1993 Atlanta Braves season

The 1993 Atlanta Braves season was the Braves' 123rd in existence and their 28th since moving to Atlanta. The Braves were looking to improve on their 98–64 record from 1992 and win the National League pennant for a third consecutive year, and finally win a World Series in the 1990s.
The Braves finished the season with a 104–58 record to win the National League West for the third consecutive year after trailing the San Francisco Giants, who finished in second place by one game, for most of the season in what is generally regarded as the last real pennant race before playoff expansion. 1993 was also the last year that the team competed in the National League West, as they would shift to the National League East for 1994. The Braves did not record a single losing record against any team in the division.
The 1993 Atlanta Braves are seen as one of the greatest Major League Baseball teams in history. Despite their excellent regular season, the Braves' streak of National League pennants ended at two as they fell to the underdog [1993 1993 Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies] in six games in the NLCS. By a twist of fate, the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies in-state rivals, in back-to-back NLCS series in 1991 and 1992, but in 1993, lost to the Pirates in-state rivals.

Offseason

December 7, 1992: Billy Taylor was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Atlanta Braves in the 1992 rule 5 draft.
December 9, 1992: Greg Maddux was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
December 21, 1992: Randy St. Claire was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
December 21, 1992: Jerry Willard was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.

Regular season

At the end of August, the Atlanta Braves tried to acquire Dennis Martínez from the Montreal Expos. The Expos placed Martinez's name on the waiver wire and the Braves claimed him. The Expos were not about to let Martinez go to Atlanta for the waiver fee of $20,000. After claiming Martinez, the Expos contacted the Braves to see if they were interested in talking about a trade. Martinez had the final word on any movement because his seniority gives him veto rights over a trade.
On September 11, 1993, Chipper Jones made his major league baseball debut. It was in a game against the San Diego Padres. Jones did not have any at-bats in the game.

Transactions

April 3, 1993: Billy Taylor was returned by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves.
April 13, 1993: Mark Davis was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for Brad Hassinger.
May 3, 1993: Randy St. Claire was released by the Atlanta Braves.
June 3, 1993: John Rocker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 18th round of the 1993 amateur draft. Player signed August 23, 1993.
July 18, 1993: Fred McGriff was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott, and Vince Moore.

Opening Day starters

Notable events

July 20, 1993: At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, a fire broke out in the skybox/press box area, delaying the start of the scheduled game between the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. Incidentally, the Braves' trade for Fred McGriff was completed a few days earlier and McGriff arrived at the stadium that night. With the delayed start, McGriff was able to suit up and start the game at first base. McGriff helped the Braves erase a 5–0 deficit by hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning. The Braves went on to win the game, 8–5.

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	Damon Berryhill	115	335	82	.245	8	43
1B	Sid Bream	117	277	72	.260	9	35
2B	Mark Lemke	151	493	124	.252	7	49
SS	Jeff Blauser	161	597	182	.305	15	73
3B	Terry Pendleton	161	633	172	.272	17	84
LF	Ron Gant	157	606	166	.274	36	117
CF	Otis Nixon	134	461	124	.269	1	24
RF	David Justice	157	585	158	.270	40	120

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
Deion Sanders	95	272	75	.276	6	28
Greg Olson	83	262	59	.225	4	24
Fred McGriff	68	255	79	.310	19	55
Francisco Cabrera	70	83	20	.241	4	11
Brian Hunter	37	80	11	.138	0	8
Rafael Belliard	91	79	18	.228	0	6
Bill Pecota	72	62	20	.323	0	5
Tony Tarasco	24	35	8	.229	0	2
Ryan Klesko	22	17	6	.353	2	5
Javy López	8	16	6	.375	1	2
Chipper Jones	8	3	2	.667	0	0
Ramon Caraballo	6	0	0	----	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	36	267.0	20	10	2.36	197
John Smoltz	35	243.2	15	11	3.62	208
Tom Glavine	36	239.1	22	6	3.20	120
Steve Avery	35	223.1	18	6	2.94	125
Pete Smith	20	90.2	4	8	4.37	53

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Kent Mercker	43	66.0	3	1	2.86	59

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
Mike Stanton	63	4	6	27	4.67	43
Greg McMichael	74	2	3	19	2.06	89
Jay Howell	54	3	3	0	2.31	37
Steve Bedrosian	49	5	2	0	1.63	33
Mark Wohlers	46	6	2	0	4.50	45
Marvin Freeman	21	2	0	0	6.08	25
Pedro Borbón Jr.	3	0	0	0	21.60	2

National League Championship Series

Award winners

David Justice, OF, Silver Slugger
Greg Maddux, National League Cy Young Award
Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, August
Greg Maddux, P, Gold Glove
Greg Maddux, The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
Fred McGriff, 1B, Silver Slugger

'''1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game'''