1992 Atlanta Braves: Start of a Long Tradition

1992 Atlanta Braves: Start of a Long Tradition

1992 Atlanta Braves: Start of a Long Tradition

Little did they know it at the time but the 1990’s would prove to be the best decade in the history of Atlanta Braves baseball in the history of its franchise. Even dating back to the days in Boston and Milwaukee the Braves wouldn’t experience the kind of success that the 1990’s had in store for them. The 1990’s was the start of a long tradition for the Braves, winning division titles every season in convincing fashion.

1992 began this trend as the Braves went 98-64 that year, finishing 8 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the National League West division crown. The Braves went 9-9 against the Reds in head-to-head play. The Braves went 51-30 at home and 47-34 on the road. Excluding the month of May, the Braves were consistent winners each month of the regular season as they went 11-11 in April, 19-6 in June, 16-9 in July, 19-10 in August, 17-11 in September and 4-1 in October.

Third baseman Terry Pendleton batted .311 with 21 home runs and 105 RBI’s off 199 hits and 39 doubles. Center fielder Otis Nixon batted .294 with 134 hits, 14 doubles and 41 stolen bases. Though he only played in 97 games due to his split two-sport duties between baseball and football, center fielder “Prime Time” Deion Sanders was one of the most talked about sports athletes of his time, batting .304 with 92 hits, 14 triples and 26 stolen bases. Right fielder David Justice had 21 home runs and 72 RBI’s off 124 hits, 19 doubles and 5 triples. Left fielder Ron Gant had 17 home runs and 80 RBI’s off 141 hits, 22 doubles, 6 triples and 32 stolen bases.

First baseman Sid Bream had 10 home runs and 61 RBI’s off 97 hits and 25 doubles. Second baseman Mark Lemke had 97 hits, 7 doubles and 4 triples. Middle infielder Jeff Blauser had 14 home runs, 90 hits and 19 doubles in 123 games. Catcher Greg Olson had 72 hits and 14 doubles in 95 games. Catcher Damon Berryhill had 10 home runs, 70 hits and 16 doubles in 101 games.

The lasting stronghold of the Atlanta Braves for many years to come would be the pitching staff, and especially the starting rotation. Starting pitcher John Smoltz went 15-12 with 215 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA, recording 9 complete games and 3 shutouts. Steve Avery went 11-11 with 129 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 2 shutouts. Tom Glavine went 20-8 with 129 strikeouts and a 2.76 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 5 shutouts. Charlie Leibrandt went 15-7 with 104 strikeouts and a 3.36 ERA, recording 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. Pete Smith went 7-0 with a 2.05 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout.

Closer Alejandro Pena had 15 saves in 41 games. Relief pitcher Mike Stanton went 5-4 with 8 saves. Kent Mercker went 3-2 with 6 saves and a 3.42 ERA. Mark Wohlers had 4 saves and a 2.55 ERA. Marvin Freeman went 7-5 with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA. On August 30 the Braves traded minor league players Nate Minchey and Sean Ross to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for relief pitcher Jeff Reardon, who didn’t disappoint as he went 3-0 with 3 saves and a 1.15 ERA. David Nied went 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA. Juan Berenger went 3-1 with 1 save.

om Glavine, Terry Pendleton and Ron Gant would represent the Braves in the 1992 All-Star Game as Glavine and Pendleton both started the game and Gant would be a reserve.

The National League Championship Series between the Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates turned out to be an ultra competitive contest as it took all 7 games to determine who would win the pennant. In Game 1 on October 6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the Braves won 5-1. In the bottom of the 2nd inning Mark Lemke had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 4th Sid Bream had an RBI double, and then Ron Gant reached on an error after laying down a sacrifice bunt to score Bream. In the bottom of the 5th Jeff Blauser hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 7th Terry Pendleton had an RBI single. Second baseman Jose Lind’s solo home run in the top of the 8th was all that Pittsburgh could muster.

