1991 Atlanta Braves season

The 1991 Atlanta Braves season was the 26th in Atlanta and the 121st overall. They became the first team in the National League to go from last place one year to first place the next, doing so after remaining 9.5 games out of first at the All Star break. Coincidentally, the Braves' last-to-first feat was also accomplished by the 1991 Minnesota Twins, the team they would face in the 1991 World Series. The last Major League Baseball team to accomplish this was the 1890 Louisville Colonels of the American Association. The 1991 World Series, which the Braves ultimately lost, has been called the greatest World Series in history by ESPN.

1991 Atlanta Braves
National League Champions
National League West Champions
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkFulton County Stadium
CityAtlanta
Record94–68 (.580)
Divisional place1st
OwnersTed Turner
General managersJohn Schuerholz
ManagersBobby Cox
TelevisionWTBS
TBS Superstation
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton)
SportSouth
(Ernie Johnson)
RadioWSB
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Dave O'Brien)
← 1990 Seasons 1992 →

Despite finishing last in the National League West in 1990, the Braves managed to overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in 1991, clinching the division on the penultimate day of the regular season.[1][2] This was the first of three consecutive division titles won by the Braves.

Offseason

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Regular season

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  • Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena combined for a no-hitter on September 11, 1991, in a 1–0 shutout win over the San Diego Padres. The 13th no-hitter in franchise history, attendance was 20,477 at Fulton-County Stadium.[10]

Opening Day starters

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Season standings

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NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 94 68 .580 48‍–‍33 46‍–‍35
Los Angeles Dodgers 93 69 .574 1 54‍–‍27 39‍–‍42
San Diego Padres 84 78 .519 10 42‍–‍39 42‍–‍39
San Francisco Giants 75 87 .463 19 43‍–‍38 32‍–‍49
Cincinnati Reds 74 88 .457 20 39‍–‍42 35‍–‍46
Houston Astros 65 97 .401 29 37‍–‍44 28‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta 6–6 11–7 13–5 7–11 5–7 9–3 5–7 9–3 11–7 9–9 9–3
Chicago 6–6 4–8 9–3 2–10 10–7 11–6 8–10 7–11 4–8 6–6 10–8
Cincinnati 7–11 8–4 9–9 6–12 6–6 5–7 9–3 2–10 8–10 10–8 4–8
Houston 5–13 3–9 9–9 8–10 2–10 7–5 7–5 4–8 6–12 9–9 5–7
Los Angeles 11–7 10–2 12–6 10–8 5–7 7–5 7–5 7–5 10–8 8–10 6–6
Montreal 7–5 7–10 6–6 10–2 7–5 4–14 4–14 6–12 6–6 7–5 7–11
New York 3–9 6–11 7–5 5–7 5–7 14–4 11–7 6–12 7–5 6–6 7–11
Philadelphia 7-5 10–8 3–9 5–7 5–7 14–4 7–11 6–12 9–3 6–6 6–12
Pittsburgh 3–9 11–7 10–2 8–4 5–7 12–6 12–6 12–6 7–5 7–5 11–7
San Diego 7–11 8–4 10–8 12–6 8–10 6–6 5–7 3–9 5–7 11–7 9–3
San Francisco 9–9 6–6 8–10 9–9 10–8 5–7 6–6 6–6 5–7 7–11 4–8
St. Louis 3–9 8–10 8–4 7–5 6–6 11–7 11–7 12–6 7–11 3–9 8–4


Notable transactions

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Notable events

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  • July 31, 1991: Two-sport star Deion Sanders helps the Atlanta Braves overcome a 6–2 deficit with a three-run homer in the fifth inning in an 8–6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next day, Sanders reports to the Atlanta Falcons for training camp, as his NFL contract stipulated.
  • September 11, 1991: Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers, and Alejandro Peña combine to no-hit the San Diego Padres, the seventh no-hitter of 1991. Controversy ensues when Tony Gwynn apparently ends the no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning but the official scorer rules it an error on Terry Pendleton.
  • September 16, 1991: Otis Nixon, the league's leading base stealer, fails a drug test and is suspended for 60 days, consisting of the rest of the 1991 baseball season and the first six weeks of the 1992 season. The Braves lose the first two games without Nixon but rebound to win the National League pennant.

