Series Wrapup

Story

In 1991, the Atlanta Braves became the first National League team in 101 years to win the pennant after finishing last in the league the previous season.  After compiling a major-league worst 65-97 record one year earlier, the Braves rose to the top of the N.L. West standings in 1991, finishing the campaign with a mark of 94-68 that enabled them to edge out the Dodgers for the division title by a single game.  Boasting the senior circuit’s best starting rotation, the Braves overcame a 9 ½-game deficit to Los Angeles over the course of the season to capture their first division crown in nine years.

Atlanta’s staff featured a quartet of outstanding starters that combined to win a total of 67 games between them.  Tom Glavine served as the ace of the staff, earning N.L. Cy Young honors by finishing 20-11, with a 2.55 ERA, 246 innings pitched, and a league-leading nine complete games.  Steve Avery placed second on the team with 18 victories and a 3.38 ERA.  Charlie Leibrandt and John Smoltz combined to win another 29 games.

Ron Gant and Terry Pendleton paced a Braves offense that finished second in the league with 749 runs scored.  Gant hit 32 homers, drove in 105 runs, scored 101 others, and stole 34 bases.  Pendleton hit 22 home runs, knocked in 86 runs, scored 94 others, and led the league with 187 hits and a .319 batting average, en route to capturing N.L. MVP honors.

While the Braves rose from the depths of the National League, the Pittsburgh Pirates repeated as Eastern Division champions, finishing the season with a record of 98-64, 14 games in front of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.  The Pirates featured solid pitching and a potent offense that topped the senior circuit with 768 runs scored. 

John Smiley, Doug Drabek, and Zane Smith served as Pittsburgh’s top three starters.  Smiley finished 20-8, to tie Glavine for the league lead in victories.  Drabek followed up his 1990 Cy Young campaign by winning 15 games and compiling a team-leading 3.07 ERA.  Smith finished 16-10 with a 3.20 ERA.

Pittsburgh’s outstanding outfield led the team on offense.  Andy Van Slyke hit 17 homers, drove in 83 runs, and scored 87 others.  Bobby Bonilla hit 18 home runs, knocked in 100 runs, scored 102 others, and batted .302.  Barry Bonds placed a close second to Pendleton in the league MVP balloting by hitting 25 home runs, knocking in 116 runs, scoring 95 others, batting .292, stealing 43 bases, and topping the circuit with a .410 on-base percentage. 

However, Van Slyke, Bonilla, and Bonds all fizzled against the Braves in the NLCS, allowing Atlanta to triumph in a closely-contested seven-game series that saw three contests end in 1-0 scores.  The three players combined to hit just one home run and drive in only three runs.  Bonds and Van Slyke were particularly ineffective, posting batting averages of .148 and .160, respectively.

Atlanta subsequently faced the Minnesota Twins in the World Series, with each team winning all of its home games.  Unfortunately for the Braves, Minnesota’s Metrodome hosted four of the seven contests, enabling the Twins to capture their second world championship in five years without winning a single Series game on the road.  Series highlights included a game-winning homer by Kirby Puckett in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game Six, and an extraordinary pitching duel between Jack Morris and John Smoltz in Game Seven that ended in a 10-inning, 1-0 victory for Minnesota.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• July 6 – The National League announced its two expansion franchises for 1993: the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins.

• October 6 – New York Mets pitcher David Cone tied a National League record by striking out 19 Philadelphia Phillies in a 7–0 Mets win over their rivals.

• November 18 – Free agent Bobby Bonilla left the Pittsburgh Pirates for the New York Mets, becoming in the process the first $5 million a year player in major league baseball history.

• Houston’s Jeff Bagwell (15 home runs, 82 RBIs, .387 OBP, .437 SLG PCT) earned N.L. Rookie of the Year honors.

• Atlanta became the first major league team since the 1889-90 Louisville Colonels to win a pennant after posting the worst record in its league the previous year.

• New York’s Howard Johnson led the National League with 38 home runs and 117 runs batted in.  He also placed near the top of the league rankings with 108 runs scored, 302 total bases, and a .535 slugging average.

• Dodger Brett Butler batted .296 and led the league with 112 runs scored and 108 walks. 

• Butler’s Los Angeles teammate, Darryl Strawberry, hit 28 homers and drove in 99 runs. 

• Montreal’s Marquis Grissom led the league with 76 stolen bases.

• Atlanta's Otis Nixon finished second in the league with 72 steals but sat out the final month of the season after being suspended for failing a drug test.

• David Cone of the Mets led all National League pitchers with 241 strikeouts.

• Montreal’s Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers on July 28, winning 2-0.

• Two days before Martinez's gem, Mark Gardner of the Expos lost a no-hitter to the Dodgers, 1-0 in 10 innings.

• Martinez led the National League with a 2.39 ERA and five shutouts.  He also tied Tom Glavine for the league lead with nine complete games.

• Chicago’s Greg Maddux topped the circuit with 263 innings pitched.

• Cardinals reliever Lee Smith set a new National League record by saving 47 games.

• The Expos were forced to finish their season on the road after a section of Olympic Stadium collapsed.

• The Dodgers posted a league-leading 3.06 team ERA.

Seasons of the National League

1876 · 1877 · 1878 · 1879 · 1880 · 1881 · 1882 · 1883 · 1884 · 1885 · 1886 · 1887 · 1888 · 1889 · 1890 · 1891 · 1892 · 1893 · 1894 · 1895 · 1896 · 1897 · 1898 · 1899 · 1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909 · 1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914 · 1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1918 · 1919 · 1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010