
Radio WSB (AM)
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
←  1996 Seasons 1998  →

The 1997 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 32nd season in Atlanta and 127th overall. The Braves entered the season as defending National League champions, having lost the 1996 World Series to the Yankees in 6 games. They won their seventh consecutive division title, taking the National League East by 9 games over the second place Florida Marlins. However, the Marlins would later defeat the Braves in the NLCS. 1997 was the first year that the Braves played their home games in Turner Field, a reconstruction of the former Centennial Olympic Stadium, which originally served as the main venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Contents

Off season

Regular season

The first game at Turner Field took place on April 4, 1997, with Denny Neagle making the start for the Braves. [4]

Opening day starters

Season standings

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 10161.623—50‍–‍3151‍–‍30
Florida Marlins 9270.568952‍–‍2940‍–‍41
New York Mets 8874.5431350‍–‍3138‍–‍43
Montreal Expos 7884.4812345‍–‍3633‍–‍48
Philadelphia Phillies 6894.4203338‍–‍4330‍–‍51

Record vs. opponents

1997 National League record

Sources:
TeamATLCHCCINCOLFLAHOULAMTLNYMPHIPITSDSFSTLAL
Atlanta —9–29–25–64–87–46–510–25–710–25–68–37–48–37–5
Chicago 2–9—7–52–92–93–95–64–76–56–57–56–55–64–89–6
Cincinnati 2–95–7—5–65–65–76–56–52–98–38–45–64–76–69–6
Colorado 6–59–26–5—7–45–65–77–46–54–74–74–84–87–49–7
Florida 8–49–26–54–7—7–47–47–54–86–67–45–65–65–612–3
Houston 4–79–37–56–54–7—7–48–37–44–76–66–53–89–34–11
Los Angeles 5–66–55–67–54–74–7—7–46–510–19–25–76–65–69–7
Montreal 2–107–45–64–75–73–84–7—5–76–65–68–36–56–512–3
New York 7–55–69–25–68–44–75–67–5—7–57–45–63–89–27–8
Philadelphia 2-105–63–87–46–67–41–106–65–7—5–67–43–86–55–10
Pittsburgh 6–55–74–87–44–76–62–96–54–76–5—5–68–39–37–8
San Diego 3–85–66–58–46–55–67–53–86–54–76–5—4–85–68–8
San Francisco 4–76–57–48–46–58–36–65–68–38–33–88–4—3–810–6
St. Louis 3–88–46–64–76–53-96–55–62–95–63–96–58–3—8–7