In Game 2 on October 7 the Braves won again by the score of 13-5. In the bottom of the 2nd inning Damon Berryhill and Lemke both had RBI singles, Steve Avery had a sacrifice fly, and Jeff Blauser topped things off with an RBI triple. In the bottom of the 5th Gant destroyed a grand slam home run to give Atlanta a commanding 8-0 lead. In the top of the 7th right fielder Lloyd McClendon had an RBI double, Lind had a 2-run triple, and then Lind would score on a wild pitch. The Braves would prevent the Pirates from completing any comeback as they struck back. Mike Stanton had an RBI double in the bottom of the 7th, followed by a 2-run double by Pendleton and a 2-run single by David Justice. Catcher Don Slaught’s RBI groundout in the top of the 8th wasn’t enough help for Pittsburgh.

In Game 3 at Three Rivers Stadium the Pirates won 3-2. In the top of the 4th inning Bream hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 5th Slaught hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 6th third baseman Jeff King had an RBI double. In the top of the 7th Gant hit a solo home run, but in the bottom of the 7th center fielder Andy Van Slyke won the game for the Pirates with a sacrifice fly.

In Game 4 on October 10 the Braves won 6-4. In the top of the 2nd inning John Smoltz and Otis Nixon both had RBI singles, and in the bottom of the 2nd right fielder Alex Cole tied the game with a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 3rd first baseman Orlando Merced had an RBI double. In the top of the 5th Justice had and RBI single and pinch hitting first baseman and left fielder Brian Hunter scored Blauser on a fielder’s choice. In the top of the 6th Nixon had an RBI double, and Blauser followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 7th Van Slyke had an RBI double.

In Game 5 on October 11 the Pirates beat the Braves 7-1. Bob Walk of the Pirates pitched a complete game, giving up 3 hits, 5 walks and 1 run while recording 2 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning shortstop Jay Bell had an RBI single, and then the combination of left fielder Barry Bonds, King and McClendon all had RBI doubles. In the bottom of the 3rd McClendon had a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 6th first baseman Gary Redus had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 7th Slaught had an RBI single. In the top of the 8th Blauser’s RBI groundout wouldn’t be enough for Atlanta.

Returning to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for Game 6 on October 13, the Braves would be pounded by the Pirates 13-4. In the top of the 2nd inning Bonds hit a solo home run, Slaught had an RBI double, Lind had a fielder’s choice to score Slaught, Redus had an RBI double, and Bell topped things off by belting a 3-run home run. In the bottom of the 4th pinch hitting outfielder Lonnie Smith had an RBI single, but Pittsburgh would pound away again. In the top of the 5th Lind had an RBI double, and both Redus and Van Slyke had RBI singles. McClendon hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th to put a stamp on the game.

The Braves got their happy ending in Game 7 on October 14 as they won the National League pennant in dramatic fashion, winning by the score of 3-2. In the top of the 1st inning Merced had a sacrifice fly, and in the top of the 6th Van Slyke had an RBI single, but when they really needed it, the Braves came through. In the bottom of the 9th Ron Gant had a sacrifice fly, and then pinch hitting catcher and first baseman Francisco Cabrera had a walk-off 2-run single to win the game. John Smoltz would be named the NLCS Most Valuable Player.

The 1992 World Series was the beginning of something special for one team, but to the dismay of the Atlanta Braves. By beating the Braves 4 games to 2 in the Fall Classic, the Toronto Blue Jays would start their back-to-back 2-year reign as World Series Champions. The Braves did make things interesting for the Blue Jays, however. In Game 1 on October 17 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the Braves won 3-1. Tom Glavine pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and 1 run while recording 6 strikeouts. In the top of the 4th inning first baseman Joe Carter hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 6th Damon Berryhill clobbered a 3-run home run.

In Game 5 on October 22 at the SkyDome the Braves won 7-2. John Smoltz pitched 6 innings and gave up 5 hits, 4 walks and 2 runs while recording 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning Terry Pendleton had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 2nd catcher Pat Borders had an RBI double of his own. In the top of the 4th David Justice hit a solo home run, and Borders came back in the bottom of the 4th to have an RBI single. In the top of the 5th Deion Sanders had an RBI single, and then Lonnie Smith followed by pulverizing a grand slam home run.

While the Atlanta Braves fell 2 wins short of obtaining the ultimate prize in baseball, they had sent the message loud and clear to rest of Major League Baseball that their model of consistency had arrived. Tom Glavine would be named the Pitcher of the Month in July while Terry Pendleton would win a Gold Glove Award for his stellar defensive play at the hot corner of third base.