Greenville Braves

Last updated
Greenville Braves
GreenvilleBraves 100.png
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesDouble-A (1984–2004)
League Southern League (1984–2004)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams Atlanta Braves (1984–2004)
Team data
Previous names
Greenville Braves (1984–2004)
MascotTommy Hawk (1997-2004)
Dingbat (2000-2004)
Previous parks
Greenville Municipal Stadium (1984–2004)

The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004. The Braves played in Greenville Municipal Stadium for all 21 years of their existence.

Contents

The team had much success and many famous future Atlanta players such as Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Javy López, Jason Marquis, Eddie Pérez, Andruw Jones, and John Rocker played there. They won multiple Southern League championships, and the 1992 edition, managed by Grady Little and featuring Chipper Jones and López, won 100 out of 143 games (.699) during the regular season to take the pennant, then captured the SL playoff title. The 1992 Braves were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. [1] After the 2004 season, the parent club in Atlanta transferred the G-Braves to Pearl, Mississippi, where the team is now known as the Mississippi Braves.

The Braves cited an outdated stadium that did not meet current standards and the City of Greenville's unwillingness to create a sufficient financial package to build a new stadium as the cause of the move. With the Greenville Braves out, the Greenville Bombers (formerly the Capital City Bombers), Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, moved into the old Braves stadium in 2005. In 2006, a brand new stadium located in Downtown Greenville, Fluor Field at the West End, opened and the Bombers changed their name to the Greenville Drive.

Greenville Braves (WCL, 1963–64)

Greenville also hosted a team in the low Class A Western Carolinas League—the former identity (1960–79) of the South Atlantic League—called the Braves as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves in 1963 and 1964. This two-year affiliation was brief, but produced the 1963 playoff champions of the WCL. When the New York Mets replaced the Braves as the team's parent in 1965, the nickname was changed.

Hall of Fame Alumni

Notable former players

Season-by-season records

The following is a list of the Greenville Braves season-by-season record. [2]

YearTeam NameWinsLosses Pct. Manager
1963Greenville Braves59650.476 Jim Fanning and Paul Snyder
1964Greenville Braves63630.500 Bill Steinecke and Jimmy Brown
1984Greenville Braves80670.567 Bobby Dews and Leo Mazzone
1985Greenville Braves70740.486 Jim Beauchamp
1986Greenville Braves73710.486 Jim Beauchamp
1987Greenville Braves70740.786 Jim Beauchamp
1988Greenville Braves87570.604 Buddy Bailey and Russ Nixon
1989Greenville Braves70690.504 Buddy Bailey
1990Greenville Braves57870.396 Buddy Bailey
1991Greenville Braves88560.611 Chris Chambliss
1992Greenville Braves100430.699 Grady Little
1993Greenville Braves70670.511 Bruce Kimm
1994Greenville Braves73630.537 Bruce Benedict
1995Greenville Braves59830.415 Bruce Benedict
1996Greenville Braves58820.414 Jeff Cox
1997Greenville Braves74660.529Randy Ingle
1998Greenville Braves67720.482Randy Ingle
1999Greenville Braves58800.420 Paul Runge
2000Greenville Braves68710.489 Paul Runge
2001Greenville Braves60790.432 Paul Runge
2002Greenville Braves65630.485 Brian Snitker
2003Greenville Braves68700.493 Brian Snitker
2004Greenville Braves63760.453 Brian Snitker

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Braves</span> Minor league baseball team

The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the R-Braves, they played their home games at a stadium called The Diamond on Richmond's Northside built for them in 1985, and before then Parker Field on the same site. The franchise moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia in 2009 to play in the newly built Coolray Field as the Gwinnett Braves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andruw Jones</span> Curaçaoan baseball player (born 1977)

Andruw Rudolf Jones is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Jones was a noted defensive specialist for most of his career and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. He had a strong throwing arm in addition to his elite fielding. He was an MLB All-Star five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005.

The 1998 National League Championship Series (NLCS), to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League, was played from October 7 to 14 between the East Division champion Atlanta Braves and the West Division champion San Diego Padres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 World Series</span> 92nd edition of Major League Baseballs championship series

The 1996 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees. The Yankees defeated the Braves four games to two to capture their first World Series title since 1978 and their 23rd overall. The series was played from October 20–26, 1996, and was broadcast on television on Fox. Yankees relief pitcher John Wetteland was named the World Series Most Valuable Player for saving all four Yankee wins.

The following are the baseball events of the year 1998 throughout the world.