Roster

1997 Atlanta Braves
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Game log

1997 Game Log: 101–61 (Home: 50–31; Away: 51–30)
April: 19–6 (Home: 12–2; Away: 7–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1@ Astros 1–2 Reynolds (1–0) Smoltz (0–1) Wagner (1)44,6180–1
2April 2@ Astros 3–4 Hampton (1–0) Maddux (0–1) Wagner (2)16,3080–2
3April 3@ Astros 3–2 Glavine (1–0) Kile (0–1) Wohlers (1)17,9631–2
4April 4 Cubs 5–4 Clontz (1–0) Adams (0–1) Wohlers (2)45,0442–2
–April 5 Cubs Suspended (rain); completed April 6 [lower-alpha 1]
5April 6 Cubs 11–5 Smoltz (1–1) Casian (0–1)—45,6983–2
6April 6 Cubs 4–0 Maddux (1–1) Mulholland (0–2)—41,3184–2
7April 8 Astros 4–2 Glavine (2–0) Hampton (1–1) Wohlers (3)31,0645–2
8April 9 Astros 4–3 (12) Embree (1–0) Lima (0–1)—33,9866–2
9April 10 Astros 3–5 Holt (1–0) Smoltz (1–2) Hudek (1)33,6376–3
–April 11@ Cubs Postponed (snow); rescheduled for July 22
10April 12@ Cubs 2–1 Bielecki (1–0) Patterson (0–1) Wohlers (4)23,9447–3
11April 13@ Cubs 6–4 Clontz (2–0) Wendell (0–1) Wohlers (5)21,2448–3
12April 14 Reds 15–5 Neagle (1–0) Schourek (0–2)—31,4279–3
13April 15 Reds 3–0 Smoltz (2–2) Mercker (1–1)—31,96210–3
14April 16 Reds 7–1 Byrd (1–0) Smiley (1–3)—38,41111–3
15April 18@ Rockies 14–0 Glavine (3–0) Wright (2–1)—48,07012–3
16April 19@ Rockies 8–7 Neagle (2–0) Ritz (1–3) Bielecki (1)48,06513–3
17April 20@ Rockies 2–9 Holmes (1–0) Smoltz (2–3)—48,15513–4
18April 22@ Giants 4–0 Maddux (2–1) Van Landingham (1–1)—18,40414–4
19April 23@ Giants 3–4 Henry (2–0) Embree (1–1)—17,05014–5
20April 25 Padres 5–4 Neagle (3–0) Cunnane (0–1) Wohlers (6)43,37615–5
21April 26 Padres 3–2 (10) Wohlers (1–0) Hoffman (0–1)—45,47316–5
22April 27 Padres 2–0 (5) Maddux (3–1) Valenzuela (1–3)—36,39917–5
23April 28 Dodgers 14–0 Glavine (4–0) Martinez (2–2)—28,35718–5
24April 29 Dodgers 2–6 Park (1–1) Wade (0–1)—35,44218–6
25April 30@ Reds 12–3 Neagle (4–0) Mercker (1–3)—18,27819–6
May: 17–11 (Home: 8–6; Away: 9–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
26May 1@ Reds 4–2 Smoltz (3–3) Burba (3–3) Wohlers (7)19,99120–6
27May 2 Pirates 2–3 Peters (1–0) Bielecki (1–1) Loiselle (1)37,57720–7
28May 3 Pirates 0–3 Loaiza (3–0) Glavine (4–1) Rincon (2)46,60220–8
29May 4 Pirates 3–1 Wade (1–1) Cordova (1–3) Wohlers (8)42,03721–8
30May 5@ Cardinals 2–1 Neagle (5–0) Al. Benes (3–3) Wohlers (9)26,11322–8
31May 6@ Cardinals 3–4 Mathews (1–1) Bielecki (1–2) Eckersley (7)28,62022–9
32May 7@ Marlins 3–2 (10) Byrd (2–0) Powell (0–1) Bielecki (2)26,83823–9
33May 8@ Marlins 1–5 Saunders (1–1) Glavine (4–2)—32,08823–10
34May 9@ Pirates 0–9 Cordova (2–3) Wade (1–2)—18,00623–11
35May 10@ Pirates 9–3 Neagle (6–0) Lieber (1–4)—34,14324–11
36May 11@ Pirates 8–2 Smoltz (4–3) Cooke (3–4)—29,89525–11
37May 12@ Pirates 10–2 Maddux (4–1) Schmidt (1–2)—12,11426–11
38May 13 Marlins 5–11 Saunders (2–1) Wade (1–3)—38,36526–12
39May 14 Marlins 3–4 Brown (4–2) Bielecki (1–3) Nen (10)38,90226–13
40May 16 Cardinals 1–0 (13) Borowski (1–0) Frascatore (2–2)—46,62627–13
41May 17 Cardinals 11–6 Smoltz (5–3) Morris (1–2)—48,36628–13
