2002 Atlanta Braves season
The 2002 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 37th season in Atlanta and 132nd overall. The Braves won their eighth consecutive division title, finishing 19 games ahead of the second-place Montreal Expos. The Braves lost the 2002 Divisional Series to the eventual NL Champion San Francisco Giants, 3–2. This would be the first of four consecutive NLDS losses in as many years, and the first of three consecutive years to do so by losing the deciding Game 5 at Turner Field.
2002 marked the final year that pitchers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz played on the same team ending the reign of what has been considered by many the greatest pitching trio of all-time. All three would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a decade later. Smoltz set the Braves' single season record for saves. Chipper Jones moved to the outfield in left field to allow for Vinny Castilla to be signed and added to the lineup at third base. Julio Franco became a regular player in the second stint of his Major League career and Gary Sheffield was acquired to the Braves in 2002, playing at right field.
Offseason
- October 26, 2001: Aaron Small was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- December 4, 2001: John Smoltz was re-signed from free agency back to the Atlanta Braves.
- December 11, 2001: Vinny Castilla signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- December 17, 2001: Julio Franco was re-signed from free agency back to the Atlanta Braves.
- January 15, 2002: Gary Sheffield was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Atlanta Braves for Andrew Brown, Brian Jordan and Odalis Pérez.
- January 16, 2002: Doug Linton was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
- March 20, 2002: Henry Blanco was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Bako and Jose Cabrera.
Regular season
Opening Day starters
- Vinny Castilla
- Rafael Furcal
- Marcus Giles
- Tom Glavine
- Andruw Jones
- Chipper Jones
- Javy López
- Gary Sheffield
- B. J. Surhoff
Transactions
- June 4, 2002: Jeff Francoeur was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed July 8, 2002.
- September 30, 2002: Aaron Small was released by the Atlanta Braves.
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 | 109 | 347 | 81 | .233 | 11 | 52 |
| 1B | Julio Franco | 125 | 338 | 96 | .284 | 6 | 30 |
| 2B | Keith Lockhart | 128 | 296 | 64 | .216 | 5 | 32 |
| SS | Rafael Furcal | 154 | 636 | 175 | .275 | 8 | 47 |
| 3B | Vinny Castilla | 143 | 543 | 126 | .232 | 12 | 61 |
| LF | Chipper Jones | 158 | 548 | 179 | .327 | 26 | 100 |
| CF | Andruw Jones | 154 | 560 | 148 | .264 | 35 | 94 |
| RF | Gary Sheffield | 135 | 492 | 151 | .307 | 25 | 84 |
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 |
| Henry Blanco | 81 | 221 | 45 | .204 | 6 | 22 |
| Marcus Giles | 68 | 213 | 49 | .230 | 8 | 23 |
| Darren Bragg | 109 | 212 | 57 | .269 | 3 | 15 |
| Mark DeRosa | 72 | 212 | 63 | .297 | 5 | 23 |
| Wes Helms | 85 | 210 | 51 | .243 | 6 | 22 |
| Matt Franco | 81 | 205 | 65 | .317 | 6 | 30 |
| B.J. Surhoff | 25 | 75 | 22 | .293 | 0 | 9 |
| Jesse Garcia | 39 | 61 | 12 | .197 | 0 | 5 |
| Steve Torrealba | 13 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Langerhans | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
| Tom Glavine | 36 | 224.2 | 18 | 11 | 2.96 | 127 |
| Kevin Millwood | 35 | 217.0 | 18 | 8 | 3.24 | 178 |
| Greg Maddux | 34 | 199.1 | 16 | 6 | 2.62 | 118 |
| Damian Moss | 33 | 179.0 | 12 | 6 | 3.42 | 111 |
| Jason Marquis | 22 | 114.1 | 8 | 9 | 5.04 | 84 |
| Jung Bong | 1 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.50 | 4 |
| John Ennis | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
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 |
| Albie Lopez | 30 | 55.2 | 1 | 4 | 4.37 | 39 |
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 Smoltz | 75 | 3 | 2 | 55 | 3.25 | 85 |
| Mike Remlinger | 73 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1.99 | 69 |
| Chris Hammond | 63 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0.95 | 63 |
| Kevin Gryboski | 57 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.48 | 33 |
| Darren Holmes | 55 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.81 | 47 |
| Kerry Ligtenberg | 52 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.97 | 51 |
| Tim Spooneybarger | 51 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.63 | 33 |
| John Foster | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.80 | 6 |
| Trey Hodges | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 6 |
| Andy Pratt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 1 |
| Joey Dawley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Aaron Small | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
Postseason
Postseason rosters
- Pitchers: 47 Tom Glavine 49 Kevin Gryboski 36 Chris Hammond 40 Darren Holmes 46 Kerry Ligtenberg 31 Greg Maddux 34 Kevin Millwood 27 Damian Moss 37 Mike Remlinger 29 John Smoltz
- Catchers: 20 Henry Blanco 8 Javy López
- Infielders: 19 Vinny Castilla 16 Mark DeRosa 23 Julio Franco 4 Matt Franco 1 Rafael Furcal 22 Marcus Giles 18 Wes Helms 7 Keith Lockhart
- Outfielders: 28 Darren Bragg 25 Andruw Jones 10 Chipper Jones 11 Gary Sheffield
Award winners
2002 Major League Baseball seasonBraves' team pitching led the league with a 3.13 ERA. John Smoltz was National League Relief Man of the Year, as he led the league with 55 saves, which was a National League record at the time. Greg Maddux and Andruw Jones were chosen for Gold Glove awards.
2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Representing the Braves on the 2002 National League All-Star team were pitchers Tom Glavine, Mike Remlinger and John Smoltz. Andruw Jones was elected to receive the final roster spot on the 2002 National League All-Star team.