Atlanta Braves Break-Ups: It Really Doesn't Hurt that Long

It’s hard to believe that the deal took place almost 20 years ago. I was a young child of only eight. I had fallen in love with the worst team in all of baseball just three years before. Despite all their faults the Braves were my team.

Dale Murphy was my favorite player on my favorite team. I was too young to realize that Murph was on the downside of his career. So the news came as a shock.

Dale Murphy traded for Phillies reliever Jeff Parrett and two players to be named later.

My Dale Murphy! It was a low-point in my young life. This is the guy whose No. 3 was my very first jersey number in little league. This is the guy whose swing I mimicked. This is the same guy that used to hit all those towering home runs at the Launching Pad.

To me, and many other Braves fans this was a sad day. Sure older fans knew that Murph was on the downside, but it still hurt to see the face of the franchise traded away without as much as a thank you.

Then David Justice stepped in. David Justice quickly became the fan favorite. Even my mother, who despised baseball, would watch every time he came to the plate. She loved his dimples.

Justice won the Rookie of the Year in 1990, after taking over full-time when the legend, Dale Murphy, left.

The young nucleus of that 1990 Braves team, which included Ron Gant, Jeff Blauser, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine in addition to Justice, would be the catalysts of the unprecedented 14-year division title run that began the following season.

Needless to say the sting of the loss from the Murphy deal was a short one.

Following four World Series appearances and one world title, the Braves decided to cut loose another face of the franchise—the dimpled face that took over for Murph, David Justice.

I’ll never forget during Spring Training in 1997 when the news came that Dave Justice and Marquis Grissom had been traded for Alan Embree and Kenny Lofton of the Cleveland Indians—merely one month before the Braves were to move into their new home at Turner Field.

Shock and dismay yet again were the words of the day. Justice was injured for that 1996 playoff run, but this deal hurt nonetheless.

As bad as that deal turned out to be for Atlanta, the Braves had a new face to develop.

Chipper Jones was on the 1995 team that won it all. As a matter of fact he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting that season—behind Hideo Nomo.

After belting 23 HRs in his rookie season, he followed that up with 30 HRs and 100+ RBI in 1996. He would not have less than 100 RBIs again until 2004.

Having a guy like Chipper enabled then-GM, John Schuerholz to move Dave Justice. Once again that softened the blow that many Braves fans felt after losing the dimpled one.

Then came the early-2000s when Atlanta could no longer afford some of its most highly regarded players. Tom Glavine was the first to go after the 2002 season.

A lot of Braves fans were quite miffed at Glavine after he bolted for New York over about one-million or so dollars.

After the 2003 season the Braves could no longer afford popular catcher Javy Lopez, or the greatest pitcher this generation has ever seen, Greg Maddux.

Still the Braves were intent on fielding a top-notch team. Throughout those seasons of losing their heavyweights to free agency, John Schuerholz would always make a deal to keep Atlanta near the top.

In 2002, Atlanta brought in Gary Sheffield. For the two seasons he was in Atlanta the Braves had the top offense in the game.

After the ’03 season when Sheffield left, the Braves traded for J.D. Drew who proceeded to have his best year in a major league uniform in 2004, before parlaying that into a gigantic contract from the Dodgers a year later.

In 2005, it was time for the Baby Braves—Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, and Kelly Johnson—continued the Braves success.

After a stellar first season and a half in Atlanta, many expected Francoeur to be the new face of the franchise—until last season when he fell off the face of the earth.

When John Smoltz moved to the bullpen in 2001 he officially threw his hat into the ring of being an all-time great Atlanta Brave. He was the face of those ‘91 and ‘92 rotations, and he won the 1996 CY Young after going 24-8 that season.

However, he was not considered a legend until he saved 150 games in three-plus seasons as the Braves closer.

To further solidify his status as one of the top Braves, he returned to the rotation in 2005 and won 47 games over his final four seasons in Atlanta.

He and Chipper were the Braves from ’01-’08.

This past offseason John Smoltz felt that he had been disrespected by Braves GM, Frank Wren, and bolted to the Boston Red Sox.

As someone who looked up to the bearded-icon for most of my childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood I was shocked, dismayed, and flat-out ticked off that this new GM was allowing my Braves to be torn apart.

True to Braves form, however, Frank Wren signed Derek Lowe three days later.

As much as losing Smoltzie still hurt, we had someone who would most likely be better, at this stage in their careers and definitely more durable, than the former Braves ace.

Now after signing Tom Glavine to watch him miss most of ’08, and rehab the first three months ’09, Wren finally decided it was time to move on.

He was the last of the “Big Three”, but Glavine was largely ineffective even when healthy last season.

I’ve heard some opinions that believe Frank Wren is doing everything he can to distance himself from that remarkable run. Some believe that Wren is allowing these players to move on because he wants to put his own mark on this franchise. I can’t say that I disagree with that opinion either.

For all his faults, Wren has made sure to keep the Braves tradition of never making the fans hurt that long.

We will see more evidence of that this weekend.

Tommy Hanson will make his MLB debut Sunday against the Brewers. Hanson is quite possibly the most hyped Atlanta Braves prospect since Chipper Jones.

The man has already become a legend to many Braves faithful without throwing a single major league pitch.

He is 6’6", 210-pounds. He throws a lively 95 mph heater, has a Smoltzie-esque slider, a ridiculous 12-to-6 curveball, and an insane changeup.

Hanson has struck out 90 hitters over 66-1/3 innings while posting a 1.49 ERA at AAA-Gwinnett this season. He also dominated the Arizona Fall League going 5-0, 0.63 ERA, 49 Ks in 29 innings.

When you add the 14-strikeout, no-hitter that he threw at AA-Mississippi last season, you see exactly why he’s already a legend. Are you ready for the scary part? He’s only 22 years old.

Then there’s recent acquisition, Nate McLouth, who will make his Atlanta debut on Friday night.

McLouth’s resume speaks for itself.

He’s only 27 and has already been an All-Star, and a Gold Glove winner. He was also the face of a young franchise in Pittsburgh for four-plus seasons.

He hit 26 HR last season; or three more than any Braves player had. He’s had a slow start to this season, but his 9 HR is four more than any Brave so far this season.

For the first time in three years I feel that the Braves finally have enough talent to compete in the NL East.

If Hanson and McLouth live up to their previous successes, the rest of this season could end up being very special for the Atlanta Braves.

Despite the many break-ups Braves fans have witnessed, and the heartbreak that almost always ensued; the pain has really never lasted that long.