2001 Atlanta Braves season
The 2001 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 36th season in Atlanta and 131st overall. The Braves won their seventh consecutive division title. The season saw the team finish first in the NL East Division with an 88–74 record – the worst among playoff teams in 2001, and also the worst record for the Braves since the 1994 strike-reduced season. Atlanta finished the season with just a 2-game division lead over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves swept the favored Houston Astros in the NLDS before losing to the eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS 4–1, in which Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling notably dominated Atlanta's offense.
Offseason
- October 31, 2000: Bobby Bonilla was released by the Atlanta Braves.
- December 13, 2000: Rico Brogna was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- January 26, 2001: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- March 30, 2001: Steve Avery was released by the Atlanta Braves.
Regular season
The Braves played the Mets in the first game in New York after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11. The game was played on September 21, and it was a 3–2 New York Mets victory over the Atlanta Braves.Opening Day starters
- Rafael Furcal
- Tom Glavine
- Wes Helms
- Andruw Jones
- Chipper Jones
- Brian Jordan
- Javy López
- B. J. Surhoff
- Quilvio Veras
Notable transactions
- May 10, 2001: Aaron Small was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- June 22, 2001: John Rocker was traded by the Atlanta Braves with Troy Cameron to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Karsay and Steve Reed.
- July 5, 2001: Ken Caminiti was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- July 31, 2001: Rey Sánchez was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Atlanta Braves for Brad Voyles and Alejandro Machado.
- August 7, 2001: Quilvio Veras was released by the Atlanta Braves.
- August 31, 2001: Julio Franco was purchased by the Atlanta Braves from the Mexico City Tigers.
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 | 128 | 438 | 117 | .267 | 17 | 66 |
| 1B | Rico Brogna | 72 | 206 | 51 | .248 | 3 | 21 |
| 2B | Quilvio Veras | 71 | 258 | 65 | .252 | 3 | 25 |
| 3B | Chipper Jones | 159 | 572 | 189 | .330 | 38 | 102 |
| SS | Rafael Furcal | 79 | 324 | 89 | .275 | 4 | 30 |
| LF | B. J. Surhoff | 141 | 484 | 131 | .271 | 10 | 58 |
| CF | Andruw Jones | 161 | 625 | 157 | .251 | 34 | 104 |
| RF | Brian Jordan | 148 | 560 | 165 | .295 | 25 | 97 |
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 |
| Marcus Giles | 68 | 244 | 64 | .262 | 9 | 31 |
| Dave Martinez | 120 | 237 | 68 | .287 | 2 | 20 |
| Wes Helms | 100 | 216 | 48 | .222 | 10 | 36 |
| Keith Lockhart | 104 | 178 | 39 | .219 | 3 | 12 |
| Ken Caminiti | 64 | 171 | 38 | .222 | 6 | 16 |
| Mark DeRosa | 66 | 164 | 47 | .287 | 3 | 20 |
| Rey Sánchez | 49 | 154 | 35 | .227 | 0 | 9 |
| Paul Bako | 61 | 137 | 29 | .212 | 2 | 15 |
| Bernard Gilkey | 69 | 106 | 29 | .274 | 2 | 14 |
| Julio Franco | 25 | 90 | 27 | .300 | 3 | 11 |
| Eddie Pérez | 5 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 0 |
| Kurt Abbott | 6 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Jesse Garcia | 22 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Cory Aldridge | 8 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilson Betemit | 8 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Torrealba | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
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 | 233.0 | 17 | 11 | 3.05 | 173 |
| John Burkett | 34 | 219.1 | 12 | 12 | 3.04 | 187 |
| Tom Glavine | 35 | 219.1 | 16 | 7 | 3.57 | 116 |
| Kevin Millwood | 21 | 121.0 | 7 | 7 | 4.31 | 84 |
Other 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 |
| Jason Marquis | 38 | 129.1 | 5 | 6 | 3.48 | 98 |
| Odalis Pérez | 24 | 95.1 | 7 | 8 | 4.91 | 71 |
| Damian Moss | 5 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 8 |
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 |
| John Rocker | 30 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 3.09 | 36 |
| John Smoltz | 36 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3.36 | 57 |
| Mike Remlinger | 74 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2.76 | 93 |
| José Cabrera | 55 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2.88 | 43 |
| Kerry Ligtenberg | 53 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.02 | 56 |
| Steve Karsay | 43 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3.43 | 39 |
| Steve Reed | 39 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.48 | 25 |
| Rudy Seánez | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2.75 | 41 |
| Matt Whiteside | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.16 | 10 |
| Marc Valdes | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 3 |
| Chris Seelbach | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.88 | 8 |
| Joe Slusarski | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 5 |
| Tim Spooneybarger | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 | 3 |
| Trey Moore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | 1 |
| Joe Nelson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 | 0 |
| Scott Sobkowiak | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Award winners
- Andruw Jones, OF, Gold Glove
- Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, June
- Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, July
- Greg Maddux, P, Gold Glove
- Chipper Jones, 3B, starter
- John Burkett, P, reserve