Atlanta Braves Baseball
The team known as the Atlanta Braves is the oldest continuously running baseball team in Major League Baseball. It is the only team out of twenty-eight that has fielded a team every single season Major League Baseball has been in existence. They started off their existence as the Boston Red Stockings in 1876. They become know as the Beaneaters in 1883 to avoid being confused with the Cincinnati Reds.
In 1935, Babe Ruth finished his career as a Brave. Ruth homered in his first N.L. at-bat, off Carl Hubbell, but batted only .181 and, after seven more homers for a career total of 714, removed himself from the lineup in June and officially retired as a player.
In 1992, the Atlanta Braves became the first N.L. team to win back-to-back pennants since the 1977-78 Dodgers. They also set a new franchise record with a major league-leading 98 victories. For the second straight year, Tom Glavine won 20 games. John Smoltz became the first Braves' hurler to lead the N.L. in strikeouts (215) since Phil Niekro in 1977. The Toronto Blue Jays in the first ever-international World Series defeated the Atlanta Braves.
In 2005, the Atlanta Braves clinched their 14th straight division crown! They even accomplished this by using 18 different rookies in their cobbled together lineup. Andruw Jones put together a season (NL-best 51 HR, 128 RBIs, Gold Glove) that brought him within a few votes of the NL MVP. The Braves were unable to overcome Houston in an 18-inning marathon Game 4 loss in the NLCS, the longest postseason game in baseball history.
Turner Field
The 1996 Olympic Stadium was turned into a baseball only, open-air, natural grass facility between September 1996, and April 1997. Turner Field brings together the nostalgia and atmosphere of an old-time baseball park with state-of-the-art surroundings different than any other park. The Braves played their inaugural game on April 4, 1997.
The most distinctive feature of Turner Field is the Grand Entry Plaza located on the north end of the ballpark. It contains two food and game-filled pavilions. A 100-foot diameter photograph of Hank Aaron's actual 715th home run ball dominates the Plaza-side scoreboard and provides a popular backdrop for photographs in the Plaza.
Monument Grove is adjacent to the Braves ticket windows. The Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Ty Cobb statues from Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium have been relocated to Monument Grove. Also located there are the retired number statues of five players in Atlanta history that received that honor— Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Dale Murphy. A statue of six-foot high team baseballs celebrating the 2000 All-Star Game is also located there.