SPECIAL: Atlanta Braves Leaving Fulton County; Your Stories, Our Team
By Dan Horton
Game 3, 1996 World Series
Let’s head back to 1996, and let Wes take it from there:
"As I type this story, the terrible news of the passing of Muhammad Ali spreads across the world. The Braves paid tribute to him on Saturday morning by sharing an epic picture of him lighting the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games. My story picks up shortly after that moment which will forever be immortalized in sports history. The Olympics had ended a few months prior and Fulton County Stadium was on its last breath. Nevertheless, there was plenty of excitement in Atlanta. The Braves were in the World Series against the Yankees. It was familiar territory for the Braves who were only one year removed from beating Cleveland in the 1995 World Series. The Yankees had not been to the ‘Fall Classic’ since 1978. The Braves were hoping to repeat and the Yankees desperately wanted to get back to the glory days. These teams had never played but a rivalry was about to be born. I was 9 years old and I had tickets to Game 3 in Atlanta but the series started in the Bronx. I was eating dinner at The Original Oyster House in Gulf Shores, AL during the opening game, up to my elbows in fried crab claws, when Andruw Jones blasted a pitch from Andy Pettitte into the left field seats. The game was an offensive onslaught by the Braves. The excitement and anticipation of getting to go to the World Series was much greater after that win. The time had come and I couldn’t believe it! Game 3 of the World Series! Tomahawks were everywhere and it is still the largest baseball crowd I have ever seen. Vendors were selling aerial photos of Fulton County Stadium that read “1996 World Series – I Was There!” (They were outrageously expensive so I just stole the idea and drew a much lesser quality replica on a piece of paper the next day.) I was wearing a Chipper Jones jersey that touched my knees and I could barely hold my huge souvenir Coke. Atlanta had dominated the first two games and they looked unstoppable. John Smoltz and Greg Maddux had set the tone in New York and I was hoping Tom Glavine would follow suit in Game 3. The weather was perfect and I was ready for baseball. My seat was high in the upper deck along the left field line and I could see everything. Looking back on this game, I guess I had a pretty high baseball IQ for a kid. Tom Glavine gave up a first inning run but settled in nicely only giving up four hits and two runs. I wish he would have stayed in the game but his pitch count was high, so Bobby Cox handed it over to the bullpen after 7 innings. The Braves offense was never able to get going against an even more dominant David Cone. Two of the most memorable Braves pitching deliveries in my mind followed Glavine’s outstanding start. The 3/4 delivery of Greg McMichael came on after Glavine and the Yankees offense took off. He faced three batters and gave up three runs in the 8th and never recorded an out. A huge home run from Bernie Williams sucked the air out of Fulton County Stadium and the game seemed out of reach for the Braves. The submarine pitching delivery of Brad Clontz followed McMichael. I had been yelling at Clontz all season long through the TV calling him “Clutz”. He pitched a clean inning but the Braves offense needed a spark. They did score a run off of setup man, Mariano Rivera, but it was too little too late. John Wetteland shut the Braves down in the bottom of the 9th and the Yankees took Game 3 by a score of 5-2. Even though the Braves lost the game, I will never forget the atmosphere that night in Atlanta. Being around all of the fans and watching those two rosters was incredible. I was able to see players like Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera before they were household names. It was also the next to last game at Fulton County Stadium which is a pretty cool memory. My wife is currently 15 weeks pregnant with our first child (a little boy) and I hope I can share the same type of experience with him when he gets a little older. I have already offered up the name suggestions of Maddux and Dansby but she just gave me the eye roll…"
We have all had a moment like Wes. That one game that never leaves the craw. It sticks with you for the rest of your life.
Thank you to Wes for the story. Thank you for the memory and allowing us to share it with the masses.
Keep those stories coming in, we love getting them and sharing them with all of you. In the meantime, give Wes a follow over on Twitter @sheffield1022. It’s always a fun conversation.