Atlanta Braves rivalries

Atlanta Braves Rivalries

Since 1866, the Braves, in their various incarnations, have played in over 21,000 games. During that time the team played against 146 baseball clubs. Some of the opponents that the team played as the Cincinnati Red Stockings carried on over when the team moved to Boston. Listed here are some of the bigger rivalries that the team has had over the years:

• Cincinnati Buckeyes (1866-1869): This was the team for whom the Red Stockings were created for, the Cincinnati Buckeyes. Initially the Buckeyes dominated the series winning 2 out of 3 games. That would change starting the next season with the Red Stockings winning all 4 match-ups. The series lasted until the end of the 1869 season. During that time the Red Stockings would win all 8 games. When the series ended the record was at 9-2.

• Brooklyn Atlantics (1867-70, 72-75): One of the few teams to give the Cincinnati Red Stockings problems. The teams first met on July 6, 1867 at the Red Stockings’ Union Grounds. During the four seasons that the two teams faced each other, the Atlantics dominated the series winning 3 out of the 5 matches. The Atlantics were responsible for giving the Red Stockings their final loss in 1868 before beating the team again in an 11-inning match on June 14, 1870, in what might be the greatest game of the century. When the National Association was formed, the Atlantics chose not to join the league for that first year. They would join for the 1872 season, and for the last four years of the league’s existence, the Red Stockings dominated the rivalry. Following the 1875 season, the Atlantics chose not to join the National League, and as a result, faded off into obscurity.

• Collegiate Teams (1868-Present): On October 24, 1868 the Cincinnati Red Stockings faced their first collegiate team, a 45-10 win over the Antioch College Club. This was followed up with rematch against the Antioch team the following year as well as matches over the next two seasons against Harvard University. Today’s matches against collegiate teams are generally considered to be exhibition matches and are usually played during spring training. Back then they were counted as a part of Cincinnati’s win/loss record.

• Philadelphia Athletics (1868-1876): Like the Brooklyn Atlantics, the Philadelphia Athletics gave the Red Stockings problems. The teams met twice during the 1868 season with the Athletics winning both matches. The Red Stockings would win the next three matches before losing on July 27, 1870 11-7. The last time the teams would play each other for the 1870 season, the Red Stockings would win that game. Both teams joined the National Association for the 1871 season. That year, the Athletics would best the Red Stockings and win the inaugural league pennant. The next four seasons would find that while the Athletics would be the Red Stockings on occasion, the Red Stockings would still win the pennants at the end of the season. The rivalry lasted until the end of the 1876 season, when the Athletics were dropped from the National League.

• Chicago Cubs (1870-1871, 1874-Present): The oldest rivalry in professional baseball. The two teams first met on September 7, 1870, at Lincoln Park with the White Stockings winning 10-6; the rivalry halted in 1872 when the White Stockings dropped out following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It resumed for the 1874 season. During the early years of the National League the two teams competed for the National League pennant. During the first decade of the league’s existence, the White Stockings won the pennant 6 times, while the Beaneaters won it 3 times. By the end of the 19th century, the Beaneaters would win 5 more pennants to take the lead 8-6. During the first part of the 20th century while the Braves would languish in the cellar of the league, the Cubs would take the lead by winning 9 more pennants to the Braves 2. Since the team’s moves to Milwaukee and then to Atlanta, the Braves have surged ahead in the number of pennants. To date the Braves hold onto a 1 pennant lead over the Cubs: 16-15.

• Philadelphia Phillies (1883-Present): Early in the Phillies' history, the two teams had a heated a rivalry, particularly during Harry Wright's tenure as manager of the Phillies (1884-1890, 1890-1893). The rivalry cooled off by the end of the century but flared up again during the 1915 season, when the teams battled for first place in the National League. It would not be until the 1990s that the rivalry flared up again. In 1993, the Phillies knocked the Braves out of the playoffs on their way to their first World Series appearance since 1980. Since that time, with a few exceptions (2006, 2012 and 2015), the Braves or Phillies have pretty much won every NL East division title.

• Boston Red Sox (1901-Present): In the 19th century, the Boston Beaneaters never played against the two Boston Reds teams as both belonged to the rival leagues. The 1901 season, saw a new rival club in the Boston Americans. During the Americans (from 1908 "Boston Red Sox") first 50 seasons in Boston, the AL club dominated the rivalry both off and on the field. The team would win 6 AL pennants and 5 World Series titles as opposed to the Braves' 2 pennants and 1 World Series title. Towards the end of the 1914 season, the Braves moved into Fenway Park and would remain there until the middle of the 1915 season when the team moved into Braves Field. For the 1915 and 1916 World Series, in turn, the Red Sox chose to play their home games at Braves Field as the ballpark was much larger. And while it would be until 1997 when the two teams would play each other in an official game, the two clubs were known to play frequent exhibition games against each other, dating back to the 1926 season.

• New York Yankees (1957-Present): Officially the two clubs first met in 1957. However, the two teams met prior to that in pre-season games. One such meeting came on March 18, 1953 when the Braves traveled to play the Yankees in St. Petersburg, FL. Over at the Vinoy Park Hotel, also in St. Petersburg, were the owners of the National League who were meeting to determine the fate of the Braves. When the game started, the team was still known as the Boston Braves. Braves' pitcher Bob Buhl held the Yankees scoreless through five innings, while Sid Gordon gave the team a 3-0 lead in the 1st. At the top of the 6th, word reached the teams that the Braves' move to Milwaukee had been approved. Dick Donovan replaced Buhl as pitcher, and promptly gave up five runs on five singles. Ironically the first hit against a Milwaukee pitcher came from former Braves' great Johnny Sain. In the Boston Globe the following day, the newspaper categorized the loss this way: "Braves Win Last Game for Boston, Milwaukee Loses It." The two teams would meet three other times in the World Series (1958, 1996, and 1999), with the Yankees coming out on top all three times. Following the introduction of interleague play in 1997, the teams have met more often, in the regular season.

• New York Mets (1962-Present): The Braves and Mets have played each other since 1962 when the Mets joined the league as an expansion team. Early on there was not much of a rivalry due to the fact that the Mets were a terrible team. Prior to the start of the 1969 season, the teams were placed in different divisions. That year, both teams won their respective division titles and faced each other in the first League Championship Series for the right to represent the National League in the World Series. The Mets would swept the Braves in three games and then won the World Series. The rivalry cooled off until the mid-1990s. The two teams became division rivals for the 1994 season, when divisions were re-aligned one year after the addition of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. The 1995 season saw the Mets post an 8-5 record against the Braves, including a 5-1 record at Shea Stadium. Starting in 1997, the two teams battled each other for first place in the division a number of times. The Braves eliminated the Mets in six games in their first postseason meeting since 1969 in the 1999 NLCS. Since 2001, the rivalry has considerably cooled off.

For the Braves other rivalries, see Braves rivalries

Sources

• Bob Brady et. al. The Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series Champions, SABR, Inc. (C) Apr. 2, 2014.
• Boston Braves