# 1993 Atlanta Braves season

The 1993 Atlanta Braves season was the Braves' 123rd in existence and their 28th since moving to Atlanta. The Braves were looking to improve on their 98–64 record from 1992 and win the National League pennant for a third consecutive year, and finally win a World Series in the 1990s.
The Braves finished the season with a 104–58 record to win the National League West for the third consecutive year after trailing the San Francisco Giants, who finished in second place by one game, for most of the season in what is generally regarded as the last real pennant race before playoff expansion. 1993 was also the last year that the team competed in the National League West, as they would shift to the National League East for 1994.
The 1993 Atlanta Braves are seen as one of the greatest Major League Baseball teams in history. Despite their excellent regular season, the Braves' streak of National League pennants ended at two as they fell to the underdog Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the NLCS. By a twist of fate, the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies in-state rivals, in back-to-back NLCS series in 1991 and 1992, but in 1993, lost to the Pirates in-state rivals.

## Offseason

* December 7, 1992: Billy Taylor was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Atlanta Braves in the 1992 rule 5 draft.
* December 9, 1992: Greg Maddux was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
* December 21, 1992: Randy St. Claire was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
* December 21, 1992: Jerry Willard was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.

## Regular season

* At the end of August, the Atlanta Braves tried to acquire Dennis Martínez from the Montreal Expos. The Expos placed Martinez's name on the waiver wire and the Braves claimed him. The Expos were not about to let Martinez go to Atlanta for the waiver fee of $20,000. After claiming Martinez, the Expos contacted the Braves to see if they were interested in talking about a trade. Martinez had the final word on any movement because his seniority gives him veto rights over a trade.
* On September 11, 1993, Chipper Jones made his major league baseball debut. It was in a game against the San Diego Padres. Jones did not have any at-bats in the game.

### Transactions

* April 3, 1993: Billy Taylor was returned (earlier draft pick) by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves.
* April 13, 1993: Mark Davis was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for Brad Hassinger (minors).
* May 3, 1993: Randy St. Claire was released by the Atlanta Braves.
* June 3, 1993: John Rocker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 18th round of the 1993 amateur draft. Player signed August 23, 1993.
* July 18, 1993: Fred McGriff was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott, and Vince Moore (minors).

### Opening Day starters

* Jeff Blauser
* Sid Bream
* Ron Gant
* Tom Glavine
* David Justice
* Mark Lemke
* Greg Olson
* Terry Pendleton
* Deion Sanders

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Atlanta Braves | 104 | 58 | .642 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 53‍–‍28 |
| San Francisco Giants | 103 | 59 | .636 | 1 | 50‍–‍31 | 53‍–‍28 |
| Houston Astros | 85 | 77 | .525 | 19 | 44‍–‍37 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 81 | 81 | .500 | 23 | 41‍–‍40 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 89 | .451 | 31 | 41‍–‍40 | 32‍–‍49 |
| Colorado Rockies | 67 | 95 | .414 | 37 | 39‍–‍42 | 28‍–‍53 |
| San Diego Padres | 61 | 101 | .377 | 43 | 34‍–‍47 | 27‍–‍54 |

### Record vs. opponents

1993 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 10–3 | 13–0 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8–1 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 8–5 |
| Cincinnati | 3–10 | 5–7 | — | 9–4 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 2–11 | 5–7 |
| Colorado | 0–13 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 7–5 | 11–2 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 3–10 | 5–7 |
| Florida | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 3–9 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 4–9 |
| Houston | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 2–11 | 9–3 | — | 9–4 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 3–10 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 5–8 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 5–7 | 8–5–1 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 3–9 | 7–6 |
| New York | 3–9 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 1–11 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 3–10 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–3 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 6–7 | — | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–9 |
| San Diego | 4–9 | 4–8 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 2–10 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 3–10 | 7–5 |
| San Francisco | 6–7 | 6–6 | 11–2 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | — | 4–8 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 8–4 | — |

### Notable events

July 20, 1993: At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, a fire broke out in the skybox/press box area, delaying the start of the scheduled game between the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. Incidentally, the Braves' trade for Fred McGriff was completed a few days earlier and McGriff arrived at the stadium that night. With the delayed start, McGriff was able to suit up and start the game at first base. McGriff helped the Braves erase a 5–0 deficit by hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning. The Braves went on to win the game 8–5.

## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

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 | Damon Berryhill | 115 | 335 | 82 | .245 | 8 | 43 |
| 1B | Sid Bream | 117 | 277 | 72 | .260 | 9 | 35 |
| 2B | Mark Lemke | 151 | 493 | 124 | .252 | 7 | 49 |
| SS | Jeff Blauser | 161 | 597 | 182 | .305 | 15 | 73 |
| 3B | Terry Pendleton | 161 | 633 | 172 | .272 | 17 | 84 |
| LF | Ron Gant | 157 | 606 | 166 | .274 | 36 | 117 |
| CF | Otis Nixon | 134 | 461 | 124 | .269 | 1 | 24 |
| RF | David Justice | 157 | 585 | 158 | .270 | 40 | 120 |

