I know everyone has been lauding the greatest night in baseball history but to me it may be the worst ever. Hi, I am Kate and I am a Braves fan. It all started in 1991 with a little
right fielder named David Justice. Up until that point I had been a card carrying member of the Mets fan club. My favorite player, Keith Hernandez, was a ballsy first baseman who smoked in the dugout and read civil war books in the clubhouse. After 1989 he left the Mets to briefly join the Indians and I was left in the modern day baseball version of purgatory. That all changed when I discovered Justice. His presence on TBS changed my allegiance to the NL East powerhouse. Of course it also didn’t hurt that 1991 was the year the Braves went from worst to first and entered into one of the greatest World Series ever against the Minnesota Twins where a young pitcher named John Smoltz held the Twins scoreless for over seven innings of play. Of course we all know how things end so I don’t need to proceed. Anyone else notice how the Braves end up on the wrong side of history?
1995, the strike shortened season gave the team of the 90s their first and ultimately their only World Series victory. Then came 1996. The Braves came out of the gate strong, sweeping the first two games at Yankee Stadium. Heading home for three games, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that the Braves would be back-to-back World Series victors. Unfortunately that’s when the wins stopped and I ended up being sprayed with Champagne at Ally Reiter’s Bat Mitzvah. It was Game 6 and I was clearly in the heart of Yankee country. Once again I was on the wrong side.
Years went on the Braves continued to roll into the playoffs, and by 2002, they also began consistently losing in the first round. In 2006, the party officially ended when the Mets took over the NL East crown ending the Braves 15 year reign. Times got lean but my passion for the Braves never ended. I still cheered the Bravos whether it was Kelly Johnson or Chuck James or Jo-Jo Reyes or Ryan Langerhans. It didn’t matter which member of the 4-A club they marched out I still cheered ferociously.
A new page was turned in the Braves history book at the start of the 2011 season. For the first time in 2 decades the Braves had a new manager, Fredi Gonzalez. After an off season trade, Atlanta finally had a power hitter in Dan Uggla. The Braves’ ultimate strength was in its young bullpen made up of Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. Their rookie first baseman, Freddie Freeman wasn’t too shabby either. The team was light years behind their rival Phillies, but by the August 26th they were boasting a 10.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card with the playoffs clearly in sight. How things changed in six weeks. The Braves once lights out bullpen began to falter. Suddenly they were no longer untouchable. Meanwhile the Cardinals began to surge and the season hinged on one final game. One final win.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox suffered from a similarly historic collapse. On September 2nd the Red Sox were leading the Rays by 9 games. No team who ever had a lead that big missed the playoffs. Somehow this high paid team was stumbling through September and the underpaid Rays were winning setting up their destiny on Wednesday, September 28.
Both the Red Sox and Rays began their march towards destiny at the same time the Braves were attempting to hold on one more day. The Braves jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after a homerun by Dan Uggla while the Rays were being hammered by the Yankees 7-0. With just one out remaining, the Braves, the Yankees and the Red Sox were all leading their respective games. By the time the final pitch was thrown, not one of those teams would win. The excitement of the night has been well documented. And while the Cardinals and Rays were celebrating their improbable birth into the playoffs, I, along with Braves and Red Sox nation, sat in my bed wondering how things could have gone so terrible wrong.
My expectations with the Braves have always been limited. I consider myself a realistic fan. I have had a life time of disappointment while most of Yankee fan friends have known mostly glory. But rarely has such disappointment ever taken place in the regular season. Yes, I remember game four of the 2005 NLDS against the Astros, where the Braves jumped out to an early lead only to lose in the 18th inning with Joey Devine on the mound for Atlanta and Roger Clemens picking up the win in relief for Houston. But that was the playoffs. This was only game 162. So while everyone else looks back on September 28, 2011 and with excitement and a renewed love of baseball, I’ll look back on it as one of the worst days in baseball history. But no, I am not bitter.
