1998 Atlanta Braves season

Last updated

1998  Atlanta Braves
National League East Champions
League National League
Division East
Ballpark Turner Field
City Atlanta
Record106–56 (.654)
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)
Fox Sports South
(Ernie Johnson, Bob Rathbun)
Radio WSB (AM)
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
←  1997 Seasons 1999  →

The 1998 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 33rd season in Atlanta and 128th overall. The Braves entered the season as defending National League runner ups. They went on to win their fourth consecutive division title, taking the National League East title by 18 games over the second place New York Mets.

Contents

The team featured six all stars: shortstop Walt Weiss and third baseman Chipper Jones were voted as starters, while first baseman Andrés Galarraga, catcher Javy López, and pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux were selected as reserves. Jones and Lopez each hit over 30 home runs as Galarraga (acquired from Colorado) led the club in home runs and RBI. Galarraga finished as an MVP candidate.

The 1998 Braves beat the Chicago Cubs three games to none in the National League Division Series. In the next round Atlanta then lost to the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series four games to two. Despite winning two games after losing the first three, Atlanta's comeback bid came short by being eliminated in Game 6. San Diego's winning over Atlanta was seen as one of the biggest upsets in postseason history. The Braves failed to go to their fifth World Series of the 1990s.

The 1998 Atlanta Braves are seen as one of the greatest Major League Baseball teams of all time, despite not winning a title. ESPN writer David Schoenfield lists them as one of the top teams in MLB history to not win a World Series [1] The team's greatness and their surprising playoff defeat are memorialized by Morgan Wallen in his 2023 hit, "98 Braves." [2]

ESPN columnist Jeff Merron also writes that the pitching staff of Maddux, Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Kevin Millwood was the greatest of all time. [3] The quintet posted a cumulative 2.97 ERA and amassed 88 wins (almost 18 wins per starter), equaling the win total of the 2nd place Mets. The 1998 Braves are the only team in MLB history to have five pitchers each strike out 150 batters in the same season. [4] Glavine, the lone 20 game winner in the National League for that year, won the Cy Young Award.

Offseason

Regular season

Tom Glavine pitches in spring training, 1998. Chipper Jones plays third base in background. Tom Glavine 1998.jpg
Tom Glavine pitches in spring training, 1998. Chipper Jones plays third base in background.

Opening Day starters

Season standings

NL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 106560.654—56–2550–31
New York Mets 88740.5431847–3441–40
Philadelphia Phillies 75870.4633140–4135–46
Montreal Expos 65970.4014139–4226–55
Florida Marlins 541080.3335231–5023–58

Record vs. opponents

1998 National League record

Sources:
TeamAZATLCHCCINCOLFLAHOULAMILMTLNYMPHIPITSDSFSTLAL
Arizona —1–85–74–56–66–24–54–86–32–74–52–76–33–95–72–75–8
Atlanta 8–1—3–67–25–37–54–58–17–26–69–38–47–25–47–26–39–7
Chicago 7–56–3—6–57–27–24–74–56–67–24–53–68–35–47–34–75–8
Cincinnati 5–42–75–6—4–59–03–85–46–58–13–64–55–71–112–78–37-6
Colorado 6–63–52–75–4—6–36–56–64–77–23–65–45–45–77–53–64–8
Florida 2–65–72–70–93–6—3–64–50–95–75–76–63–64–50–94–58–8
Houston 5–45–47–48–35–66-3—3–69–27–25–47–29–25–46–35–710–4
Los Angeles 8–41–85–44–56–65–46–3—5–45–43–55–47–55–76–64–58–5
Milwaukee 3–62–76–65–67–49–02–94–5—6–31–84–56–53–65–43–88–6
Montreal 7–26–62–71–82–77–52–74–53–6—8–45–72–74–43–63–66–10
New York 5–43–95–46–36–37–54–55–38–14–8—8–44–54–54–56–39–7
Philadelphia 7-24–86–35–44–56–62–74–55–47–54–8—8–11–82–63–67–9
Pittsburgh 3–62–73–87–54–56–32–95–75–67–25–41–8—5–42–76–56–7
San Diego 9–34–54–511–17–55–44–57–56–34–45–48–14–5—8–46–36–7
San Francisco 7–52–73–77–25–79–03–66–64–56–35–46–27–24–8—7–58–5
St. Louis 7–23–67–43–86–35-47–55–48–36–33–66–35–63–65–7—4–9

