1995 Atlanta Braves: Tomahawk Chop

1995 Atlanta Braves: Tomahawk Chop

1995 Atlanta Braves: Tomahawk Chop

The late 1960’s saw the Braves franchise relocate from Milwaukee to Atlanta, Georgia, and though they had legendary home run hitter Hank Aaron, the Braves remained irrelevant when it came to postseason play. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s when the Atlanta Braves became relevant in October as they would challenge the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1992 World Series. However, the Braves fell short in that campaign. Thankfully for Braves fans, it only took 3 more years for them to realize their dreams.

In 1995 the Braves went 90-54 in a strike-shortened season, finishing a whopping 21 games over the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. The Braves went 5-8 and 7-6 against the Mets and Phillies respectively in head-to-head play. The Braves went 44-28 at their home ballpark, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and they went 46-26 on the road. The Braves were solid throughout every month of the regular season as they went 4-1 in April, 16-12 in May, 15-12 in June, 20-7 in July, 19-10 in August and 16-11 in September.

Catcher Javy Lopez batted .315 with 14 home runs, 105 hits, 11 doubles and 4 triples in 100 games. Left fielder Ryan Klesko batted .310 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI’s off 102 hits and 25 doubles in 107 games. First baseman Fred McGriff batted .280 with 27 home runs and 93 RBI’s off 148 hits and 27 doubles. Third baseman Larry “Chipper” Jones had 23 home runs and 86 RBI’s off 139 hits, 22 doubles, 3 triples and 8 stolen bases.

Right fielder David Justice had 24 home runs and 78 RBI’s off 104 hits and 17 doubles in 120 games. Center fielder Marquis Grissom had 12 home runs, 142 hits, 23 doubles and 29 stolen bases. Second baseman Mark Lemke had 101 hits, 16 doubles and 5 triples in 116 games. Shortstop Jeff Blauser had 12 home runs, 91 hits, 16 doubles and 8 stolen bases in 115 games.

The main strength of the Braves was their pitching staff as their pitchers consistently shut down opposing batters. Starting pitcher Greg Maddux went 19-2 with 181 strikeouts and a 1.63 ERA, recording 10 complete games and 3 shutouts. Tom Glavine went 16-7 with 127 strikeouts and a 3.08 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 1 shutout. John Smoltz went 12-7 with 193 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Steve Avery had 141 strikeouts, 3 complete games and 1 shutout despite going 7-13. Despite going 7-8, Kent Mercker had 102 strikeouts.

Closer Mark Wohlers went 7-3 with 25 saves, 90 strikeouts and a 2.09 ERA. Relief pitchers Brad Clontz went 8-1 with 4 saves and a 3.65 ERA. Greg McMichael went 7-2 with 2 saves and a 2.79 ERA. Pedro Borbon went 2-2 with 2 saves and a 3.09 ERA. Mike Stanton went 1-1 with 1 save.

Before the All-Star Break the Braves went on a 9-game winning streak which began with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 1, and it ended on July 9 with a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

The Braves handled the Colorado Rockies fairly easily in the National League Division Series, eliminating the Blake Street Bombers 3 games to 1. In Game 1 on October 3 at Coors Field the Braves beat the Rockies 5-4. In the top of the 3rd inning Marquis Grissom hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 4th Colorado responded with a sacrifice fly hit by center fielder Ellis Burks which scored right fielder Larry Walker, and then a 2-run home run launched by third baseman Vinny Castilla. In the top of the 6th Chipper Jones hit a solo home run, and then pinch hitting left fielder Luis Polonia hit into a fielder’s choice at third base to score David Justice. In the top of the 8th pinch hitting outfielder Dwight Smith had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 8th Burks had an RBI double. Jones hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th.

In Game 2 on October 4 the Braves won 7-4. In the top of the 1st Grissom hit a solo home run. In the top of the 3rd Javy Lopez had a sacrifice fly to score Lemke, and then Grissom hit another solo home run in the top of the 4th. In the bottom of the 6th Walker crushed a 3-run home run to tie the game at 3-3, and then the Rockies took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th thanks to an RBI double by first baseman Andres Galarraga. In the top of the 9th Fred McGriff had an RBI single, pinch hitting second and third baseman Mike Mordecai had his own RBI single, and then shortstop Rafael Belliard reached on an error to score left fielder Mike Devereaux.