right fielder named David Justice. Up until that point I had been a card carrying member of the Mets fan club. My favorite player, Keith Hernandez, was a ballsy first baseman who smoked in the dugout and read civil war books in the clubhouse. After 1989 he left the Mets to briefly join the Indians and I was left in the modern day baseball version of purgatory. That all changed when I discovered Justice. His presence on TBS changed my allegiance to the NL East powerhouse. Of course it also didn’t hurt that 1991 was the year the Braves went from worst to first and entered into one of the greatest World Series ever against the Minnesota Twins where a young pitcher named John Smoltz held the Twins scoreless for over seven innings of play. Of course we all know how things end so I don’t need to proceed. Anyone else notice how the Braves end up on the wrong side of history?1995, the strike shortened season gave the team of the 90s their first and ultimately their only World Series victory. Then came 1996. The Braves came out of the gate strong, sweeping the first two games at Yankee Stadium. Heading home for three games, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that the Braves would be back-to-back World Series victors. Unfortunately that’s when the wins stopped and I ended up being sprayed with Champagne at Ally Reiter’s Bat Mitzvah. It was Game 6 and I was clearly in the heart of Yankee country. Once again I was on the wrong side.
Years went on the Braves continued to roll into the playoffs, and by 2002, they also began consistently losing in the first round. In 2006, the party officially ended when the Mets took over the NL East crown ending the Braves 15 year reign. Times got lean but my passion for the Braves never ended. I still cheered the Bravos whether it was Kelly Johnson or Chuck James or Jo-Jo Reyes or Ryan Langerhans. It didn’t matter which member of the 4-A club they marched out I still cheered ferociously.
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| Not too shabby right? |
The Baby Braves of 2005 lost their luster and the team underwhelmed for the next five seasons until 2010. What a magical year. During Spring Training it was announced that Bobby Cox would retire at the end of the season so naturally I purchased tickets to Bobby Cox weekend, the final weekend of the season. The Braves had managed to stay in the wild card hunt through the final weekend. All the Braves needed was to beat the Phillies and have the Padres lose. I sat five rows behind home plate cheering on my childhood team behind Bobby’s wife and daughter. Atlanta made the game interesting but Billy Wagner in his final regular season game was able to close out a win. Amazing seats to witness the Braves first trip back to the playoffs since 2005. The Braves played the Giants close in the NLDS but in the end failed in four games with Bobby Cox closing out his career in Atlanta to the cheers of the fans and both teams.
A new page was turned in the Braves history book at the start of the 2011 season. For the first time in 2 decades the Braves had a new manager, Fredi Gonzalez. After an off season trade, Atlanta finally had a power hitter in Dan Uggla. The Braves’ ultimate strength was in its young bullpen made up of Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel. Their rookie first baseman, Freddie Freeman wasn’t too shabby either. The team was light years behind their rival Phillies, but by the August 26th they were boasting a 10.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card with the playoffs clearly in sight. How things changed in six weeks. The Braves once lights out bullpen began to falter. Suddenly they were no longer untouchable. Meanwhile the Cardinals began to surge and the season hinged on one final game. One final win.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox suffered from a similarly historic collapse. On September 2nd the Red Sox were leading the Rays by 9 games. No team who ever had a lead that big missed the playoffs. Somehow this high paid team was stumbling through September and the underpaid Rays were winning setting up their destiny on Wednesday, September 28.
Both the Red Sox and Rays began their march towards destiny at the same time the Braves were attempting to hold on one more day. The Braves jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after a homerun by Dan Uggla while the Rays were being hammered by the Yankees 7-0. With just one out remaining, the Braves, the Yankees and the Red Sox were all leading their respective games. By the time the final pitch was thrown, not one of those teams would win. The excitement of the night has been well documented. And while the Cardinals and Rays were celebrating their improbable birth into the playoffs, I, along with Braves and Red Sox nation, sat in my bed wondering how things could have gone so terrible wrong.
My expectations with the Braves have always been limited. I consider myself a realistic fan. I have had a life time of disappointment while most of Yankee fan friends have known mostly glory. But rarely has such disappointment ever taken place in the regular season. Yes, I remember game four of the 2005 NLDS against the Astros, where the Braves jumped out to an early lead only to lose in the 18th inning with Joey Devine on the mound for Atlanta and Roger Clemens picking up the win in relief for Houston. But that was the playoffs. This was only game 162. So while everyone else looks back on September 28, 2011 and with excitement and a renewed love of baseball, I’ll look back on it as one of the worst days in baseball history. But no, I am not bitter.
