Series Wrapup

Story

Once players and team owners finally reached agreement on a new labor contract and major league baseball began its abbreviated 144-game schedule in late April of 1995, the Atlanta Braves quickly established themselves as the class of the N.L. East, running away with the division title by compiling a regular-season record of 90-54.  Atlanta finished 21 games ahead of the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, who tied for second in the division standings.

The Braves featured a rather mediocre offense, placing just ninth in the league rankings with 645 runs scored.  Chipper Jones, David Justice, and Fred McGriff served as their top three offensive threats.  Jones hit 23 homers, drove in 86 runs, and scored 87 others.  Justice went deep 24 times and knocked in 78 runs.  McGriff batted .280, scored 85 runs, and led the club with 27 home runs and 93 runs batted in.  

However, while eight other National League teams scored more runs than the Braves, no one came close to matching their league-leading 3.44 team ERA.  Atlanta’s starting rotation featured three of the senior circuit’s best pitchers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.  Maddux earned Cy Young honors for the fourth straight time by leading all N.L. hurlers with a record of 19-2, a 1.63 ERA, 10 complete games, 210 innings pitched, and three shutouts.  Glavine finished second on the club with 16 victories, while Smoltz contributed another 12 wins.

While Atlanta coasted to the Eastern Division title, the Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves involved in a season-long battle with the Colorado Rockies for supremacy in the West.  The Dodgers clinched first place on the final day of the year, edging out the Rockies by one game with a record of 78-66.  Colorado had to settle for a spot in the playoffs as the league’s wild-card entry.

Similar to Atlanta in that they possessed a limited number of offensive weapons, the Dodgers also depended heavily on their pitching staff to earn a postseason berth.  Featuring an outstanding trio of starters, Los Angeles finished second in the league with a 3.66 team ERA.  Ramon Martinez led the club with 17 victories.  Ismael Valdez and Hideo Nomo each won 13 games, and Nomo captured N.L. Rookie of the Year honors by also compiling a 2.54 ERA and a league-leading 236 strikeouts.  Meanwhile, Raul Mondesi, Eric Karros, and Mike Piazza paced the Dodgers on offense.  Mondesi hit 26 homers, drove in 88 runs, scored 91 others, stole 27 bases, and batted .285.  Karros hit 32 home runs, knocked in 105 runs, and batted .298.  Piazza homered 32 times, drove in 93 runs, and finished second in the league with a .346 batting average.

The Rockies likely would have finished ahead of the Dodgers had they received more in the way of pitching.  Playing in Colorado’s light air, which made their home ballpark, Coors Field, a noted ban-box, the Rockies allowed their opponents to cross the plate a National League high 783 times.  On the flip side, the Rockies led all N.L. teams with 785 runs scored, joining the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers as just the second team to boast four players who surpassed the 30-homer mark.  Third baseman Vinny Castilla went deep 32 times, drove in 90 runs, and batted .309.  First baseman Andres Galarraga hit 31 home runs, knocked in 106 runs, and batted .280.  Right-fielder Larry Walker hit 36 homers, drove in 101 runs, scored 96 others, and batted .306.  Left-fielder Dante Bichette posted the most impressive offensive numbers of anyone in the league, finishing the campaign with a .340 batting average and 102 runs scored, and topping the circuit with 40 home runs, 128 runs batted in, 197 hits, and a .620 slugging average.  For his exceptional performance, Bichette earned a second-place finish in the N.L. MVP voting.     

Finishing just ahead of Bichette in the balloting was Barry Larkin, whose Cincinnati Reds concluded the campaign with a record of 85-59 that left them nine games ahead of the second-place Houston Astros in the N.L. Central.  Larkin compiled offensive numbers that paled by comparison to those posted by Bichette.  Although the Cincinnati shortstop finished second in the league with 51 stolen bases, he hit just 15 home runs, knocked in only 66 runs, scored 98 others, and batted .319.  Yet, Larkin’s outstanding all-around play helped lead the Reds to their second straight division title.

Cincinnati also received strong performances from Ron Gant, Reggie Sanders, and Pete Schourek.  Gant hit 29 homers, drove in 88 runs, and batted .276.  Sanders homered 28 times, knocked in 99 runs, scored 91 others, stole 36 bases, and batted .306.  Schourek finished second in the league with 18 victories.

The National League playoffs provided little in the way of drama.  Cincinnati swept Los Angeles in three straight games in their opening round playoff matchup, while Atlanta received a fight from wild-card Colorado before prevailing in four games.  The Braves subsequently failed to receive the home-field advantage in the NLCS even though they posted the league’s best record over the course of the regular season.  Nevertheless, they disposed of the Reds in short order, sweeping them in four straight games and outscoring them by a combined margin of 19-5.

Facing the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, the Braves turned to their exceptional pitching staff to stymie Cleveland’s powerful offense.  Atlanta pitching held Cleveland’s vaunted lineup to a meager .179 team batting average during the Fall Classic, enabling the Braves to prevail in six games.  The Braves appropriately clinched their first world championship since 1957 by defeating the Indians 1-0 in Game Six, on a combined one-hitter by Tom Glavine and Mark Wohlers.  David Justice provided the game’s only run with a sixth-inning homer.  The Braves’ 1-0 triumph made them the first team to win a World Series representing three different cities – Boston (1914), Milwaukee (1957), and Atlanta.   

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

• April 26 - The Colorado Rockies opened Coors Field with an 11-9 victory over the New York Mets in 14 innings.

• October 23 - The St. Louis Cardinals hired Tony La Russa as their manager.

• December 22 – Anheuser-Busch agreed to sell the St. Louis Cardinals for $150 million to an investment group that agreed to keep the team in St. Louis.

• July 14 - Ramon Martinez of the Dodgers pitched a no-hitter against Florida.

• San Diego’s Tony Gwynn won his sixth National League batting crown with a mark of .368.

• Mike Piazza’s .346 batting average and .606 slugging average gave him the highest combined mark (.952) of any National League catcher in history.

• Florida rookie Quilvio Veras led the league with 56 stolen bases.

• Houston’s Craig Biggio hit 22 home runs, batted .302, stole 33 bases, and led the league with 123 runs scored.

Seasons of the National League

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