Draft picks

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Roster

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1991 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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= Indicates team leader

Starters by position

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
C Greg Olson 133 411 46 99 .241 6 44 1
1B Sid Bream 91 265 32 67 .253 11 45 0
2B Jeff Treadway 106 306 41 98 .320 3 32 2
3B Terry Pendleton 153 586 94 187 .319 22 86 10
SS Rafael Belliard 149 353 36 88 .249 0 27 3
LF Lonnie Smith 122 353 58 97 .275 7 44 9
CF Ron Gant 154 561 101 141 .251 32 105 34
RF David Justice 109 396 67 109 .275 21 87 8

[18]

Other batters

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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
Otis Nixon 124 401 81 119 .297 0 26 72
Jeff Blauser 129 352 49 91 .259 11 54 5
Brian Hunter 97 271 32 68 .251 12 50 0
Mark Lemke 136 269 36 63 .234 2 23 1
Mike Heath 49 139 4 29 .209 1 12 0
Deion Sanders 54 110 16 21 .191 4 13 11
Tommy Gregg 72 107 13 20 .187 1 4 2
Francisco Cabrera 44 95 7 23 .242 4 23 1
Keith Mitchell 48 66 11 21 .318 2 3 3
Mike Bell 17 30 4 4 .133 1 1 1
Jerry Willard 17 14 1 3 .214 1 4 0
Danny Heep 14 12 4 5 .417 0 3 0
Vinny Castilla 12 5 1 1 .200 0 0 0
Damon Berryhill 1 1 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Rico Rossy 5 1 0 0 .000 0 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO BB
Tom Glavine 34 246.2 20 11 2.55 192 69
Charlie Leibrandt 36 229.2 15 13 3.49 128 56
John Smoltz 36 229.2 14 13 3.80 148 77
Steve Avery 35 210.1 18 8 3.38 137 65
Pete Smith 14 48.0 1 3 5.06 29 22
Armando Reynoso 6 23.1 2 1 6.17 10 10

[18]

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; BB = Bases on Balls

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO BB
Rick Mahler 13 28.2 1 1 0 5.65 16 12

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; BB = Bases on Balls

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO BB
Juan Berenguer 49 64.1 0 3 17 2.24 53 20
Mike Stanton 74 78.0 5 5 7 2.88 54 21
Kent Mercker 50 73.1 5 3 6 2.58 62 35
Marvin Freeman 34 48.0 1 0 1 3.00 34 13
Jim Clancy 24 34.2 2 3 3 5.71 17 14
Randy St. Claire 19 28.2 0 0 0 4.08 30 9
Dan Petry 10 24.1 0 0 0 5.55 9 14
Jeff Parrett 18 21.1 1 2 1 6.33 14 12
Mark Wohlers 17 19.2 3 1 2 3.20 13 13
Alejandro Peña 15 19.1 2 0 11 1.40 13 3
Doug Sisk 14 14.1 2 1 0 5.02 5 8
Tony Castillo 7 8.2 1 1 0 7.27 8 5
Mike Bielecki 2 1.2 0 0 0 0.00 3 2

National League Championship Series

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Avery's amazing season continued with one of the greatest postseason performances of all time. He shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates for 16.2 innings over two games and accumulated two 1-0 wins. His performance earned him MVP honors for the 1991 NLCS.

Game 1

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October 9: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 1
Pittsburgh 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 X 5 8 1
W: Doug Drabek (1-0)   L: Tom Glavine (0-1)   S: Bob Walk (1)
HR: ATLDavid Justice (1)  PITAndy Van Slyke (1)
Pitchers: ATL – Glavine (6), Wohlers (1), Stanton (1)  PIT – Drabek (6), Walk (3)
Attendance: 57,347  Time: 2:51

Game 2

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October 10: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 8 0
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
W: Steve Avery (1-0)   L: Zane Smith (0-1)   S: Alejandro Peña (1)
HR: ATL – None   PIT – None
Pitchers: ATL – Avery (813), Pena (2/3)  PIT – Z. Smith (7), Mason (1), Belinda (1)
Attendance: 57,533  Time: 2:46

Game 3

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October 12: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 10 2
Atlanta 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 X 10 11 0
W: John Smoltz (1-0)   L: John Smiley (0-1)   S: Alejandro Peña (2)
HR: PIT – None  ATLGreg Olson (1), Ron Gant (1), Sid Bream (1)
Pitchers: PIT – Smiley (2), Landrum (1), Patterson (2), Kipper (2), Rodriguez (1)  ATL – Smoltz (613), Stanton (2/3), Wohlers (1/3), Pena (123)
Attendance: 50,905  Time: 3:21

Game 4

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October 13: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 11 1
Atlanta 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 1
W: Stan Belinda (1-0)   L: Kent Mercker (0-1)   S: None
HR: PIT – None  ATL – None
Pitchers: PIT – Tomlin (6), Walk (2), Belinda (2)  ATL – Leibrant (623), Clancy (1/3), Stanton (2), Mercker (2/3), Wohlers (1/3)
Attendance: 51,109  Time: 3:43