42May 18 Cardinals 5–1 Glavine (5–2) An. Benes (2–2)—35,04629–13
43May 19 Cardinals 7–3 Neagle (7–0) Stottlemyre (2–3)—33,49730–13
44May 20 Expos 4–2 Wade (2–3) Hermanson (1–3) Wohlers (10)38,27831–13
45May 21 Expos 3–2 Maddux (5–1) Urbina (2–3)—41,52832–13
46May 23@ Dodgers 4–2 Smoltz (6–3) Astacio (3–3) Wohlers (11)38,73533–13
47May 24@ Dodgers 3–10 Martinez (4–3) Glavine (5–3)—49,07433–14
48May 25@ Dodgers 0–2 Valdez (3–5) Neagle (7–1) To. Worrell (13)40,41733–15
49May 26@ Padres 12–5 Borowski (2–0) Ti. Worrell (2–6)—17,26534–15
50May 27@ Padres 9–2 Maddux (6–1) Hamilton (3–2)—18,23135–15
51May 29 Giants 2–4 Estes (7–2) Smoltz (6–4) Beck (16)38,84435–16
52May 30 Giants 3–2 Wohlers (2–0) Henry (2–1)—45,18136–16
53May 31 Giants 4–6 Poole (2–0) Borowski (2–1) Beck (17)46,44536–17
June: 16–12 (Home: 5–5; Away: 11–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
54June 1 Giants 4–3 Bielecki (2–3) Poole (2–1) Wohlers (12)46,50137–17
55June 2 Padres 4–5 Murray (1–0) Maddux (6–2) Hoffman (9)33,65937–18
56June 3 Padres 2–5 Smith (1–0) Wohlers (2–1) Hoffman (10)41,90237–19
57June 4@ Expos 6–3 Glavine (6–3) Juden (5–2)—16,42938–19
58June 5@ Expos 9–0 Neagle (8–1) Hermanson (2–4)—12,21239–19
59June 6@ Giants 9–5 Byrd (3–0) Roa (1–4)—16,94840–19
60June 7@ Giants 5–2 Maddux (7–2) Henry (2–2) Wohlers (13)30,44041–19
61June 8@ Giants 3–5 Poole (3–1) Smoltz (6–5) Beck (19)36,68941–20
62June 9@ Rockies 3–8 Bailey (6–5) Glavine (6–4)—48,04741–21
63June 10@ Rockies 8–3 Neagle (9–1) Ritz (5–5)—48,10342–21
64June 11@ Rockies 6–9 Thomson (2–4) Clontz (2–1)—48,63342–22
65June 13 Orioles 3–4 Key (11–1) Maddux (7–3) Myers (21)48,33442–23
66June 14 Orioles 4–6 (12) Rhodes (4–2) Borowski (2–2) Myers (22)47,34442–24
67June 15 Orioles 3–5 (10) Mathews (1–1) Wohlers (2–2) Myers (23)48,08842–25
68June 16@ Blue Jays 3–0 Neagle (10–1) Clemens (11–2)—34,40943–25
69June 17@ Blue Jays 8–7 Maddux (8–3) Andujar (0–3) Wohlers (14)31,35644–25
70June 18@ Blue Jays 3–5 Williams (2–6) Smoltz (6–6) Timlin (6)31,71744–26
71June 20@ Phillies 4–1 Glavine (7–4) Leiter (4–8)—20,64845–26
72June 21@ Phillies 9–8 Clontz (3–1) Blazier (0–1) Wohlers (15)24,30946–26
73June 22@ Phillies 12–5 Maddux (9–3) Stephenson (2–3)—25,53447–26
74June 23@ Mets 2–3 Reed (5–4) Smoltz (6–7)—22,19347–27
75June 24@ Mets 5–6 McMichael (4–6) Wohlers (2–3)—26,66347–28
76June 25@ Mets 14–7 Glavine (8–4) Jones (12–4)—27,98048–28
77June 26 Phillies 5–4 Neagle (11–1) Beech (0–3) Wohlers (16)41,76249–28
78June 27 Phillies 7–1 Maddux (10–3) Stephenson (2–4)—48,23450–28
79June 28 Phillies 9–1 Smoltz (7–7) Schilling (9–7)—48,55751–28
80June 29 Phillies 6–5 Bielecki (3–3) Brewer (0–1) Wohlers (17)47,90252–28
81June 30@ Yankees 0–1 (10) Stanton (5–0) Bielecki (3–4)—39,88752–29
July: 17–11 (Home: 9–6; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
82July 1@ Yankees 3–1 Neagle (12–1) Mendoza (3–3) Wohlers (18)39,59653–29
83July 2@ Yankees 2–0 Maddux (11–3) Gooden (3–1)—36,60654–29
84July 3@ Expos 15–2 Smoltz (8–7) Bullinger (5–8)—18,06455–29
85July 4@ Expos 6–3 Clontz (4–1) Urbina (2–6) Wohlers (19)19,93956–29
