As I have my B.A. in history, and like to analyze events and periods of history, I wanted to start a thread about some sports history, and that of my favorite team, win or lose, the Atlanta Braves.
As most sports fans know, the Braves are unique. They have won fourteen straight division titles, from 1991, until 2005, a feat unequaled in any pro sport, and yet, have won only one World Series.
My question in this thread is. If you are a writer of baseball history, in 100 years from now, long after all the current Braves, and all of our forum members, are gone, how would you summize, write about, and analyze the Braves streak? I would be looking for actual summary of their team and their on the field activities, and not just "Braves suck" or "Braves are chokers".
For myself, I see it this way. The Braves are a most unique team. They have battled adversity, player defections, payroll downsizing, management change at their upper levels, and loss of fan support, and yet, until 2005, still managed to win the division every year. That is quite a feat.
I attribute their regular season success to their stable management team of GM John Scherholtz, and Manager Bobby Cox. Simply put, those two gentlemen belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cox is a three time NL Manager of the Year award winner, and Scherholtz has won baseball executive of the year. Bobby and John have learned to work with the resources they have, and turn their fortunes into a winning team every year.
Of course, I am still hopeful that my Braves will rally and take the wild card spot in the NL this year, but, even if not, they had an amazing run. Fourteen straight division titles is a streak that I do not think will ever be equaled in pro sports.
So, the question is, in 100 years from now, from an intelligent, sportswriter or baseball historian's point of view, who would be asked to write about the Atlanta Braves, their division title streak, and their fortunes overall from 1991 to 2005, how would you sum their streak up? For myself, I would say that their regular season run has been amazing, and I attribute it to shrewd moves made by John Scherholtz, and, in the past three years especially, Bobby Cox maximizing the potential of his roster, at times when the "experts" thought the Braves streak was over. As for the postseason, I think many times that they have run into hot teams or pitchers, and that some of their pitchers, namely Maddux and Glavine, except for in 1995, simply werent as good in postseason, as they were in the regular season. Bobby Cox always says:" The postseason is a crapshoot, and we never know how it is going to play out" I wouldnt say they "choked", but I would say that maybe they had a bit too much of a businesslike attitude, and not enough emotion of fire, that causes teams to win championships. This, along with their good pitchers bad postseason fortunes in general, may have been their downfall.
So, summizing the Braves in 100 years from now from a sports historian's point of view? What would you say?
Mitch
As most sports fans know, the Braves are unique. They have won fourteen straight division titles, from 1991, until 2005, a feat unequaled in any pro sport, and yet, have won only one World Series.
My question in this thread is. If you are a writer of baseball history, in 100 years from now, long after all the current Braves, and all of our forum members, are gone, how would you summize, write about, and analyze the Braves streak? I would be looking for actual summary of their team and their on the field activities, and not just "Braves suck" or "Braves are chokers".
For myself, I see it this way. The Braves are a most unique team. They have battled adversity, player defections, payroll downsizing, management change at their upper levels, and loss of fan support, and yet, until 2005, still managed to win the division every year. That is quite a feat.
I attribute their regular season success to their stable management team of GM John Scherholtz, and Manager Bobby Cox. Simply put, those two gentlemen belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cox is a three time NL Manager of the Year award winner, and Scherholtz has won baseball executive of the year. Bobby and John have learned to work with the resources they have, and turn their fortunes into a winning team every year.
Of course, I am still hopeful that my Braves will rally and take the wild card spot in the NL this year, but, even if not, they had an amazing run. Fourteen straight division titles is a streak that I do not think will ever be equaled in pro sports.
So, the question is, in 100 years from now, from an intelligent, sportswriter or baseball historian's point of view, who would be asked to write about the Atlanta Braves, their division title streak, and their fortunes overall from 1991 to 2005, how would you sum their streak up? For myself, I would say that their regular season run has been amazing, and I attribute it to shrewd moves made by John Scherholtz, and, in the past three years especially, Bobby Cox maximizing the potential of his roster, at times when the "experts" thought the Braves streak was over. As for the postseason, I think many times that they have run into hot teams or pitchers, and that some of their pitchers, namely Maddux and Glavine, except for in 1995, simply werent as good in postseason, as they were in the regular season. Bobby Cox always says:" The postseason is a crapshoot, and we never know how it is going to play out" I wouldnt say they "choked", but I would say that maybe they had a bit too much of a businesslike attitude, and not enough emotion of fire, that causes teams to win championships. This, along with their good pitchers bad postseason fortunes in general, may have been their downfall.
So, summizing the Braves in 100 years from now from a sports historian's point of view? What would you say?
Mitch
