2003 Atlanta Braves season

The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their ninth consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the NLDS to the Chicago Cubs, 3–2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season up to that point in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history.
The Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.

Offseason

November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker and Tim Spooneybarger.
November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.
December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.
December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.
January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.

Regular season

In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.
May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.
On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.

Notable transactions

August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.
Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jonny Venters.

Player stats

Batting

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		129	457	150	.328	43	109
1B		126	409	110	.269	11	80
2B		145	551	174	.316	21	69
SS		156	664	194	.292	15	61
3B		147	542	150	.277	22	76
LF		153	555	169	.305	27	106
CF		156	595	165	.277	36	116
RF		155	576	190	.330	39	132

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
	103	266	70	.263	6	22
	103	197	58	.294	5	31
	104	162	39	.241	0	9
	55	151	30	.199	1	13
	112	134	33	.246	3	15
	16	36	11	.306	0	2
	19	21	6	.286	2	3
	16	15	4	.267	0	0
	13	10	4	.400	0	2

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
	36	218.1	16	11	3.96	124
	34	212.1	21	7	3.81	149
	31	190.0	14	8	3.84	110
	29	182.1	12	4	4.00	100
	30	167.1	11	9	5.43	94

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
	62	0	2	45	1.12	73
	80	3	4	0	3.51	43
	66	5	3	0	4.35	45
	64	6	4	0	3.86	32
	52	3	3	0	4.66	66
	48	1	2	0	4.29	46
	44	6	2	1	5.05	47
	21	0	0	1	5.53	19
	20	2	2	3	2.70	20
	18	0	0	1	1.06	7
	11	1	0	0	2.00	9
	5	0	0	0	18.00	8

Award winners

'''2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game'''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves