Wednesday, January 07

ATLANTA -- Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones, Warren Spahn and Tom Glavine are among the many legends who have worn a Braves uniform. These greats have created a history that is widely celebrated throughout the baseball world.

Here is a look a my top 10 moments in Braves history. This list might help recreate some happiness from yesteryear. Or, it might lead you to create your own list of the franchise’s top 10 moments.

1. Hank breaks Babe’s record
More than 50 years later, folks know where they were when Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. Personally, I was in my mother’s womb as my dad rushed her through the grocery store, wanting to get home in time to watch the nationally televised broadcast of the Braves and Dodgers on April 8, 1974. Aaron created one of baseball’s most iconic moments in the fourth inning, when he hit his historic 715th home run off Al Downing. Ruth’s record total had stood since May 25, 1935, when he hit the last of his home runs during a three-homer game for the Boston Braves in Pittsburgh. Aaron finished with 755 home runs, which stood as MLB’s record until Barry Bonds surpassed it in 2007.

2. Justice is served
Tom Glavine allowed one hit over eight scoreless innings and got the one bleepin’ run he demanded when David Justice hit a solo home run to begin the sixth inning of Game 6 of the 1995 World Series. Justice’s historic blast proved decisive in a 1-0 win that gave the city of Atlanta its first World Series title. Glavine’s effort was one of the greatest in MLB history. But there is just one true defining moment from that memorable Fall Classic.

3. Houston, you have a problem
Jorge Soler homered during the first plate appearance of the 2021 World Series, and he went back to back with Dansby Swanson to help the Braves beat the Astros by one run in Game 4 of the same Fall Classic. But the most memorable of his three homers was the one he sent out of Houston’s Minute Maid Park in Game 6. The monstrous three-run blast, which propelled the Braves toward a clinching victory that night and will forever live in the franchise’s lore, came to rest across the street from the ballpark.

4. When Sid slid
Having grown up a Pirates supporter, this was actually one of my least memorable moments as a sports fan. But the 18-year-old me has gotten over it. Kinda. Anyhow, this remains the most improbable of postseason wins in franchise history.

The Braves capped a three-run ninth inning in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS when Francisco Cabrera laced a two-run single to left field to score Sid Bream from second with the winning run. When I asked Bream about this while I was writing a book, "The Franchise: A Curated History of the Braves," he explained that, when he had doubled off Doug Drabek in the seventh inning, he took a cautious lead off second because he knew Drabek might throw back. With sidearm reliever Stan Belinda on the mound in the ninth, Bream took an extra step and a half with his lead because he knew there wouldn’t likely be a pickoff attempt.

5. Acuña’s slam
Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 40/70 season in 2023 was filled with highlights, and he wowed with both his arm and power countless times. But those who remember the roar of the crowd after Acuña hit a grand slam off Walker Buehler in Game 3 of the 2018 National League Division Series might understand why I chose to place this moment here. Yeah, the Braves were eliminated the following day. But a then-20-year-old Acuña introduced himself to the baseball world that night and gave Atlanta a chance to celebrate the great 2018 turnaround one last time.

6. Chipper’s last dagger
Jones’ first career homer was a ninth-inning, go-ahead blast at Shea Stadium on May 9, 1995, and he of course had many memorable homers against the Mets, especially during the final week of his 1999 National League MVP season. The Hall of Fame third baseman thrived when given a chance to frustrate division rivals. So it was fitting that the last of his 468 career home runs ended a memorable 8-7 comeback win over the Phillies on Sept. 2, 2012. His three-run, walk-off homer off Jonathan Papelbon capped a five-run ninth. It was the ninth walk-off homer of his splendid career.

7. Pennant clincher
If Aaron says it was the favorite of his home runs, then it must have been special. Those of you whose fandom goes back to the Milwaukee years likely have fond memories of the night Aaron clinched the NL pennant with an 11th-inning walk-off homer against the Cardinals on Sept. 23, 1957. A couple weeks later, Aaron, Spahn, Eddie Mathews and World Series hero Lew Burdette would be celebrating what remains the city of Milwaukee’s only World Series title.

8. Welcome back
Andres Galarraga created one of baseball’s best feel-good moments when he homered during the Braves’ season opener in 2000. After missing the 1999 season while undergoing treatment for lymphatic cancer, the Big Cat electrified an Opening Day crowd at Turner Field with a seventh inning home run that propelled the Braves to a 2-0 win over the Rockies.

“Today is something special,” Galarraga told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s like a movie. Believe me, I don’t have the words to say how happy I am.”

More than a quarter of a century later, it’s hard to describe how special that moment was for countless Braves players, coaches and fans.

9. 13th straight
Just as folks across the United States were getting used to cable television, a new channel -- WTBS -- was offering fans a chance to see Gomer Pyle, Andy Griffith and Atlanta’s Major League Baseball team. Long before every game was televised, the Braves were being beamed into living rooms across the country via WTBS. The Atlanta teams weren’t very good during the early years. But fandom grew in 1982, when Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro, Bob Horner and the gang began the season with 13 straight wins. Claudell Washington provided a 13th straight win with a two-run walk-off single on April 21 against the Reds.

10. Smoltz and Olson again
Catcher Greg Olson jumped into John Smoltz’s arms when the Hall of Fame pitcher clinched at least a tie of the National League West during the penultimate day of the 1991 regular season. The two recreated this scene 12 days later when Smoltz threw a shutout against the Pirates in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. The Braves went from worst to first to capture the first of what was 14 consecutive division titles during this magical season. Smoltz’s Game 7 masterpiece also secured the first of five trips to the World Series during the 1990s.

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