1998 Atlanta Braves season

1998 Atlanta Braves
National League East Champions
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Turner Field
City	Atlanta
Record	106–56 (.654)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Time Warner
General managers	John Schuerholz
Managers	Bobby Cox
Television	WTBS TBS Superstation (Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson) Fox Sports South (Ernie Johnson, Bob Rathbun)
Radio	WSB (AM) (Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
← 1997 Seasons 1999 →

The 1998 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 33rd season in Atlanta and 128th overall. The Braves entered the season as defending National League runner ups. They went on to win their fourth consecutive division title, taking the National League East title by 18 games over the second place New York Mets.

The team featured six all stars: shortstop Walt Weiss and third baseman Chipper Jones were voted as starters, while first baseman Andrés Galarraga, catcher Javy López, and pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux were selected as reserves. Jones and Lopez each hit over 30 home runs as Galarraga (acquired from Colorado) led the club in home runs and RBI. Galarraga finished as an MVP candidate.

The 1998 Braves beat the Chicago Cubs three games to none in the National League Division Series. In the next round Atlanta then lost to the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series four games to two. Despite winning two games after losing the first three, Atlanta's comeback bid came short by being eliminated in Game 6. San Diego's winning over Atlanta was seen as one of the biggest upsets in postseason history. The Braves failed to go to their fifth World Series of the 1990s.

The 1998 Atlanta Braves are seen as one of the greatest Major League Baseball teams of all time, despite not winning a title. ESPN writer David Schoenfield lists them as one of the top teams in MLB history to not win a World Series^[1] The team's greatness and their surprising playoff defeat are memorialized by Morgan Wallen in his 2023 hit, "98 Braves."^[2]

ESPN columnist Jeff Merron also writes that the pitching staff of Maddux, Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Kevin Millwood was the greatest of all time.^[3] The quintet posted a cumulative 2.97 ERA and amassed 88 wins (almost 18 wins per starter), equaling the win total of the 2nd place Mets. The 1998 Braves are the only team in MLB history to have five pitchers each strike out 150 batters in the same season.^[4] Glavine, the lone 20 game winner in the National League for that year, won the Cy Young Award.

Offseason

• November 17, 1997: Walt Weiss was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[5]
• November 27, 1997: Andrés Galarraga was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[6]
• January 30, 1998: Dennis Martínez was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[7]
• February 6, 1998: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[8]

Regular season

Opening Day starters

• C Eddie Pérez
• 1B Andrés Galarraga
• 2B Tony Graffanino
• 3B Chipper Jones
• SS Walt Weiss
• LF Ryan Klesko
• CF Andruw Jones
• RF Michael Tucker
• P Greg Maddux

Season standings

v t e NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	106	56	0.654	—	56–25	50–31
New York Mets	88	74	0.543	18	47–34	41–40
Philadelphia Phillies	75	87	0.463	31	40–41	35–46
Montreal Expos	65	97	0.401	41	39–42	26–55
Florida Marlins	54	108	0.333	52	31–50	23–58