After losing Game 3 on October 6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 7-5, the Braves rebounded to end the NLDS with a convincing 10-4 win in Game 4 on October 7. In the top of the 3rd left fielder Dante Bichette smacked a 3-run home run for Colorado, but Atlanta took charge right after that. Jones had a 2-run double and McGriff belted a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd. In the bottom of the 4th Belliard hit into a fielder’s choice at 2nd base to score Ryan Klesko, and then Girssom had an RBI double. McGriff then hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th. Castilla hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th, but then in the bottom of the 6th Lemke had an RBI double and McGriff followed with an RBI single.

The National League Championship Series saw the Braves sweep the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to none. In Game 1 on October 10 at Riverfront Stadium the Braves beat the Reds 2-1. Tom Glavine pitched 7 innings and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 4th left fielder Ron Gant had an RBI single, and then in the top of the 9th Atlanta came through at the right time with a fielder’s choice hit out to second base by Justice to score Jones, and then an RBI single by Devereaux in the top of the 11th to win it.

The Braves then won 6-2 in Game 2 on October 11. John Smoltz pitched 7 innings and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs while recording 2 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning Jones had an RBI single, and in the top of the 4th Devereaux had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 5th pinch hitting left fielder and third baseman Lenny Harris had an RBI single, and then Harris stole second base, which allowed third baseman Jeff Branson to steal home plate as part of a double steal. In the top of the 10th a wild pitch allowed Lemke to score, and then Lopez launched a 3-run home run.

Returning home to Atlanta for Game 3 on October 13, the Braves won 5-2. Greg Maddux pitched 8 innings and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th inning catcher Charlie O’Brien blasted a 3-run home run, and in the bottom of the 7th Jones belted a 2-run home run. In the top of the 8th first baseman Hal Morris had an RBI single, and in the top of the 9th center fielder Thomas Howard had a sacrifice fly to score Branson.

In Game 4 on October 14 the Braves completed the sweep with a 6-0 shutout victory. Steve Avery pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 hits and 3 walks while recording 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Lemke had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 7th a passed ball scored Grissom, Mike Devereaux, who would be named the NLCS Most Valuable Player, crushed a 3-run home run, and then Polonia had an RBI single.

The 1995 World Series was an interesting contest between the Atlanta Braves and the American League Champion Cleveland Indians, but the “Tomahawk Chop” attack of Atlanta proved to be too much. The Braves won the World Series 4 games to 2. In Game 1 on October 21 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the Braves won 3-2. Maddux pitched a complete game, giving up 2 hits and 2 runs while recording 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning second baseman Carlos Baerga had an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the 2nd McGriff hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 7th Polonia hit into a fielder’s choice to score McGriff. Belliard followed with a sacrifice bunt to score Justice. The top of the 9th had shortstop Omar Vizquel had an RBI groundout for Cleveland, but it wasn’t enough.

In Game 2 on October 22 the Braves won 4-3. Glavine pitched 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks and 2 runs while recording 3 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd first baseman Eddie Murray belted a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 3rd Jones hit a sacrifice fly to score Grissom, and Justice followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 6th Lopex smacked a 2-run home run. In the top of the 7th Vizquel reached on an error to score center fielder Kenny Lofton.

Game 3 on October 24 at Jacobs Field saw the Indians beat the Braves 7-6. Game 4 on October 25 saw the Braves win 5-2. Avery pitched 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, 5 walks and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. In the to of the 6th inning Klesko hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 6th left fielder Albert Belle hit his own solo home run. In the top of the 7th Polonia had an RBI double, and then Justice had a 2-run single. In the top of the 9th Lopez had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 9th right fielder Manny Ramirez hit a solo home run for Cleveland.

Game 5 on October 26 belonged to the Indians by the score of 5-4. Game 6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on October 28 was won by the Braves in a thrilling 1-0 pitching showcase. Tom Glavine, who would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player, pitched 8 innings, giving up 1 hit and 3 walks while recording 8 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th Justice hit a solo home run, and that was all Atlanta needed to win.

Tom Glavine also won the Babe Ruth Award and a Silver Slugger for his position. Greg Maddux won the National League Cy Young Award and a Gold Glove while also being named the July Pitcher of the Month and the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. Marquis Grissom also won a Gold Glove. Maddux would make the All-Star Game as a reserve while Fred McGriff would be the National League’s starting first baseman for the event.