Atlanta Braves Ranked: Greatest Teams since 1990
By Michael Neal
3. The 1993 Braves, (104-58)
Heading into 1993, the Atlanta Braves looked to improve on their 98-64 finish from the year prior, and capture their third consecutive NL pennant.
The club acquired reigning Cy Young winner Greg Maddux in the offseason, adding to what was already considered the most dominant pitching staff in the NL and immediately became heavy favorites to win their long-awaited World Series title.
What was expected to be a walk in the park for Atlanta instead became what is generally regarded as the last great pennant race before playoff expansion.
The abruptly dominant San Francisco Giants quickly became a threat to the Braves’ NL West title, and a fight to the finish emerged in which only one team could punch their ticket to the postseason.
A slow start stifled the Braves and the Giants quickly propelled into first place for the first couple months of the season. But after acquiring Fred McGriff in mid-July, the Braves lineup gained the steam it needed to launch to a 51-17 finish to the season, and capture the division title by one game.
Furthermore, MVP-caliber seasons from Ron Gant and David Justice allowed the lineup to somewhat match the prestige of the dominant rotation the Braves possessed.
Maddux won the Cy Young in his first season in Atlanta, and Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery all contributed sufficient campaigns to land them spots on the NL All Star team.
This Braves pitching staff ranked first in a number of categories, including wins, ERA, runs allowed, and home runs allowed.
Perhaps more notably, the Braves defense was stellar. They ranked first in defensive efficiency and first in runs allowed per game by almost 0.5 runs.
Despite the magical regular season finish, the Braves run ended when they met the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and fell 4-2.