Record vs. opponents

1998 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MIL	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	1–8	5–7	4–5	6–6	6–2	4–5	4–8	6–3	2–7	4–5	2–7	6–3	3–9	5–7	2–7	5–8
Atlanta	8–1	—	3–6	7–2	5–3	7–5	4–5	8–1	7–2	6–6	9–3	8–4	7–2	5–4	7–2	6–3	9–7
Chicago	7–5	6–3	—	6–5	7–2	7–2	4–7	4–5	6–6	7–2	4–5	3–6	8–3	5–4	7–3	4–7	5–8
Cincinnati	5–4	2–7	5–6	—	4–5	9–0	3–8	5–4	6–5	8–1	3–6	4–5	5–7	1–11	2–7	8–3	7-6
Colorado	6–6	3–5	2–7	5–4	—	6–3	6–5	6–6	4–7	7–2	3–6	5–4	5–4	5–7	7–5	3–6	4–8
Florida	2–6	5–7	2–7	0–9	3–6	—	3–6	4–5	0–9	5–7	5–7	6–6	3–6	4–5	0–9	4–5	8–8
Houston	5–4	5–4	7–4	8–3	5–6	6-3	—	3–6	9–2	7–2	5–4	7–2	9–2	5–4	6–3	5–7	10–4
Los Angeles	8–4	1–8	5–4	4–5	6–6	5–4	6–3	—	5–4	5–4	3–5	5–4	7–5	5–7	6–6	4–5	8–5
Milwaukee	3–6	2–7	6–6	5–6	7–4	9–0	2–9	4–5	—	6–3	1–8	4–5	6–5	3–6	5–4	3–8	8–6
Montreal	7–2	6–6	2–7	1–8	2–7	7–5	2–7	4–5	3–6	—	8–4	5–7	2–7	4–4	3–6	3–6	6–10
New York	5–4	3–9	5–4	6–3	6–3	7–5	4–5	5–3	8–1	4–8	—	8–4	4–5	4–5	4–5	6–3	9–7
Philadelphia	7-2	4–8	6–3	5–4	4–5	6–6	2–7	4–5	5–4	7–5	4–8	—	8–1	1–8	2–6	3–6	7–9
Pittsburgh	3–6	2–7	3–8	7–5	4–5	6–3	2–9	5–7	5–6	7–2	5–4	1–8	—	5–4	2–7	6–5	6–7
San Diego	9–3	4–5	4–5	11–1	7–5	5–4	4–5	7–5	6–3	4–4	5–4	8–1	4–5	—	8–4	6–3	6–7
San Francisco	7–5	2–7	3–7	7–2	5–7	9–0	3–6	6–6	4–5	6–3	5–4	6–2	7–2	4–8	—	7–5	8–5
St. Louis	7–2	3–6	7–4	3–8	6–3	5-4	7–5	5–4	8–3	6–3	3–6	6–3	5–6	3–6	5–7	—	4–9

Transactions

• June 9, 1998: Howard Battle was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[9]
• June 23, 1998: Alan Embree was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Russ Springer.^[10]
• August 14, 1998: Paul Byrd was selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Atlanta Braves.^[11]

Roster

1998 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 50 Adam Butler 45 Paul Byrd 38 Mike Cather 30 Norm Charlton 48 Bruce Chen 48 Brian Edmondson 36 Alan Embree 47 Tom Glavine 46 Kerry Ligtenberg 31 Greg Maddux 32 Dennis Martínez 34 Kevin Millwood 15 Denny Neagle 45 Odalis Pérez 49 John Rocker 40 Rudy Seánez 29 John Smoltz 36 Russ Springer 43 Mark Wohlers		Catchers  8 Javy López 12 Eddie Pérez Infielders  2 Rafael Belliard 23 Greg Colbrunn  7 Mark DeRosa 14 Andrés Galarraga 11 Tony Graffanino 13 Ozzie Guillén  9 Wes Helms 30 Ray Holbert 10 Chipper Jones  1 Keith Lockhart 20 Marty Malloy 33 Randall Simon 22 Walt Weiss		Outfielders 17 Danny Bautista 16 Damon Hollins 25 Andruw Jones 18 Ryan Klesko 26 George Lombard 19 Curtis Pride 24 Michael Tucker 27 Gerald Williams		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 37 Jim Beauchamp (bench) 39 Pat Corrales (first base) 22 Bobby Dews 28 Clarence Jones (hitting) 54 Leo Mazzone (pitching)  5 Ned Yost (bullpen)

Player stats

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	Javy López	133	489	139	.284	34	107
1B	Andrés Galarraga	153	555	169	.305	44	121
2B	Keith Lockhart	109	366	94	.257	9	37
SS	Walt Weiss	96	347	97	.280	0	27
3B	Chipper Jones	160	601	188	.313	34	107
LF	Ryan Klesko	129	427	117	.274	18	70
CF	Andruw Jones	159	582	158	.271	31	90
RF	Michael Tucker	130	414	101	.244	13	46

