1995 Atlanta Braves season

The 1995 Atlanta Braves season was the 125th season in the history of the franchise and 30th season in the city of Atlanta. The team finished the strike-shortened season with a record of 90–54, the best in the National League, en route to winning the World Series. For the sixth straight season, the team was managed by Bobby Cox.
The Braves started the season in mediocre fashion, posting a 20–17 record up to June 4, putting them in third place behind the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos. The team went on to win twenty of the last twenty-five games before the All-Star Break to put themselves in first place by four and a half games. In the second half of the season, the Braves pulled away from the rest of the division by going 11–7 over the rest of July and 19–10 in August. The team went on to win the division by twenty-one games. The Braves' 90–54 record was second only to the American League's Cleveland Indians, who went 100–44 on the season.
In the postseason, the Braves beat the Colorado Rockies in the NL Division Series three games to one, then swept the Cincinnati Reds four games to zero to win the NL Championship Series. In the World Series, the Braves beat the Cleveland Indians four games to two, bringing the first World Championship to the city of Atlanta.
Through completion of the 2019 MLB season, the Braves are one of two teams out of eight MLB franchises to have first swept their opponent in the League Championship Series, and subsequently go onto win the World Series. This two-decades-long milestone for Atlanta is based upon the becoming a best-of-seven format 10 years earlier, 1985.
Opening Day starter Greg Maddux led the National League in wins and earned run average to secure his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. Marquis Grissom won a Gold Glove for center field, and Greg Maddux won his sixth consecutive Gold Gloves.

Offseason

The Braves 1995 season began without some of the regular contributors of 1994. The team lost Terry Pendleton, Dave Gallagher, and Bill Pecota to free agency. Roberto Kelly and Tony Tarasco were also traded with Esteban Yan to the Montreal Expos for Marquis Grissom. They signed free agents Mike Sharperson, Dwight Smith, and Mike Stanton. The Braves five starting pitchers remained the same from 1994.
The Braves would also be playing in the brand-new National League East in 1995. The division was formed through realignment prior to the 1994 Major League Baseball season, but division championships were not awarded in 1994 due to the 1994 strike. The division includes the Philadelphia Phillies, the Montreal Expos, the Florida Marlins, and the New York Mets.

Regular season

Opening Day starters

SS Jeff Blauser
CF Marquis Grissom
3B Chipper Jones
RF David Justice
LF Mike Kelly
2B Mark Lemke
C Javy López
P Greg Maddux
1B Fred McGriff
Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Notable transactions

April 6, 1995: Roberto Kelly was traded by the Atlanta Braves with Tony Tarasco and Esteban Yan to the Montreal Expos for the outfielder Marquis Grissom.
April 12, 1995: Pitcher Mike Stanton signed up as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
July 31, 1995: Mike Stanton was traded by the Atlanta Braves along with a player to be named later to the Boston Red Sox for players to be named later. The Atlanta Braves sent Matt Murray to the Boston Red Sox to complete the trade. The Boston Red Sox sent Mike Jacobs and Marc Lewis to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade.
August 11, 1995: Luis Polonia was traded by the New York Yankees to the Atlanta Braves for Troy Hughes.
August 25, 1995: Mike Devereaux was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Atlanta Braves for Andre King.
Postseason

National League Division Series

Atlanta wins series, 3-1

National League Championship Series

Atlanta wins series, 4-0

World Series

Game 1

October 21, 1995, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Game 2

October 22, 1995, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Game 3

October 24, 1995, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 4

October 25, 1995, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 5

October 26, 1995, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 6

October 28, 1995, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Regular starters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On base percentage; SLG = Slugging percentage

POS	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg.	OBP	SLG
SS	Jeff Blauser	115	431	60	91	16	12	31	57	107	.211	.319	.341
CF	Marquis Grissom	139	551	80	142	23	12	42	47	61	.258	.317	.376
3B	Chipper Jones	140	524	87	139	22	23	86	73	72	.265	.353	.450
RF	David Justice	120	411	73	104	17	24	78	73	68	.253	.365	.479
LF	Ryan Klesko	107	329	48	102	25	23	70	47	72	.310	.396	.608
2B	Mark Lemke	116	399	42	101	16	5	38	44	40	.253	.325	.356
C	Javy López	100	333	37	105	11	14	51	14	57	.315	.344	.498
1B	Fred McGriff	144	528	85	148	27	27	93	65	99	.280	.361	.489

Other batters

POS	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg.	OBP	SLG
C	Charlie O'Brien	67	198	18	45	7	9	23	29	40	.227	.343	.399
INF	Rafael Belliard	75	180	12	40	2	0	7	6	28	.222	.255	.244
LF	Mike Kelly	97	137	26	26	6	3	17	11	49	.190	.258	.314
OF	Dwight Smith	103	131	16	33	8	3	21	13	35	.252	.327	.412
3B	Jose Oliva	48	109	7	17	4	5	12	7	22	.156	.207	.330
UT	Mike Mordecai	69	75	10	21	6	3	11	9	16	.280	.353	.480
OF	Mike Devereaux	29	55	7	14	3	1	8	2	11	.255	.281	.364
OF	Luis Polonia	28	53	6	14	7	0	2	3	9	.264	.304	.396
OF	Brian Kowitz	10	24	3	4	1	0	3	2	5	.167	.259	.208
IF	Ed Giovanola	13	14	2	1	0	0	0	3	5	.071	.235	.071
UT	Eddie Perez	7	13	1	4	1	1	4	0	2	.308	.308	.615
3B	Mike Sharperson	7	7	1	1	1	0	2	0	2	.143	.143	.286

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; CG = Complete games; SHO = Shutouts; IP = Innings pitched; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	CG	SHO	IP	BB	SO
Greg Maddux	19	2	1.63	28	28	0	10	3	209.2	23	181
Tom Glavine	16	7	3.08	29	29	0	3	1	198.2	66	127
John Smoltz	12	7	3.18	29	29	0	2	1	192.2	72	193
Steve Avery	7	13	4.67	29	29	0	3	1	173.1	52	141
Kent Mercker	7	8	4.15	29	26	0	0	0	143	61	102

Relief Pitchers