Transactions

Roster

1998 Atlanta Braves
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

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 133489139.28434107
1B Andrés Galarraga 153555169.30544121
2B Keith Lockhart 10936694.257937
SS Walt Weiss 9634797.280027
3B Chipper Jones 160601188.31334107
LF Ryan Klesko 129427117.2741870
CF Andruw Jones 159582158.2713190
RF Michael Tucker 130414101.2441346

Other batters

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

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Tony Graffanino 10528961.211522
Gerald Williams 12926681.3051044
Ozzie Guillén 8326473.277122
Eddie Pérez 6114950.336632
Danny Bautista 8214436.250317
Curtis Pride 7010727.25239
Greg Colbrunn 284413.295110
Marty Malloy 11285.17911
Rafael Belliard 7205.25001
Randall Simon 7163.18804
Ray Holbert 8152.13301
Wes Helms 7134.30812
Damon Hollins 361.16700
George Lombard 662.33311
Mark DeRosa 531.33300

Starting pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Greg Maddux 34251.01892.22204
Tom Glavine 33229.12062.47157
Denny Neagle 32210.116113.55165
Kevin Millwood 31174.11784.08163
John Smoltz 26167.21732.90173
Bruce Chen 420.1203.9817

Relief pitchers

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

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Kerry Ligtenberg 7532302.7179
Dennis Martínez 534624.4562
John Rocker 471322.1342
Mike Cather 362203.9233
Rudy Seánez 344122.7550
Mark Wohlers 2701810.1822
Russ Springer 221104.0519
Alan Embree 201004.3419
Norm Charlton 130011.386
Brian Edmondson 100104.328
Odalis Pérez 100104.225
Adam Butler 801010.807
Paul Byrd 100013.50!1

National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

Atlanta wins the series, 3-0

GameHomeScoreVisitorScoreDateSeries
1Atlanta7Chicago1September 301-0 (ATL)
2Atlanta2Chicago1October 12-0 (ATL)
3Chicago2Atlanta6October 33-0 (ATL)

National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 7: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team12345678910 R H E
San Diego0000100101370
Atlanta0010000010283
WP: Trevor Hoffman (1-0)   LP: Kerry Ligtenberg (0-1)
Home runs:
SD: Ken Caminiti (1)
Atl: Andruw Jones (1)

Game 2

October 8: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team123456789 R H E
San Diego0000010023110
Atlanta000000000031
WP: Kevin Brown (1-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-1)

Game 3

October 10: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team123456789 R H E
Atlanta001000000182
San Diego00002002X470
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (1-0)   LP: Greg Maddux (0-1)   Sv: Trevor Hoffman (1)

Game 4

October 11: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team123456789 R H E
Atlanta0001016008120
San Diego002001000380
WP: Dennis Martínez (1-0)   LP: Joey Hamilton (0-1)
Home runs:
Atl: Javy López (1), Andrés Galarraga (1)
SD: Jim Leyritz (1)

Game 5

October 12: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team123456789 R H E
Atlanta0001010507141
San Diego2000020026101
WP: John Rocker (1-0)   LP: Kevin Brown (1-1)   Sv: Greg Maddux (1)
Home runs:
Atl: Michael Tucker (1)
SD: Ken Caminiti (2), John Vander Wal (1)

Game 6

October 14: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team123456789 R H E
San Diego0000050005100
Atlanta000000000021
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (2-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-2)

Award winners

1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Jeff Cox
AA Greenville Braves Southern League Randy Ingle
A Danville 97s 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 Franklin Stubbs
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Rick Albert

[12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Greatest teams ever: The almost greats". January 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Morgan Wallen's 98 Braves' Is a Hit With Listeners – And the Atlanta Braves". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. ↑ "ESPN.com: Page 2 : The greatest pitching rotations". www.espn.com.
  4. ↑ "Pitching Season Finder, For single seasons, From 1901 to 2017, (requiring SO>=150)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Walt Weiss Stats".
  6. ↑ "Walt Weiss Stats".
  7. ↑ "Dennis Martinez Stats".
  8. ↑ "Curtis Pride Stats".
  9. ↑ Howard Battle Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  10. ↑ Alan Embree Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  11. ↑ Paul Byrd Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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