The last few days I have been reading through old journals I kept during college. I mostly wrote down what I did, but didn't really write about what I did. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun driving down a bumpy, not always paved memory lane.
I have been a Braves fan since the 1970s, and they often made an appearance in my journals. This was especially true during the improbable 1993 season. Below are the transcribed mentions of those wonderful six months that I will offer without commentary for the most part. I suspect there are some mistakes here and there as I wrote my thoughts down from memory. But it was fun to go through the boxscores at Baseball-Reference and relive the moments. I look forward to hearing your comments on what you remember. Also, I apparently LOVED pitcher wins.
April 6, 1993: "After language lab, I went home to get my mail and also watched some Braves. They won 1-0. Maddux 8 1/3 innings shutout ball. Stanton shut them down for his first save. You've heard of the four tops? How about the five aces? ...UNC won because of a bonehead Webber move. But it was a good game. Now it's time for baseball. Jawohl. Braves are 1-0 and there are 164 game left."
April 8, 1993: "I finished listening to the Braves, who won in extra innings and then watched "The Wonder Years."
April 8, 1993: "We watched "Indiana Jones" and the Braves. The Braves won in the 9th."
July 15, 1993: "The Braves are also back from the break. The NL lost Tuesday night, 9-3 by the way. Every Brave in the game screwed up. Justice an E. Blauser an E, Blauser and Grissom SO with men on. Avery got two quick outs and then people started getting hits. Smoltz followed and promptly threw 2 wild pitches."
July 25, 1993: "Tuesday night I watched the Braves game. It was Fred McGriff's first game after the Sunday trade. The Braves got down 5-0 but came back to win it. McGriff hit a dinger, as did Blauser. We got drunk."
(I am not sure why I didn't mention the pressbox fire because I vividly remember it.)
"The next day ...the Braves won 14-2. McGriff hit two and Cabrera hit a grand slam among some others. 5 Total."
"We then watched the Braves. They lost in the 9th after leading 7-4. Damn."
"The Braves won 6-2 on 6 runs in the 9th inning including a blast by Justice."
"We ate and were on the road listening to the Braves again. They won 11-6. We hit 4 dingers, Gant, Pendleton, McGriff and Sanders. It was great even though Stanton still sucks. That's okay, we are starting to hit and everybody's averages are going up. Cool, but they are still 9 games back."
July 26, 1993: "Well, the Braves continued their rampage and won 13-1 yesterday on 21 hits. Cool. I was pleased."
July 28, 1993: "They won big again and Deion hit an inside-the-park homer. The game ended and we all got drunk."
"I stayed home and watched the Braves. McGriff hit 2 homeruns, one of which was an inside the parker. He also hit a triple off the wall and a had a ball caught right before the wall. So with about 10 more feet he would have had 4 dingers. Crazy. Anyway, the Braves scored 4 in the 9th and put the game out of reach"
August 2, 1993: "The Braves won yesterday and finished 9-2 on the road trip but should've gone 10-1. It was good, but they are still 7.5 games back. It'll be tough, but they have the tools."
(I took a two-week trip across the country to visit friends in St. Louis, Des Moines, Ft. Collins, Denver, El Paso and Dallas, but thanks to the magic of TBS was able to watch many games!)
August 16, 1993: "The Braves won for the 7th time in a row. Cool. Still 7.5 back."
August 18, 1993: "The Giants won, but so did the Braves. That's nine in a row and they are 6.5 back."
August 23, 1993: "I'm not sure what we will be doing tonight, but I'm sure beer and the Braves will be involved."
August 27, 1993: "Well, the Braves won Monday night. Avery went the distance and raised up when he had to."
"Then we headed back and watched Glavine struggle but through double plays pitch out of jams and get his 15th win. McMichael got the save. That's 2 in a row and makes it 5.5 games behind the Giants."
"Then we came back for the Braves. They were already up 3-0 after I put oil in my car. Gant grounded into a DP and a run scored. Then McGriff and Justice hit back-to-back dingers. Well they did it again in the 5th. Berryhill and TP also homered and the Braves won 9-1. Maddux got his 15th. Jawohl!! The Braves are 4.5 back. Sweep! Sweep!"
(Back in Spartanburg.)
September 1, 1993: "Then I watched the Braves rout the Giants 8-2. Maddux is now 16-9. Cool. Righetti threw at Justice's face, put him on his butt but 2 pitches later Justice sent one deep. He made contact, glanced at Righetti and then jogged around the bases. It was great. Tonight Smoltz goes."
"I'm supposed to watch the Braves tonight ...at a bar. Should be fun. I hope they win. They are 3.5 games back with 30 games left. They are 82-50 and must go 18-12 to win 100 but still might not win the division. It'll be interesting."
September 3, 1993: "The Braves ended up losing when Wohlers gave up a HR to some minor league scrub. Oh well, that's the way it goes."
(The minor leaguer was John Patterson, who in four years in the majors accumulated a -0.4 fWAR.)
"We came back and watched the Braves come from behind on a shaky start by Avery and win 5-3. It was great. They also beat the Padres tonight and are still 3.5 games back. Glavine got his 17th."
September 8, 1993: "We watched ...the Braves win. The Giants lost. 2.5 back!"
September 10, 1993: "I went home and watched the Braves win 9-2 (it was actually 8-2) against the Dodgers. Tommy G got his 18th win."
"I watched the Braves win 1-0 on a 10th inning homer. Mercker, Wohlers and McMichael pitched a 1-hitter over 10. Cool."
September 15, 1993: "I left and watched the Cubs beat the Giants as they also did last night. The Braves are now up 2.5. Jawohl!"