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
Tony Graffanino	105	289	61	.211	5	22
Gerald Williams	129	266	81	.305	10	44
Ozzie Guillén	83	264	73	.277	1	22
Eddie Pérez	61	149	50	.336	6	32
Danny Bautista	82	144	36	.250	3	17
Curtis Pride	70	107	27	.252	3	9
Greg Colbrunn	28	44	13	.295	1	10
Marty Malloy	11	28	5	.179	1	1
Rafael Belliard	7	20	5	.250	0	1
Randall Simon	7	16	3	.188	0	4
Ray Holbert	8	15	2	.133	0	1
Wes Helms	7	13	4	.308	1	2
Damon Hollins	3	6	1	.167	0	0
George Lombard	6	6	2	.333	1	1
Mark DeRosa	5	3	1	.333	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	34	251.0	18	9	2.22	204
Tom Glavine	33	229.1	20	6	2.47	157
Denny Neagle	32	210.1	16	11	3.55	165
Kevin Millwood	31	174.1	17	8	4.08	163
John Smoltz	26	167.2	17	3	2.90	173
Bruce Chen	4	20.1	2	0	3.98	17

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
Kerry Ligtenberg	75	3	2	30	2.71	79
Dennis Martínez	53	4	6	2	4.45	62
John Rocker	47	1	3	2	2.13	42
Mike Cather	36	2	2	0	3.92	33
Rudy Seánez	34	4	1	2	2.75	50
Mark Wohlers	27	0	1	8	10.18	22
Russ Springer	22	1	1	0	4.05	19
Alan Embree	20	1	0	0	4.34	19
Norm Charlton	13	0	0	1	1.38	6
Brian Edmondson	10	0	1	0	4.32	8
Odalis Pérez	10	0	1	0	4.22	5
Adam Butler	8	0	1	0	10.80	7
Paul Byrd	1	0	0	0	13.50!	1

National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

Atlanta wins the series, 3-0

Game	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Date	Series
1	Atlanta	7	Chicago	1	September 30	1-0 (ATL)
2	Atlanta	2	Chicago	1	October 1	2-0 (ATL)
3	Chicago	2	Atlanta	6	October 3	3-0 (ATL)

National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 7: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
San Diego	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	3	7	0
Atlanta	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	8	3
WP: Trevor Hoffman (1-0)   LP: Kerry Ligtenberg (0-1) Home runs: SD: Ken Caminiti (1) Atl: Andruw Jones (1)

Game 2

October 8: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	11	0
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
WP: Kevin Brown (1-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-1)

Game 3

October 10: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	2
San Diego	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	X	4	7	0
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (1-0)   LP: Greg Maddux (0-1)   Sv: Trevor Hoffman (1)

Game 4

October 11: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	0	0	8	12	0
San Diego	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	8	0
WP: Dennis Martínez (1-0)   LP: Joey Hamilton (0-1) Home runs: Atl: Javy López (1), Andrés Galarraga (1) SD: Jim Leyritz (1)

Game 5

October 12: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	5	0	7	14	1
San Diego	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	6	10	1
WP: John Rocker (1-0)   LP: Kevin Brown (1-1)   Sv: Greg Maddux (1) Home runs: Atl: Michael Tucker (1) SD: Ken Caminiti (2), John Vander Wal (1)

Game 6

October 14: Turner Field in Atlanta

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	5	10	0
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
WP: Sterling Hitchcock (2-0)   LP: Tom Glavine (0-2)

Award winners

• Tom Glavine, NL Cy Young Award,
• Tom Glavine, Pitcher of the Month, April
• Tom Glavine, P, Silver Slugger
• Andruw Jones, OF, Gold Glove (Center field)
• Greg Maddux, Pitcher of the Month, June
• Greg Maddux, P, Gold Glove

1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Chipper Jones, 3B, starter
• Greg Maddux, P, starter
• Walt Weiss, SS, starter
• Andrés Galarraga, 1B, reserve
• Tom Glavine, P, reserve
• Javy López, C, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Jeff Cox
AA	Greenville Braves	Southern League	Randy Ingle
A	Danville 97s	Carolina League	Paul Runge
A	Macon Braves	South Atlantic League	Brian Snitker
A-Short Season	Eugene Emeralds	Northwest League	Jim Saul
Rookie	Danville Braves	Appalachian League	Franklin Stubbs
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Rick Albert

^[12]

References

External links

• 1998 Atlanta Braves team at Baseball-Reference