86July 5@ Expos 5–3 Glavine (9–4) Martinez (10–4) Wohlers (20)24,78857–29
87July 6@ Expos 2–6 Juden (11–2) Neagle (12–2)—21,31657–30
68th All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio
88July 10 Mets 7–10 McMichael (5–6) Bielecki (3–5) Franco (21)47,68557–31
89July 11 Mets 7–9 Lidle (4–1) Glavine (9–5) Franco (22)40,09457–32
90July 12 Mets 7–4 Maddux (12–3) Clark (7–6) Wohlers (21)48,09158–32
91July 13 Mets 6–7 (10) McMichael (6–6) Bielecki (3–6) Franco (23)42,11158–33
92July 14 Phillies 10–6 Millwood (1–0) Brewer (0–2) Wohlers (22)38,11859–33
93July 15 Phillies 1–8 Stephenson (3–4) Smoltz (8–8)—39,49459–34
94July 16 Rockies 2–1 Glavine (10–5) Dipoto (3–2) Wohlers (23)48,40060–34
95July 17 Rockies 8–2 Maddux (13–3) Swift (4–3)—48,02461–34
96July 18 Dodgers 4–1 Neagle (13–2) Reyes (1–1) Wohlers (24)48,72162–34
97July 19 Dodgers 1–4 Astacio (6–7) Millwood (1–1) Radinsky (1)49,75862–35
98July 20 Dodgers 3–8 Park (8–5) Smoltz (8–9)—48,41462–36
99July 21 Dodgers 5–4 (10) Embree (2–1) Dreifort (3–1)—49,31863–36
100July 22 (1)@ Cubs 4–1 Maddux (14–3) Gonzales (7–3)—N/A64–36
101July 22 (2)@ Cubs 4–5 Bottenfield (2–2) Cather (0–1) Rojas (12)31,80464–37
102July 23@ Cubs 1–3 Tapani (1–0) Millwood (1–2) Rojas (13)34,23064–38
103July 25@ Reds 7–3 Smoltz (9–9) Schourek (5–6)—34,93165–38
104July 26@ Reds 6–7 (11) Shaw (3–0) Wohlers (2–4)—33,11565–39
105July 27@ Reds 3–2 Maddux (15–3) Burba (6–10) Wohlers (25)30,16766–39
106July 28 Cubs 6–0 Neagle (14–2) Tapani (1–1)—47,26667–39
107July 29 Cubs 7–2 Millwood (2–2) Trachsel (5–9)—44,13168–39
108July 30 Cubs 6–5 Embree (3–1) Rojas (0–4)—43,09069–39
109July 31@ Marlins 0–1 Saunders (3–3) Byrd (3–1) Nen (27)18,40969–40
August: 16–11 (Home: 8–6; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
110August 1@ Marlins 2–3 (12) Powell (2–2) Cather (0–2)—40,66969–41
111August 2@ Marlins 4–2 Neagle (15–2) Leiter (8–7) Wohlers (26)41,64370–41
112August 3@ Marlins 4–8 Fernandez (13–8) Millwood (2–3)—41,19370–42
113August 4@ Pirates 6–0 Smoltz (10–9) Cooke (8–11)—21,60971–42
114August 5@ Pirates 4–5 Schmidt (7–6) Glavine (10–6) Loiselle (18)20,06971–43
115August 6 Cardinals 4–3 Wohlers (3–4) Petkovsek (4–5)—46,88072–43
116August 7 Cardinals 3–0 Neagle (16–2) Stottlemyre (11–8) Wohlers (27)46,68773–43
117August 8 Marlins 4–6 Fernandez (14–8) Byrd (3–2) Nen (28)49,33573–44
118August 9 Marlins 4–3 Smoltz (11–9) Stanifer (1–1) Wohlers (28)47,55274–44
119August 10 Marlins 2–4 (10) Powell (3–2) Bielecki (3–7) Nen (29)47,64974–45
120August 11 Marlins 2–1 Wohlers (4–4) Heredia (4–2)—47,87075–45
121August 12 Pirates 2–5 Sodowsky (2–2) Wohlers (4–5) Loiselle (19)42,43575–46
122August 13 Pirates 1–2 Lieber (7–12) Smoltz (11–10) Loiselle (20)40,79375–47
123August 15@ Cardinals 2–3 (12) King (1–0) Cather (0–3)—43,86375–48
124August 16@ Cardinals 5–3 Maddux (16–3) Morris (8–8) Wohlers (29)47,22976–48
125August 17@ Cardinals 1–3 King (2–0) Neagle (16–3) Eckersley (29)40,96876–49
126August 19@ Astros 4–3 Smoltz (12–10) Hampton (10–8) Wohlers (30)32,14577–49
