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2003 Atlanta Braves season

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2003 Atlanta Braves
NL East Champions
File:AtlantaBraves.jpg
DivisionEastern Division
BallparkTurner Field
CityAtlanta
Record101–61 (.623)
OwnersAOL Time Warner
ManagersBobby Cox
TelevisionTBS Superstation
(Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
Turner South
(Pete Van Wieren)
FSN South
(Tom Paciorek, Bob Rathbun)
RadioWSB (AM)
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
WWWE
(Luis Octavio Dozal, Jose Manuel Flores)
← 2002 Seasons 2004 →

The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their 9th consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the 2003 Divisional Series to the Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history.

The Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.

Offseason

  • November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger. (Hampton had been traded to the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 2002)[1]
  • November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[2]
  • December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.[3]
  • December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.[4]
  • December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves. (Byrd did not play for the Braves in 2003)[5]
  • December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[6]
  • December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.[7]
  • January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[8]
  • January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[9]
  • January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[10]
  • April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.[11]

Regular season

  • In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record (since tied) by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.[12]
  • May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.[13]
  • On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.[14]

Opening Day starters

Position Name
Starting Pitcher Greg Maddux
Catcher Henry Blanco
First Baseman Robert Fick
Second Baseman Marcus Giles
Third Baseman Vinny Castilla
Shortstop Rafael Furcal
Left Fielder Chipper Jones
Center Fielder Andruw Jones
Right Fielder Gary Sheffield

Season standings

National League East

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 101 61 .623 — 55‍–‍26 46‍–‍35
Florida Marlins 91 71 .562 10 53‍–‍28 38‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 86 76 .531 15 49‍–‍32 37‍–‍44
Montreal Expos 83 79 .512 18 52‍–‍29 31‍–‍50
New York Mets 66 95 .410 34½ 34‍–‍46 32‍–‍49


Record vs. opponents

2003 National League record

Source: [1]
Team AZ ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LA MIL MTL NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona — 2–5 2–4 7–2 10–9 2–5 5–1 10–9 3–3 4–2 4–2 4–2 3–3 9–10 5–14 3–3 11–4
Atlanta 5–2 — 4–2 3–3 6–0 9–10 5–1 4–2 4–2 12–7 11–8 9–10 7–2 6–1 2–4 4–2 10–5
Chicago 4–2 2–4 — 10–7 3–3 4–2 9–7 2–4 10–6 3–3 5–1 1–5 10–8 4–2 4–2 8–9 9–9
Cincinnati 2–7 3–3 7–10 — 4–2 2–4 5–12 2–4 8–10 2–4 2–4 5–4 5–11 3–3 3–3 9–7 7–5
Colorado 9–10 0–6 3–3 2–4 — 4–2 2–4 7–12 5–1 3–4 2–5 2–4 3–6 12–7 7–12 4–2 9–6
Florida 5–2 10–9 2–4 4–2 2–4 — 1–5 2–5 7–2 13–6 12–7 13–6 2–4 5–1 1–5 3–3 9–6
Houston 1–5 1–5 7–9 12–5 4–2 5–1 — 4–2 9–8 3–3 2–4 2–4 10–6 3–3 2–4 11–7 11–7
Los Angeles 9–10 2–4 4–2 4–2 12–7 5–2 2–4 — 4–2 4–2 3–3 2–5 5–1 8–11 6–13 4–2 11–7
Milwaukee 3–3 2–4 6–10 10–8 1–5 2–7 8–9 2–4 — 0–6 6–3 4–2 10–7 5–1 1–5 3–13 5–7
Montreal 2–4 7–12 3–3 4–2 4–3 6–13 3–3 2–4 6–0 — 14–5 8–11 3–3 4–2 7–0 1–5 9–9
New York 2–4 8–11 1–5 4–2 5–2 7–12 4–2 3–3 3–6 5–14 — 7–12 4–2 3–3 4–2 1–5 5–10
Philadelphia 2–4 10–9 5–1 4–5 4–2 6–13 4–2 5–2 2–4 11–8 12–7 — 2–4 4–3 3–3 4–2 8–7
Pittsburgh 3–3 2–7 8–10 11–5 6–3 4–2 6–10 1–5 7–10 3–3 2–4 4–2 — 4–2 2–4 7–10 5–7
San Diego 10–9 1–6 2–4 3–3 7–12 1–5 3–3 11–8 1–5 2–4 3–3 3–4 2–4 — 5–14 2–4 8–10
San Francisco 14–5 4–2 2–4 3–3 12–7 5–1 4–2 13–6 5–1 0–7 2–4 3–3 4–2 14–5 — 5–1 10–8
St. Louis 3–3 2–4 9–8 7–9 2–4 3–3 7–11 2–4 13–3 5–1 5–1 2–4 10–7 4–2 1–5 — 10–8


