The 1995 Atlanta Braves: National League Division Series

Source: www.thesportshistorian.com --- Friday, May 20, 2016
The 1995 season marked the beginning of three divisions in both the National and American Leagues. The division winners and a Wild Card team, the team with the best record outside of the division victors, comprised the playoff pool. For the first time in the history of baseball, a team had to win two playoff series to reach the World Series, and the first series was only a best-of-five format. The Braves entered the playoffs with the best record in the National League but fearful of the Colorado Rockies in a short series. Also, the Braves had to play the first two games in Coors Field in Denver where no lead was safe. None of the Braves management or coaches believed a short series a true test. Braves Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone believed a short series detracted from everything a team accomplished over the course of a regular season and negated a team’s depth, which allowed the Braves to win the division title. He further argued that anything could happen in a short series and the lesser team could win. Mazzone also knew that the Rockies had hit 134 of their league-leading 200 home runs at Coors Field. However, the Braves traveled to Denver for the first two games knowing they had Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and an unlimited supply of antacid tablets. The Braves had beaten the Rockies 30 out of 36 times in Colorado’s short history. However, the mood in the clubhouse was one of high anxiety. John Smoltz stated that everyone on the te ...