127August 20@ Astros 3–1 Glavine (11–6) Reynolds (6–8) Wohlers (31)25,59378–49
128August 22 Reds 6–2 Maddux (17–3) Remlinger (6–5)—48,93779–49
129August 23 Reds 10–3 Neagle (17–3) Tomko (8–5)—48,49980–49
130August 24 Reds 4–6 (10) Shaw (4–2) Fox (0–1) Belinda (1)45,57780–50
131August 26 Astros 7–6 (11) Clontz (5–1) Wagner (7–6)—37,31381–50
132August 27 Astros 4–6 (13) Hudek (1–2) Byrd (3–3) Lima (2)33,01981–51
133August 28 Astros 4–2 Neagle (18–3) Kile (17–4) Wohlers (32)37,84982–51
134August 29@ Red Sox 9–1 Smoltz (13–10) Sele (12–11)—32,57783–51
135August 30@ Red Sox 15–2 Millwood (3–3) Wakefield (9–15)—32,86584–51
136August 31@ Red Sox 7–3 Glavine (12–6) Avery (6–6)—33,14785–51
September: 16–10 (Home: 8–6; Away: 8–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1 Tigers 2–4 Moehler (9–10) Maddux (17–4) T. Jones (26)38,95085–52
138September 2 Tigers 5–0 Neagle (19–3) Keagle (1–4)—32,30886–52
139September 3 Tigers 4–12 Blair (15–6) Smoltz (13–11)—36,55686–53
140September 4@ Padres 8–7 (11) Wohlers (5–5) Worrell (3–8)—12,80487–53
141September 5@ Padres 2–6 Ashby (8–10) Glavine (12–7)—21,49287–54
142September 6@ Padres 9–1 Maddux (18–4) Hitchcock (10–9)—32,09988–54
143September 7@ Padres 4–0 Neagle (20–3) Hamilton (10–6)—21,05289–54
144September 9@ Dodgers 4–3 Smoltz (14–11) Valdez (9–11) Wohlers (33)37,27090–54
145September 10@ Dodgers 7–0 Glavine (13–7) R. Martinez (9–4)—41,56491–54
146September 12 Rockies 1–3 Munoz (3–3) Wohlers (5–6) Dipoto (14)47,77291–55
147September 13 Rockies 6–10 Holmes (8–2) Cather (0–4) DeJean (2)49,09791–56
148September 14 Rockies 0–4 Astacio (11–9) Smoltz (14–12)—46,24591–57
149September 15 Giants 5–4 Ligtenberg (1–0) Beck (5–4)—38,64192–57
150September 16 Giants 6–4 Millwood (4–3) Alvarez (12–11)—37,66193–57
151September 17 Mets 10–2 Maddux (19–4) B. Jones (14–9)—40,97494–57
152September 18 Mets 11–4 Byrd (4–3) Isringhausen (2–2)—41,37395–57
153September 19 Expos 2–1 Smoltz (15–12) Perez (12–12)—47,15696–57
154September 20 Expos 3–1 Glavine (14–7) P. Martinez (17–8)—48,14797–57
155September 21 Expos 1–7 DeHart (2–1) Neagle (20–4)—47,17997–58
156September 22 Expos 3–2 (11) Cather (1–4) Bennett (0–1)—41,26898–58
157September 23@ Phillies 6–0 Millwood (5–3) Leiter (10–17)—14,26499–58
158September 24@ Phillies 1–5 Stephenson (8–6) Byrd (4–4)—16,77299–59
159September 25@ Phillies 3–2 (10) Cather (2–4) Spradlin (3–8) Clontz (1)15,030100–59
160September 26@ Mets 7–6 (11) LeRoy (1–0) Rojas (0–6) Ligtenberg (1)21,864101–59
161September 27@ Mets 1–2 Crawford (4–3) Wohlers (5–7)—31,472101–60
162September 28@ Mets 2–8 Acevedo (3–1) Neagle (20–5)—27,176101–61
Legend:       = Win       = Loss
Bold = Braves team member
  1. ↑ Game was suspended in the bottom of the 7th with the Braves leading 8–5.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Javy López 123414122.2952368
1B Fred McGriff 152564156.2772297
2B Mark Lemke 10935186.245226
SS Jeff Blauser 151519160.3081770
3B Chipper Jones 157597176.29521111
LF Ryan Klesko 143467122.2612484
CF Kenny Lofton 122493164.333548
RF Michael Tucker 138499141.2831456

