1995 Atlanta Braves

 The Braves of the 1990's were on a hell of a run. While the Yankees beat them in 1999 to claim the title of "Team of the Decade" with their 3 titles, the Bronx Bombers didn't get their winning started until mid-decade. The Braves, on the other hand, started the 90's in last place in their division, then starting in 1991 went on a dominating run by winning the pennant and becoming a mainstay in the postseason. They won the pennant again in 1993 and were in the conversation in '94 before the strike. But one thing was missing from Atlanta's growing list of accomplishments going into 1995: a World Series win.

The 1995 season was slightly shortened because of the time it took to sort out the labor issues from the previous season's strike, but it didn't matter since Bobby Cox would guide his team to a 90-54 record and run away with the division, smoking the 2nd place Mets and Phillies by 21 games in the standings. Heavy favorites going into the postseason, they matched up with the Colorado Rockies in the first ever NLDS, taking them down in four games. They went on to sweep the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS to reach their 3rd World Series of the decade.

Waiting for them in the WS were the offensive powerhouse Cleveland Indians. They may have had an all time great lineup, but the Braves were there to counter them with their all time great pitching; The three headed monster that was Maddux-Smoltz-Glavine. Between 1991 and 1998, those three men would win 7 of the 8 Cy Young awards in the NL (and Maddux finished 2nd in 1997 to almost keep the streak alive). Adding to the awards shelf was Glavine taking home World Series MVP.

The Braves took care of business in the World Series, swatting down the Indians in 6 games, finally getting the monkey off their backs and giving the city of Atlanta their first sports championship. The franchise had tasted victory before, but this time they got to celebrate down south in Georgia. The 90's turned out to be very kind to Atlanta. After the Braves championship, there would be two more pennants, a Super Bowl appearance and they'd be awarded an NHL franchise. But October 1995 would be the pinnacle of their decade.

I usually start with hitters, but you can't deny the stars of this team are the Cy Young pitchers in their rotation. Maddux was a league leader with 19 Wins, 1.63 ERA, 10 CG, 3SO and 209.2 IP all adding up to his FOURTH straight Cy Young award. He finished a not-too-distant 3rd in MVP voting as well.
Glavine finished 3rd in the Cy Young vote, and was the Silver Slugger in the NL to show he was just as lethal at the plate.

The "other" guys in the rotation. Both had sub-.500 records with ERAs over 4.00. Their cards are pretty average, which only look terrible when you sit them next to the HOF teammates they had to follow.

Wohlers would go on to be defined by a single bad pitch he makes the following October, but it takes away from how great he was at the end of the bullpen for the Braves. Their starters can't go the distance *every* time out, so it helped to have a reliable arm like Wohlers slamming the door on opponents to preserve the wins.

Solid assortment of control for the Braves (they traded away the 0 control Stanton during the season). No one truly eye-popping but there weren't many times they had to bail out their starters, either. And I know that Relievers are hardly the cornerstone of a team, but it's interesting to see how many guys here would be in different uniforms in just four short years when their official 2000 Showdown cards came out.

Injury in 1994 derailed the debut of Chipper Jones, but the future Hall of Famer did not disappoint in 1995. He fell just short of Hideo Nomo for the Rookie of the Year award, but the last laugh always goes to the guy hoisting the Commissioners Trophy in October.

The rest of the lineup features solid defense up the middle, and some reliable power from McGriff, Justice, Klesko and Lopez.
McGriff led the team with 27HR and 93RBI.
Grissom brought in some speed to the lineup. He swiped 29 bases while no one else on the team could even get 9 of their own. A much needed trade before the season to bring him in.

Many of the bench options the Braves relied on during their title run. Some good power and speed selection for Bobby Cox on his bench,

I like the small sample size cards with high power chances. Eddie Perez hit just one homer in 1995, but half his chart is a long ball if his 6 on-base gets the advantage

We end with Brian Kowitz, whose entire MLB career took place in June 1995 as he covered for an injured David Justice. The image made for a nice card, and seeing how this is the only chance to highlight the man, I figured why not. He got a ring for his efforts, and now he gets a Showdown card.