Notable transactions

  • August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.[15]
  • Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (36th overall) and Jonny Venters (30th round).[16]

Roster

2003 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Javy López 129 457 150 .328 43 109
1B Robert Fick 126 409 110 .269 11 80
2B Marcus Giles 145 551 174 .316 21 69
SS Rafael Furcal 156 664 194 .292 15 61
3B Vinny Castilla 147 542 150 .277 22 76
LF Chipper Jones 153 555 169 .305 27 106
CF Andruw Jones 156 595 165 .277 36 116
RF Gary Sheffield 155 576 190 .330 39 132

Other batters

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Mark DeRosa 103 266 70 .263 6 22
Julio Franco 103 197 58 .294 5 31
Darren Bragg 104 162 39 .241 0 9
Henry Blanco 55 151 30 .199 1 13
Matt Franco 112 134 33 .246 3 15
Johnny Estrada 16 36 11 .306 0 2
Mike Hessman 19 21 6 .286 2 3
Ryan Langerhans 16 15 4 .267 0 0
Jesse Garcia 13 10 4 .400 0 2

Starting pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Greg Maddux 36 218.1 16 11 3.96 124
Russ Ortiz 34 212.1 21 7 3.81 149
Mike Hampton 31 190 14 8 3.84 110
Horacio Ramírez 29 182.1 12 4 4.00 100
Shane Reynolds 30 167.1 11 9 5.43 94

Other pitchers

Player G IP W L ERA

N/A

Relief pitchers
Player G W L SV ERA SO
Ray King 80 3 4 0 3.51 43
Roberto Hernandez 66 5 3 0 4.35 45
Kevin Gryboski 64 6 4 0 3.86 32
John Smoltz 62 0 2 45 1.12 73
Trey Hodges 52 3 3 0 4.66 66
Darren Holmes 48 1 2 0 4.29 46
Jung Bong 44 6 2 1 5.05 47
Jason Marquis 21 0 0 1 5.53 19
Will Cunnane 20 2 2 3 2.70 20
Kent Mercker 18 0 0 1 1.06 7
Jaret Wright 11 1 0 0 2.00 9
Joey Dawley 5 0 0 0 18.00 8

2003 National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

Chicago wins the series, 3-2

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Chicago Cubs – 4, Atlanta Braves – 2 September 30 Turner Field 52,043[17]
2 Chicago Cubs – 3, Atlanta Braves – 5 October 1 Turner Field 52,743[18]
3 Atlanta Braves – 1, Chicago Cubs – 3 October 3 Wrigley Field 39,982[19]
4 Atlanta Braves – 6, Chicago Cubs – 4 October 4 Wrigley Field 39,983[20]
5 Chicago Cubs – 5, Atlanta Braves – 1 October 5 Turner Field 54,357[21]

Award winners

2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Pat Kelly
AA Greenville Braves Southern League Brian Snitker
A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Carolina League Randy Ingle
A Rome Braves South Atlantic League Rocket Wheeler
Rookie Danville Braves Appalachian League Kevin McMullan
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Ralph Henriquez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves[22][23]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Hampton Stats".
  2. ^ "Donzell McDonald Stats".
  3. ^ "Ray King Stats".
  4. ^ "Russ Ortiz Stats".
  5. ^ Paul Byrd Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ^ "Greg Maddux Stats".
  7. ^ "Johnny Estrada Stats".
  8. ^ "Robert Fick Stats".
  9. ^ Julio Franco Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  10. ^ "Roberto Hernandez Stats".
  11. ^ "Shane Reynolds Stats".
  12. ^ Sports Illustrated, Volume 109, No. 2, July 14–21, 2008, p.24, Published by Time Inc.
  13. ^ Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781553650386.
  14. ^ "Unassisted Triple Plays | Baseball Almanac".
  15. ^ Jaret Wright Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  16. ^ 2003 Major League Baseball draft
  17. ^ "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  18. ^ "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  19. ^ "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  20. ^ "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  21. ^ "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 5". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  22. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  23. ^ Baseball America 2004 Annual Directory
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