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Andruw Jones 15339992.2311870
Eddie Pérez 7319141.215618
Tony Graffanino 10418648.258820
Keith Lockhart 9614741.279632
Danny Bautista 6410325.24339
Mike Mordecai 618114.17303
Rafael Belliard 727115.21113
Greg Colbrunn 285415.27829
Tommy Gregg 13195.26300
Randall Simon 13146.42901
Tim Spehr 8143.21414
Greg Myers 991.11101
Ed Giovanola 1482.25000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note; G = Games pitched, IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
John Smoltz 35256.015123.02241
Tom Glavine 33240.01472.96152
Denny Neagle 34233.12052.97172
Greg Maddux 33232.21942.20177

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Kevin Millwood 1251.1534.0342
Terrell Wade 1242.0235.3635
Chris Brock 730.2005.5816

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Mark Wohlers 7157333.5092
Alan Embree 663102.5445
Brad Clontz 515113.7542
Mike Bielecki 503724.0860
Mike Cather 352402.3929
Paul Byrd 314405.2637
Chad Fox 300103.2928
Joe Borowski 202203.756
Kerry Ligtenberg 151013.0019
John LeRoy 11000.003

Turner Field

Turner Field exterior from Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard Turner field exterior.jpg
Turner Field exterior from Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard

In 1997, the Braves moved into Turner Field. The ballpark was built across the street from the former home of the Braves, Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, which was demolished in the summer of 1997.

The most popular name choice among Atlanta residents for the new stadium at the time of its construction (according to a poll in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ) was Hank Aaron Stadium. After the ballpark was instead named after Ted Turner, the city of Atlanta renamed the section of Capitol Avenue on which the stadium sits Hank Aaron Drive, giving Turner Field the street number 755, after Aaron's home run total.

After the 1996 Summer Olympics were complete the stadium was officially given as a gift to the Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. (the Atlanta Braves) Ted Turner, then owner of the Braves, agreed to pay a large sum of the cost to build Centennial Olympic Stadium (approximately $170 million of the $209 million bill), if in turn, the stadium was built in a way that it could be converted to a new baseball stadium and that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) paid for the conversion. [5] This was considered a good agreement for both the Olympic Committee and the Braves, because there would be no use for a permanent 85,000 seat track and field stadium in Downtown Atlanta (as the 71,000 seat Georgia Dome was completed four years earlier by the state of Georgia) and the Braves had already been exploring opportunities for a new stadium. [6]

Postseason

Game log

1997 Postseason Game Log
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1September 30 Astros 2–1 Maddux (1–0) Kile (0–1)—46,4671–0
2October 1 Astros 13–3 Glavine (1–0) Hampton (0–1)—49,2002–0
3October 3@ Astros 4–1 Smoltz (1–0) Reynolds (0–1)—53,6883–0
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 7 Marlins 3–5 Brown (1–0) Maddux (1–1) Nen (1)49,2440–1
2October 8 Marlins 7–1 Glavine (2–0) Fernandez (1–1)—48,9331–1
3October 10@ Marlins 2–5 Hernandez (1–0) Smoltz (1–1) Nen (2)53,8571–2
4October 11@ Marlins 4–0 Neagle (1–0) Leiter (0–1)—54,8902–2
5October 12@ Marlins 1–2 Hernandez (2–0) Maddux (1–2)—51,9822–3
6October 14 Marlins 4–7 Brown (2–0) Glavine (2–1)—50,4462–4

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Bill Dancy
AA Greenville Braves Southern League Randy Ingle
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Paul Runge
A Macon Braves South Atlantic League Brian Snitker
A-Short Season Eugene Emeralds Northwest League Jim Saul
Rookie Danville Braves Appalachian League Rick Albert
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Frank Howard

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Greenville [7]

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References

  1. ↑ "John Smoltz Stats".
  2. ↑ Paul Byrd Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  3. ↑ "Mike Bielecki Stats".
  4. ↑ 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.140
  5. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (July 30, 1996). "At Close of Games, Braves Will Move Into Olympic Stadium". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  6. ↑ Kendrick, Scott. "Turner Field". About.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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