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1998 Atlanta Braves season

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1998 Atlanta Braves
National League East Champions
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkTurner Field
CityAtlanta
Record106–56 (.654)
Divisional place1st
OwnersTime Warner
General managersJohn Schuerholz
ManagersBobby Cox
TelevisionWTBS
TBS Superstation
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
Fox Sports South
(Ernie Johnson, Bob Rathbun)
RadioWSB (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.

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

  • November 17, 1997: Walt Weiss was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[5]
  • November 27, 1997: Andrés Galarraga was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[6]
  • January 30, 1998: Dennis Martínez was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[7]
  • February 6, 1998: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[8]

Regular season

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

Opening Day starters

Season standings

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 106 56 .654 — 56‍–‍25 50‍–‍31
New York Mets 88 74 .543 18 47‍–‍34 41‍–‍40
Philadelphia Phillies 75 87 .463 31 40‍–‍41 35‍–‍46
Montreal Expos 65 97 .401 41 39‍–‍42 26‍–‍55
Florida Marlins 54 108 .333 52 31‍–‍50 23‍–‍58

Record vs. opponents

1998 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LA MIL MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona — 1–8 5–7 4–5 6–6 6–2 4–5 4–8 6–3 2–7 4–5 2–7 6–3 3–9 5–7 2–7 5–8
Atlanta 8–1 — 3–6 7–2 5–3 7–5 4–5 8–1 7–2 6–6 9–3 8–4 7–2 5–4 7–2 6–3 9–7
Chicago 7–5 6–3 — 6–5 7–2 7–2 4–7 4–5 6–6 7–2 4–5 3–6 8–3 5–4 7–3 4–7 5–8
Cincinnati 5–4 2–7 5–6 — 4–5 9–0 3–8 5–4 6–5 8–1 3–6 4–5 5–7 1–11 2–7 8–3 7-6
Colorado 6–6 3–5 2–7 5–4 — 6–3 6–5 6–6 4–7 7–2 3–6 5–4 5–4 5–7 7–5 3–6 4–8
Florida 2–6 5–7 2–7 0–9 3–6 — 3–6 4–5 0–9 5–7 5–7 6–6 3–6 4–5 0–9 4–5 8–8
Houston 5–4 5–4 7–4 8–3 5–6 6-3 — 3–6 9–2 7–2 5–4 7–2 9–2 5–4 6–3 5–7 10–4
Los Angeles 8–4 1–8 5–4 4–5 6–6 5–4 6–3 — 5–4 5–4 3–5 5–4 7–5 5–7 6–6 4–5 8–5
Milwaukee 3–6 2–7 6–6 5–6 7–4 9–0 2–9 4–5 — 6–3 1–8 4–5 6–5 3–6 5–4 3–8 8–6
Montreal 7–2 6–6 2–7 1–8 2–7 7–5 2–7 4–5 3–6 — 8–4 5–7 2–7 4–4 3–6 3–6 6–10
New York 5–4 3–9 5–4 6–3 6–3 7–5 4–5 5–3 8–1 4–8 — 8–4 4–5 4–5 4–5 6–3 9–7
Philadelphia 7-2 4–8 6–3 5–4 4–5 6–6 2–7 4–5 5–4 7–5 4–8 — 8–1 1–8 2–6 3–6 7–9
Pittsburgh 3–6 2–7 3–8 7–5 4–5 6–3 2–9 5–7 5–6 7–2 5–4 1–8 — 5–4 2–7 6–5 6–7
San Diego 9–3 4–5 4–5 11–1 7–5 5–4 4–5 7–5 6–3 4–4 5–4 8–1 4–5 — 8–4 6–3 6–7
San Francisco 7–5 2–7 3–7 7–2 5–7 9–0 3–6 6–6 4–5 6–3 5–4 6–2 7–2 4–8 — 7–5 8–5
St. Louis 7–2 3–6 7–4 3–8 6–3 5-4 7–5 5–4 8–3 6–3 3–6 6–3 5–6 3–6 5–7 — 4–9


Transactions

  • June 9, 1998: Howard Battle was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[9]
  • June 23, 1998: Alan Embree was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Russ Springer.[10]
  • August 14, 1998: Paul Byrd was selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Atlanta Braves.[11]

Roster

1998 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Javy López 133 489 139 .284 34 107
1B Andrés Galarraga 153 555 169 .305 44 121
2B Keith Lockhart 109 366 94 .257 9 37
SS Walt Weiss 96 347 97 .280 0 27
3B Chipper Jones 160 601 188 .313 34 107
LF Ryan Klesko 129 427 117 .274 18 70
CF Andruw Jones 159 582 158 .271 31 90
RF Michael Tucker 130 414 101 .244 13 46

Other batters

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

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Tony Graffanino 105 289 61 .211 5 22
Gerald Williams 129 266 81 .305 10 44
Ozzie Guillén 83 264 73 .277 1 22
Eddie Pérez 61 149 50 .336 6 32
Danny Bautista 82 144 36 .250 3 17
Curtis Pride 70 107 27 .252 3 9
Greg Colbrunn 28 44 13 .295 1 10
Marty Malloy 11 28 5 .179 1 1
Rafael Belliard 7 20 5 .250 0 1
Randall Simon 7 16 3 .188 0 4
Ray Holbert 8 15 2 .133 0 1
Wes Helms 7 13 4 .308 1 2
Damon Hollins 3 6 1 .167 0 0
George Lombard 6 6 2 .333 1 1
Mark DeRosa 5 3 1 .333 0 0

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Greg Maddux 34 251.0 18 9 2.22 204
Tom Glavine 33 229.1 20 6 2.47 157
Denny Neagle 32 210.1 16 11 3.55 165
Kevin Millwood 31 174.1 17 8 4.08 163
John Smoltz 26 167.2 17 3 2.90 173
Bruce Chen 4 20.1 2 0 3.98 17

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Kerry Ligtenberg 75 3 2 30 2.71 79
Dennis Martínez 53 4 6 2 4.45 62
John Rocker 47 1 3 2 2.13 42
Mike Cather 36 2 2 0 3.92 33
Rudy Seánez 34 4 1 2 2.75 50
Mark Wohlers 27 0 1 8 10.18 22
Russ Springer 22 1 1 0 4.05 19
Alan Embree 20 1 0 0 4.34 19
Norm Charlton 13 0 0 1 1.38 6
Brian Edmondson 10 0 1 0 4.32 8
Odalis Pérez 10 0 1 0 4.22 5
Adam Butler 8 0 1 0 10.80 7
Paul Byrd 1 0 0 0 13.50! 1

National League Division Series

Main article: 1998 National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

Atlanta wins the series, 3-0

Game Home Score Visitor Score Date Series
1 Atlanta 7 Chicago 1 September 30 1-0 (ATL)
2 Atlanta 2 Chicago 1 October 1 2-0 (ATL)
3 Chicago 2 Atlanta 6 October 3 3-0 (ATL)

National League Championship Series

Main article: 1998 National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 7: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
San Diego 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 7 0
Atlanta 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 3
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 11 0
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
WP: Kevin Brown (1-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-1)

Game 3

October 10: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2
San Diego 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 X 4 7 0
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (1-0)   LP: Greg Maddux (0-1)   Sv: Trevor Hoffman (1)

Game 4

October 11: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 0 0 8 12 0
San Diego 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 8 0
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 5 0 7 14 1
San Diego 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 6 10 1
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Diego 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 10 0
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (2-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-2)

Award winners

1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
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]

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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