1998 Atlanta Braves season
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 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. The team's greatness and their surprising playoff defeat are memorialized by Morgan Wallen in his 2023 hit, "98 Braves." The song is an extended metaphor that compares a past relationship to the season.
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. The quintet posted a cumulative 2.97 ERA and amassed 88 wins, 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. 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.
- November 27, 1997: Andrés Galarraga was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- January 30, 1998: Dennis Martínez was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- February 6, 1998: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
Regular season
Opening Day starters
- C Eddie Pérez
- 1B Andrés Galarraga
- 2B Tony Graffanino
- 3B Chipper Jones
- SS Walt Weiss
- LF Ryan Klesko
- CF Andruw Jones
- RF Michael Tucker
- P Greg Maddux
Transactions
- June 9, 1998: Howard Battle was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- June 23, 1998: Alan Embree was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Russ Springer.
- August 14, 1998: Paul Byrd was selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Atlanta Braves.
Player stats
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 |
Award winners
- Tom Glavine, NL Cy Young Award,
- Tom Glavine, Pitcher of the Month, April
- Tom Glavine, P, Silver Slugger
- Andruw Jones, OF, Gold Glove
- Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, June
- Greg Maddux, P, Gold Glove
- Chipper Jones, 3B, starter
- Greg Maddux, P, starter
- Walt Weiss, SS, starter
- Andrés Galarraga, 1B, reserve
- Tom Glavine, P, reserve
- Javy López, C, reserve