The 1998 Atlanta Braves and the Magnificent 7 Rotations in Atlanta History

The hallmark of success for the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s has been a star-studded starting rotation that carried the team to 14 straight division titles (excluding the 1994 strike-shortened season).

The Braves burst onto the scene in 1991, moving from three straight last-place finishes from 1988-90 to the World Series the very next year.

The good times in Georgia's capital city began when John Schuerholz assumed the general manager's position in October 1990 and kept Bobby Cox as manager and Leo Mazzone as pitching coach.

Atlanta had been a virtual wasteland for 15 years, finishing last in the National League West eight times between 1976 and 1990. The franchise did little to develop minor-league talent, and free agents were not drawn to the team.

Schuerholz changed the culture seemingly overnight, though he did inherit some pretty good players like John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, David Justice and Ron Gant. His first major acquisition was signing third baseman Terry Pendleton as a free agent, while young studs like Steve Avery, Mark Wohlers and Chipper Jones were ready to contribute at the major-league level.

Once the winning ways became a regular occurrence, the Braves attracted some of the best free agents in the game, namely Greg Maddux and Andres Galarraga.

The Braves won the 1995 World Series, backed by its outstanding rotation and had perhaps its best team in 1998, when Atlanta won a franchise-record 106 games.

Pitching was the name of the game during the 14-year run and plays a major role in the Braves' resurgence the past two years. A Braves pitcher won the N.L. Cy Young Award four straight times from 1994-96, and Glavine also took home the league's best pitcher trophy in 1991 and 1998.

The franchise moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966, and this list only includes the Atlanta period, though plenty could be said about the 1957 Milwaukee team that won the World Series. That squad was led by Warren Spahn (21-11), Lew Burdette (17-9) and Bob Buhl (18-7).

1998 Rotation: Team ERA 3.25

The five-man staff of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle and Kevin Millwood recorded 88 wins, with each starter winning at least 16 games. The group tossed a combined 23 complete games and 13 shutouts.

Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz each ranked among the top five in N.L. Cy Young Award voting, with Glavine winning the award.

The left-hander went 20-6 with a 2.47 ERA, but some argue that Maddux had an even better year, statistically at least. Maddux went 18-9, leading the league with a 2.22 ERA with 45 walks and 204 strikeouts. It marked the only time in his 22-year career that he eclipsed 200 Ks.

Smoltz posted a 17-3 record and 2.90 ERA.

Neagle backed up his 20-win season in 1997 with another solid performance in 1998, going 16-11 with a 3.55 ERA. Millwood established himself in the rotation, logging a 17-8 mark in 29 starts in his first full season in the big leagues.

1993 Rotation: Team ERA 3.14

The Braves answered a loss in the 1992 World Series to Toronto with the franchise's first 100-win season since 1898. The did so with virtually a four-man staff, with each making at least 35 starts.

In his first season after signing a lucrative free-agent contract with Atlanta, Greg Maddux went 20-10 with a 2.36 ERA and won the Cy Young Award. He allowed 228 hits in 267 innings.

Tom Glavine joined him in the 20-win club by going 22-6 with a 3.20 ERA. The 1993 season was his third straight year with at least 20 victories.

Steve Avery put up an 18-6 record with a career-best 2.94 ERA. It would be the last year he would be a major factor in the Braves' rotation, as a string of injuries starting in 1994 curtailed his bright career.

John Smoltz had a 15-11 mark and a 3.62 ERA while leading the team with 208 strikeouts.

Pete Smith made just 14 starts, sporting a 4-8 ledger and 4.37 ERA.

2002 Rotation: Team ERA 3.13

John Smoltz moved into the bullpen full time in 2002 and led the league with 55 saves for a team that won 101 games, a 13-game improvement from the previous campaign.

That left the Braves searching for another starter to join stalwarts Maddux, Glavine and Millwood. They settled on lefty Damian Moss and Jason Marquis.

Moss busted out as a rookie, going 12-6 with a 3.42 ERA in 29 starts, though he was plagued by bases on balls. In his second big-league season, Marquis went 8-9 with a 5.04 ERA in 22 starts.

Maddux and Glavine continued to be one of the most potent 1-2 pitching combinations in the game—Maddux went 16-6 with a 2.62 ERA, while Glavine ran up an 18-11 ledger with a 2.96 ERA.

