1988 Atlanta Braves

1988 Atlanta Braves / Franchise: Atlanta Braves / BR Team Page

Record: 54-106, Finished 6th in NL Western Division (1988 NL)

General Manager: Bobby Cox

Managed by Chuck Tanner (12-27) and Russ Nixon (42-79)

Coaches: Tony Bartirome, Bruce Dal Canton, Roy Majtyka, Al Monchak, Russ Nixon, Bob Skinner, Brian Snitker, Willie Stargell and Bobby Wine

Ballpark: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

Although the 1988 Atlanta Braves were perhaps the worst team of the 1980s, they also laid part of the foundation for the birth of the long Braves dynasty that started in 1991. They started off the season with ten straight losses, a franchise record, and went on to lose 106 games. However, the losses were not for naught, as the team gave a lot of playing time to young players who would eventually turn into very productive major leaguers, even if they were not quite ready for the limelight at that point.

John Smoltz and Tom Glavine were the most notable young players on the rebuilding-oriented team, but Ron Gant, Jeff Blauser, Pete Smith and Mark Lemke would also contribute to the early 1990s Braves teams. Dale Murphy was the biggest name on the team at the time, but 1988 marked the year he started his rapid decline, and Gant was perhaps the best player on a very weak team. 1B Gerald Perry was the team's lone representative at the 1988 All-Star Game on the basis of hitting .300 in 141 games, but his lack of home run power and relatively low walk total meant that he was in fact just slightly above-average as a hitter, with an OPS+ of 109.

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Gerald Perry
• Topps All-Star Rookie Team: Ron Gant (2B)

Further Reading

• Murray Chass: "COX GETS RECORD CONTRACT FROM BRAVES", New York Times, October 23, 1985

Related Sites

• Description of Smoltz's first Braves game