Big Three (Atlanta Braves)
The Big Three was a trio of Major League Baseball starting pitchers for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2002 which consisted of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
Each member of the Big Three has had their jersey retired by the Atlanta Braves and were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
They helped lead the Atlanta Braves to a National League West Division title for the first time in nine years.
Prior to the 1993 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves signed Greg Maddux (who had won the National League Cy Young Award the previous year) from the Chicago Cubs, marking the beginning of the Big Three era.
The Big Three had a strong 1993 season as Maddux posted a 20–10 record, winning his second straight NL Cy Young Award, Glavine led the National League in wins for the third consecutive season as he posted a 22–6 record,[1] and Smoltz once again made the All Star team.
Maddux won his third consecutive Cy Young Award in the strike-shortened 1994 season as he posted a 16–6 record, had a National League leading ERA of 1.56, and struck out 156 batters.
20–17 start by June 4 would soon be dwarfed by a 24–12 run leading up to the 1995 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which saw only pitcher Greg Maddux selected among the three.
He would go on to win his fourth consecutive NL Cy Young Award with a league-leading 19–2 win-loss record with a 1.63 ERA while leading the Braves in complete games (ten) and shutouts (three).
The Braves cruised to the National League East title with 90 wins, beating the New York Mets by 21 games.
While Cleveland scored the first run of the game through the efforts of Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga without getting a hit, Maddux shut the team down the rest of the way with a complete game two-hitter while Fred McGriff and Luis Polonia contributed runs to deliver a 3–2 victory.
It turned into a disappointment, as Albert Belle and Jim Thome hit home runs to carry Hershiser as Cleveland won 5–4.
Mark Wohlers collected the save that saw Marquis Grissom catch a fly ball in center field to win the championship.
Glavine won both of his starts (Game 2 and 6), and he allowed just four hits and two runs in fourteen innings pitched with eleven strikeouts to six walks.
In the National League Championship Series, they faced the underdog St. Louis Cardinals; Smoltz won the opening game, but the Braves soon fell behind under surprise losses by Maddux and Glavine.
Smoltz and Maddux easily dispatched the Yankees to give the Braves a 2–0 lead as the series shifted from New York to Atlanta.
In Game 3, Glavine was matched against David Cone (who had started against the Braves for the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1992 World Series).
Glavine was outmatched by the resurgent Yankee lineup (which had scored once in the two previous games), as they scored two runs on Glavine by the time he left in the seven and added three more in the eighth to win 5–2; the ensuing Game 4 proved horrific, as Atlanta blew a six run lead and lost 8–6 in ten innings.
Unfortunately, this would be his first loss, which came at the hands of a fourth inning flyball that went past the fielders for a two-base error that was followed by a double to score the only run of the game.
[9] Maddux got off to a solid start in the NLCS against the New York Mets as he gave up only one run in seven innings to lead the Braves to a 4–2 win in Game 1.
Smoltz pitched a 1–2–3 inning in the 9th to seal a 4–3 win for the Braves in Game 2 and take a 2–0 series lead heading to New York.
[12] The Braves won Game 6 10–9 in eleven innings to capture the NL Pennant and advance to the 1999 World Series.
[2] Smoltz's start in the NLDS went well as he lasted seven innings and only gave up one run to lead the Braves to a 7–1 win in Game 2.
He had another successful year in 2007 with a 14–8 record, a 3.11 ERA, and 197 strikeouts,[2] but again that wasn't enough for the Braves as they finished 3rd in their division yet again and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