After two mediocre seasons, Millwood returned to form, going 18-8 with a 3.24 ERA, over a run stingier than he was in 2001 (4.31 ERA).

The team's 3.13 ERA was the second lowest mark since the team moved to Atlanta, bettered only by the 1968 team, which had a 2.92 average.

2011 Rotation: Team ERA 3.11

Two veterans serve as clubhouse leaders in a rotation filled with 20-somethings, and the mix has proven so far to be one of the best in modern team history.

Jair Jurrjens, 25, has been among the best starters in all of baseball, leading the majors with a 1.87 ERA. He has to be considered along with Philadelphia's Roy Halladay as the front runners for the Cy Young Award.

Tommy Hanson, 24, has been almost as good, going 10-4 with a 2.44 ERA. He ranks as the toughest pitcher in the NL to hit, holding opponents to a .190 average, 11 points better than No. 2 Jhoulys Chacin.

Brandon Beachy, 24, continue to prove that he can be a reliable middle-of-the-rotation guy, posting a 3-1 record and 3.21 ERA in 12 starts despite being slowed by injury.

It's the veterans that are dragging, as 38-year-old Derek Lowe (5-7, 4.30 ERA) and 35-year-old Tim Hudson (8-6, 3.57) have not been as consistent as many expected in leading this group.

1968 Rotation: Team ERA 2.92

The 1968 season has been dubbed the "Year of the Pitcher," with St. Louis' Bob Gibson setting a modern-era record with a 1.12 ERA. The balance of power was so skewed toward the pitcher that after the season, baseball decided to lower the mound from 15 inches to 10.

The Braves finished with an 81-81 record, good for fifth in the National League, one year before baseball would expand by four teams and institute divisional play. Atlanta's 2.92 team ERA is the best in the post-1966 era.

Milt Pappas led the Braves starters with a 2.37 ERA, but it was knuckleballer Phil Niekro (14-12, 2.59 ERA) and Pat Jarvis (16-12, 2.60) who logged most of the duty, each surpassing 250 innings. The pair combined for 29 complete games and six shutouts.

Ron Reed (11-10, 3.35) and Ken Johnson (5-8, 3.47) filled out the starting staff, which recorded a cumulative 3.31 ERA. The overall team mark of 2.92 was helped by a bullpen unit led by closer Cecil Upshaw (2.47 ERA in 52 games with 13 saves).

1992 Rotation: Team ERA 3.14

The Braves followed up their magical 1991 worst-to-first run with another great season, finishing with 98 wins and a 3.14 team ERA, 11 points better than No. 2 Montreal. This was the year of the fantastic finish in the NLCS against the Pirates, when Francisco Cabrera singled home the slow-footed Sid Bream and sent the Pirates into a 19-year tailspin.

The rotation featured Smoltz, Glavine and Avery, along with Charlie Leibrandt, Mike Bielecki and Pete Smith. Glavine went 20-8 with a 2.76 ERA and finished second in the Cy Young voting to the Cubs' Greg Maddux, who, in the offseason, would join the Chop Shop.

Smoltz and Leibrandt each posted 15 wins, while Avery went 11-11. Bielecki and Smith split up starting duties, and each performed admirably. Smith went 7-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts.

Leibrandt's 3.36 ERA was the highest among the starters, one of the more remarkable facts regarding the Braves' pitching dominance of the 1990s. It was the bullpen that had all kinds of trouble in 1992, so much so that the Braves acquired veteran Jeff Reardon in a deadline deal with the Red Sox.

1997 Rotation: Team ERA 3.18

The Braves rode the backs of their four main starters—Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Denny Neagle—and were constantly in search of a No. 5 guy before finally settling on rookie Kevin Millwood.

Maddux went 19-4 with a league-best 2.20 ERA, Glavine was 14-7 and a 2.96 mark and Smoltz registered a 15-12 record and 3.02 ERA. Neagle was the breakout candidate, posting a 20-5 ledger a and 2.97 ERA in 34 starts. The foursome combined for 68 wins, 21 complete games and 10 shutouts.

Millwood emerged out of a crowded bunch to secure the No. 5 spot in August. He went 3-0 in his last four starts. Paul Byrd, Terrell Wade and Chris Brock also had auditions but were inconsistent.