This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Atlanta Braves professional baseball franchise, including its years in Boston (1871–1952) and Milwaukee (1953–1965). The awards are MLB-designated and other outside groups such as national press writers and national commercial product manufacturers.

The 1999 National League Championship Series (NLCS), was held to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League. The 30th in NL history, it was held between two East Division rivals, the division champion Atlanta Braves and the wild card New York Mets.

The 1996 National League Championship Series (NLCS) matched the East Division champion Atlanta Braves and the Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals. It was the second NLCS meeting of the two teams and first since 1982. The Braves won in seven games, becoming the eighth team in baseball history to win a best-of-seven postseason series after being down 3–1, and first to overcome such a deficit in the NLCS. They outscored the Cardinals, 32–1, over the final three games. Also, Bobby Cox became the only manager to be on both the winning and losing end of such a comeback in postseason history, having previously blown the 1985 American League Championship Series with the Toronto Blue Jays against the Kansas City Royals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 National League Championship Series</span>

The 1997 National League Championship Series (NLCS) pitted the Florida Marlins against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins won the series, 4–2, and went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 National League Championship Series</span>

The 2001 National League Championship Series (NLCS) saw the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Atlanta Braves in five games to win the National League pennant in the franchise's fourth year of existence. The Diamondbacks went on to defeat the New York Yankees in seven games to win the World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 National League Division Series</span> Review of the series

The 2002 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2002 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Monday, October 7, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:

The 1995 Major League Baseball season was the first season to be played under the expanded postseason format, as the League Division Series (LDS) was played in both the American and National leagues for the first time, since the 1981 strike-split season. However, due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike which carried into the 1995 season, a shortened 144-game schedule commenced on April 25, when the Florida Marlins played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 1992 Atlanta Braves season was the 27th in Atlanta and the 122nd overall. It involved the Braves finishing first in the National League West with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, clinching their second straight division title.

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 1996 Atlanta Braves season was the 126th season in the history of the franchise and 31st season in the city of Atlanta. They secured a regular season record of 96–66 and reached the World Series, where they lost to the underdog New York Yankees in six games, failing to defend its championship in 1995. Heavily favored and seen as one of the greatest Braves teams in history and despite taking a 2–0 lead, the Braves unexpectedly lost the next 4 games. This World Series appearance was their fourth appearance in the last 5 years as a franchise, excluding the strike shortened season. Atlanta won its seventh division title and its fifth in six years. In the previous round, Atlanta completed a miraculous comeback. After trailing in the NLCS to St. Louis three games to one, Atlanta outscored St. Louis 32–1 in games five through seven to complete the comeback. The collapse was remembered as one of the largest in North American sports history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Atlanta Braves season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 2001 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 36th season in Atlanta and 131st overall. The Braves won their seventh consecutive division title. The season saw the team finish first in the NL East Division with an 88-74 record – the worst among playoff teams in 2001, and also the worst record for the Braves since the 1994 strike-reduced season. Atlanta finished the season with just a 2 game division lead over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 1999 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 34th season in Atlanta and its 129th season overall. The Braves commenced the season as consecutive National League runner-ups and clinched their eighth successive division title with a record of 103–59, holding a 6-game lead over the New York Mets. During the 1990s, the Braves reached the World Series for the fifth time. However, they were swept in all four games of the 1999 World Series by the New York Yankees. This marked their second World Series appearance against the Yankees in a span of four years, with the previous one occurring in 1996, which they lost in six games. As of 2021, this still represents the last National League pennant the Braves have secured, and they wouldn't return to the World Series until 22 years later.

The 2000 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 35th season in Atlanta along with the 125th season in the National League and 130th overall, entering the season as defending National League champions. The Braves won their sixth consecutive division title, however, the 2000 season would mark the first time since 1990 that the Braves did not appear in the NLCS in a non-strike season. The Braves failed to defend its National League championship and go to their sixth World Series in ten years. One of the highlights of the season was that the All-Star Game was held at Turner Field in Atlanta.

The 1998 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 33rd season in Atlanta and 128th overall. The Braves entered the season as defending National League runner ups. They went on to win their fourth consecutive division title, taking the National League East title by 18 games over the second place New York Mets.

The 2002 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 37th season in Atlanta and 132nd overall. The Braves won their eighth consecutive division title, finishing 19 games ahead of the second-place Montreal Expos. The Braves lost the 2002 Divisional Series to the eventual NL Champion San Francisco Giants, 3 games to 2. This would be the first of four consecutive NLDS losses in as many years, and the first of three consecutive years to do so by losing the deciding Game 5 at Turner Field.

References

  1. "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  2. Baseball Reference