#### 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 |
| Deion Sanders | 95 | 272 | 75 | .276 | 6 | 28 |
| Greg Olson | 83 | 262 | 59 | .225 | 4 | 24 |
| Fred McGriff | 68 | 255 | 79 | .310 | 19 | 55 |
| Francisco Cabrera | 70 | 83 | 20 | .241 | 4 | 11 |
| Brian Hunter | 37 | 80 | 11 | .138 | 0 | 8 |
| Rafael Belliard | 91 | 79 | 18 | .228 | 0 | 6 |
| Bill Pecota | 72 | 62 | 20 | .323 | 0 | 5 |
| Tony Tarasco | 24 | 35 | 8 | .229 | 0 | 2 |
| Ryan Klesko | 22 | 17 | 6 | .353 | 2 | 5 |
| Javy López | 8 | 16 | 6 | .375 | 1 | 2 |
| Chipper Jones | 8 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 0 | 0 |
| Ramon Caraballo | 6 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Greg Maddux | 36 | 267.0 | 20 | 10 | 2.36 | 197 |
| John Smoltz | 35 | 243.2 | 15 | 11 | 3.62 | 208 |
| Tom Glavine | 36 | 239.1 | 22 | 6 | 3.20 | 120 |
| Steve Avery | 35 | 223.1 | 18 | 6 | 2.94 | 125 |
| Pete Smith | 20 | 90.2 | 4 | 8 | 4.37 | 53 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Kent Mercker | 43 | 66.0 | 3 | 1 | 2.86 | 59 |

##### 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 |
| Mike Stanton | 63 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 4.67 | 43 |
| Greg McMichael | 74 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 2.06 | 89 |
| Jay Howell | 54 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.31 | 37 |
| Steve Bedrosian | 49 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1.63 | 33 |
| Mark Wohlers | 46 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 | 45 |
| Marvin Freeman | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.08 | 25 |
| Pedro Borbón Jr. | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.60 | 2 |

## National League Championship Series
### Game 1

October 6: Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| W: Mitch Williams (1–0) L: Greg McMichael (0–1) S: None ||||||||||||||
| HR: ATL – None PHI – Pete Incaviglia ||||||||||||||
| Pitchers: ATL – Avery (6), Mercker (2), McMichael (11⁄3) PHI – Schilling (8), Williams (2) ||||||||||||||
| Attendance: 62,012 Time: 3:33 ||||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 7: Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 16 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| W: Greg Maddux (1–0) L: Tommy Greene (0–1) S: None |||||||||||||
| HR: ATL – Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Damon Berryhill, Terry Pendleton PHI – Dave Hollins, Lenny Dykstra |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: ATL – Maddux (7), Stanton (1), Wohlers (1) PHI – Greene (21⁄3), Thigpen (2/3), Rivera (2), Mason (2), West (1), Andersen (1) |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 62,346 Time: 3:14 |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 9: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | X | 9 | 12 | 0 |
| W: Tom Glavine (1–0) L: Terry Mulholland (0–1) S: None |||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – John Kruk ATL – None |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Mulholland (5), Mason (1), Andersen (1/3), West (2/3), Thigpen (1) ATL – Glavine (7), Mercker (1), McMichael (1) |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 52,032 Time: 2:44 |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 10: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| W: Danny Jackson (1–0) L: John Smoltz (0–1) S: Mitch Williams (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – None ATL – None |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Jackson (72⁄3)), Williams (11⁄3) ATL – Smoltz (61⁄3), Mercker (2/3), Wohlers (2) |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 52,032 Time: 3:33 |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 11: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Mitch Williams (2–0) L: Mark Wohlers (0–1) S: Larry Andersen (1) ||||||||||||||
| HR: PHI – Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra ATL – None |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: PHI – Schilling (8), Williams (1), Andersen (1) ATL – Avery (7), Mercker (1), McMichael (1), Wohlers (1) ||||||||||||||
| Attendance: 52,032 Time: 3:21 ||||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 13: Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| W: Tommy Greene (1–1) L: Greg Maddux (1–1) S: Mitch Williams (2) |||||||||||||
| HR: ATL – Jeff Blauser PHI – Dave Hollins |||||||||||||
| Pitchers: ATL – Maddux (52⁄3), Mercker (1/3), McMichael (2/3), Wohlers (11⁄3) PHI – Greene (7), West (1), Williams (1) |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 62,502 Time: 3:04 |||||||||||||

## Award winners

* David Justice, OF, Silver Slugger
* Greg Maddux, National League Cy Young Award
* Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, August
* Greg Maddux, P, Gold Glove
* Greg Maddux, The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
* Fred McGriff, 1B, Silver Slugger
1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Richmond Braves | International League | Grady Little |
| AA | Greenville Braves | Southern League | Bruce Kimm |
| A | Durham Bulls | Carolina League | Leon Roberts |
| A | Macon Braves | South Atlantic League | Randy Ingle |
| Rookie | Danville Braves | Appalachian League | Bruce Benedict |
| Rookie | GCL Braves | Gulf Coast League | Jim Saul |
| Rookie | Idaho Falls Braves | Pioneer League | Paul Runge |