Game 5

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October 14: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 2
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
W: Zane Smith (1-1)   L: Tom Glavine (0-2)   S: Roger Mason (1)
HR: PIT – None  ATL – None
Pitchers: PIT – Z. Smith (723), Mason (113)  ATL – Glavine (8), Pena (1)
Attendance: 51,109  Time: 2:51

Game 6

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October 16: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 0
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
W: Steve Avery (2-0)   L: Doug Drabek (1-1)   S: Alejandro Peña (3)
HR: ATL – None  PIT – None
Pitchers: ATL – Avery (8), Pena (1)  PIT – Drabek (9)
Attendance: 54,508  Time: 3:09

Game 7

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October 17: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 6 1
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
W: John Smoltz (2-0)   L: John Smiley (0-2)   S: None
HR: ATLBrian Hunter (1)  PIT – None
Pitchers: ATL – Smoltz (9)  PIT – Smiley (2/3), Walk (413), Mason (2), Belinda (2)
Attendance: 46,932  Time: 3:04

World Series

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Game 1

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October 19, 1991, at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 6 1
Minnesota 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 X 5 9 1
W: Jack Morris (1-0)   L: Charlie Leibrandt (0-1)  S: Rick Aguilera (1)
HR: MINGreg Gagne (1), Kent Hrbek (1)

Game 2

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October 20, 1991, at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 8 1
Minnesota 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 3 4 1
W: Kevin Tapani (1-0)   L: Tom Glavine (0-1)  S: Rick Aguilera (2)
HR: MINChili Davis (1), Scott Leius (1)

Game 3

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October 22, 1991, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Minnesota 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 4 10 1
Atlanta 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 8 2
W: Jim Clancy (1-0)   L: Rick Aguilera (0-1)  
HR: MINChili Davis (2), Kirby Puckett (1)  ATLDavid Justice (1), Lonnie Smith (1)

Game 4

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October 23, 1991, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 0
Atlanta 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 8 0
W: Mike Stanton (1-0)   L: Mark Guthrie (0-1)  
HR: MINMike Pagliarulo (1)  ATLTerry Pendleton (1), Lonnie Smith (2)

Game 5

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October 24, 1991, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 5 7 1
Atlanta 0 0 0 4 1 0 6 3 X 14 17 1
W: Tom Glavine (1-1)   L: Kevin Tapani (1-1)  
HR: ATLDavid Justice (2), Lonnie Smith (3), Brian Hunter (1)

Game 6

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October 26, 1991, at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 9 1
Minnesota 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 0
W: Rick Aguilera (1-1)   L: Charlie Leibrandt (0-2)  
HR: ATLTerry Pendleton (2)  MINKirby Puckett (2)

Game 7

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October 27, 1991, at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 10 0
W: Jack Morris (2-0)   L: Alejandro Peña (0-1)  

For the first time since 1962, a seventh game of the World Series ended with a 1-0 verdict.[19] It was also the second time in five that the home team won all seven games of a World Series.

Award winners

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1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

  • Tom Glavine, pitcher, starter

Team leaders

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  • Home runs – Ron Gant (32)
  • Runs batted in – Ron Gant (105)
  • Batting average – Terry Pendleton (.319)
  • Hits – Terry Pendleton (187)
  • Stolen bases – Otis Nixon (72)
  • Walks – Otis Nixon (71)
  • Wins – Tom Glavine (20)
  • Earned run average – Tom Glavine (2.55)
  • Strikeouts – Tom Glavine (192)
  • Saves – Juan Berenguer (17)

Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Phil Niekro
AA Greenville Braves Southern League Chris Chambliss
A Durham Bulls Carolina League Grady Little
A Macon Braves South Atlantic League Roy Majtyka
Rookie Pulaski Braves Appalachian League Randy Ingle
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Jim Saul
Rookie Idaho Falls Braves Pioneer League Steve Curry

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Pulaski[20]

References

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  1. ^ Martinez, Michael (October 6, 1991). "For the Dodgers, 4 Days Gone Wrong". New York Times. p. S1.
  2. ^ Chass, Murray (October 6, 1991). "Miracle Is Now Official: The Braves Win It!". New York Times. p. S1.
  3. ^ Terry Pendleton at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Sid Bream at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Juan Berenguer at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Jerry Willard at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Deion Sanders at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Jim Vatcher at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Randy St. Claire at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.172
  11. ^ Otis Nixon at Baseball Reference
  12. ^ a b Danny Heep at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ a b Rick Mahler at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ Alejandro Peña at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ Damon Berryhill at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ Mike Kelly at Baseball Reference
  17. ^ Jason Schmidt at Baseball Reference
  18. ^ a b "1991 Atlanta Braves Statistics".
  19. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.367, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  20. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

See also

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