House That Hank Built
Fansided

Remembering the 1993 Atlanta Braves race to the playoffs

By Alan Carpenter

24 Oct 1995: Fred McGriff #27 of the Atlanta Braves hits a home run during a game against the Cleveland Indians at the Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves defeated the Indians 3-2.
24 Oct 1995: Fred McGriff #27 of the Atlanta Braves hits a home run during a game against the Cleveland Indians at the Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves defeated the Indians 3-2. /
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Lefty starter Steve Avery of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

A Torrid Pace

Starting on July 20 and continuing for the rest of the season, Atlanta went 51-17… going from a .564 clip to an unbelievable .750 pace.  No other team in baseball won more than 45 games during that span.

Even so, the front-running Giants didn’t exactly fold their tent and go home:  they played .603 baseball down the stretch… and that’s what set the stage for the wildest division race finish in recent memory.

After that loss to the Cards, Atlanta reeled off 8 wins in their next 10 games and 11 of 14.  But the gap to the Giants still stood at 7.5 games after August 1st.

This continued all the way through August 22nd… a 7.5 games lead for the Giants.  Then things starting clicking into high gear for the Braves.

The Braves had a 3 game series in San Francisco from August 23-25.  The first game went to Atlanta by a 5-3 count as Atlanta got to the Giants’ starter early for 3 runs and Steve Avery pitched a complete game while driving in a run of his own.

The next day saw Tom Glavine go 7 strong innings in a 6-4 triumph for the Braves.

The finale then became a bigger challenge for the Giants as Greg Maddux was on the hill for Atlanta.  The Braves’ offense scored early and often against Bill Swift and routed the division leaders 9-1.

Atlanta left town 4.5 games out of first and never trailed in the entire series.

That was only the start

The second real kick in the teeth for San Francisco that season came from September 6th through the 15th:  they played 8 games and won none of them.

Over that same 10-day time period, Atlanta went 7-2, which included a 3-2 record in five 1-run games.

But this was a total reversal of fortune between the two teams, and now — in mid-September — the Braves held a lead of 3.5 games.

That didn’t last… and it came because the Giants quickly realized the desperate situation they had put themselves in.  After the 15th, they only lost three more games for the rest of the season.

That certainly helped their cause, but the Braves only lost 5 games of their own after September 15.  Unfortunately, that was enough to crack open the door for the Giants to get back into the race.

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