September 16, 1993: " After class I went home and watched the Braves get down 6-2 going into the 9th. Someboy got on and Klesko crushed a ball to right field. 6-4. 2 more got on and Gant one handed a ball off Rob Dibble that hit off the left field wall before bouncing over for a homer. First pitch. 'You Gant stop us now.' The Braves are up 3.5 and have won 93. Not bah, huh? The Giants have lost 8 straight. The Cubs swept them at home, as did the Cards."
September 17, 1993: "By the way, the Braves won in 13 last night. (It was in 12). Another 1-run game. They have now won 94 games and have only lost 53. That puts them 4 games up. Magic #13. Jawohl!"
September 21, 1993: "I left, showered, went to Converse, picked up Amy, went to the clinic and we headed to Atlanta for the Braves. We drank a few on the way and parked in a shady area. The Braves won 11-2, but didn't hit any homers. Glavine won his 20th and the Braves their 95th. They are now 2.5 games up but start a road trip in Montreal today and then move on to Philadelphia. Scheisse. We got home a little after 2. I dropped her off and then went to bed."
September 23, 1993: "After typing class, I drove home and watched the Braves rout the Expos 18-5. It was great."
September 28, 1993: "The Braves have won 100, the Giants 99. Es wird Crunch Time."
September 30, 1993: "I watched the Braves last night at Longhorn's because Union Station was closed. Harnisch shut them down and the Giants won, so now they are both 100-57 with five to go. But last night Glavine won his 21st and the Rockies beat the Giants, so they are now up 1. Jawohl!"
October 4, 1993: "The next morning ...I went to pick up Chris. That was about 11, and we headed to Atlanta to see the Bravos. Maddux was on the hill and pitched well in winning his 20th. So now I have seen Glavine and Maddux win their 20th. The seats were great, right behind Ted Turner's box about 15 rows back. Twas cool except for the dorks around us. McGriff got his 100th RBI and the Braves won 10-1. I've seen 2 games and 21 runs by the Braves but no dingers. Komisch. After the game, we watched the Giants win, so both teams were 103-58 going into the last game. Amazing."
"I was able to watch the 8th and 9th innings after I finished [playing tennis]. The Braves won 5-3, Glavine got his 22nd and Justice hit his 40th HR. The only thing left was to see how the Giants would do. They got creamed 12-1 by Piazza and Co. Jawohl!"
October 7, 1993: "The Braves came on at 8:15 and ended up losing 4-3 in 10. F!"
Ocotber 12, 1993: "I watched the Braves lose 2-1 (2-2). It sucked."
"We watched the Braves lose 4-3 even after they tied 3-3 in the ninth. F! (2-3)."
October 16, 1993: "I came home and watched the Braves lose and not go to the series. They got robbed by the umps and had some bad breaks."
You can talk Braves, Baking and Beer with Harris on Twitter @ohkiv.
"We then watched the Braves. They lost in the 9th after leading 7-4. Damn."
"The Braves won 6-2 on 6 runs in the 9th inning including a blast by Justice."
"We ate and were on the road listening to the Braves again. They won 11-6. We hit 4 dingers, Gant, Pendleton, McGriff and Sanders. It was great even though Stanton still sucks. That's okay, we are starting to hit and everybody's averages are going up. Cool, but they are still 9 games back."
July 26, 1993: "Well, the Braves continued their rampage and won 13-1 yesterday on 21 hits. Cool. I was pleased."
July 28, 1993: "They won big again and Deion hit an inside-the-park homer. The game ended and we all got drunk."
"I stayed home and watched the Braves. McGriff hit 2 homeruns, one of which was an inside the parker. He also hit a triple off the wall and a had a ball caught right before the wall. So with about 10 more feet he would have had 4 dingers. Crazy. Anyway, the Braves scored 4 in the 9th and put the game out of reach"
August 2, 1993: "The Braves won yesterday and finished 9-2 on the road trip but should've gone 10-1. It was good, but they are still 7.5 games back. It'll be tough, but they have the tools."
(I took a two-week trip across the country to visit friends in St. Louis, Des Moines, Ft. Collins, Denver, El Paso and Dallas, but thanks to the magic of TBS was able to watch many games!)
August 16, 1993: "The Braves won for the 7th time in a row. Cool. Still 7.5 back."
August 18, 1993: "The Giants won, but so did the Braves. That's nine in a row and they are 6.5 back."
August 23, 1993: "I'm not sure what we will be doing tonight, but I'm sure beer and the Braves will be involved."
August 27, 1993: "Well, the Braves won Monday night. Avery went the distance and raised up when he had to."
"Then we headed back and watched Glavine struggle but through double plays pitch out of jams and get his 15th win. McMichael got the save. That's 2 in a row and makes it 5.5 games behind the Giants."
"Then we came back for the Braves. They were already up 3-0 after I put oil in my car. Gant grounded into a DP and a run scored. Then McGriff and Justice hit back-to-back dingers. Well they did it again in the 5th. Berryhill and TP also homered and the Braves won 9-1. Maddux got his 15th. Jawohl!! The Braves are 4.5 back. Sweep! Sweep!"
(Back in Spartanburg.)
September 1, 1993: "Then I watched the Braves rout the Giants 8-2. Maddux is now 16-9. Cool. Righetti threw at Justice's face, put him on his butt but 2 pitches later Justice sent one deep. He made contact, glanced at Righetti and then jogged around the bases. It was great. Tonight Smoltz goes."
"I'm supposed to watch the Braves tonight ...at a bar. Should be fun. I hope they win. They are 3.5 games back with 30 games left. They are 82-50 and must go 18-12 to win 100 but still might not win the division. It'll be interesting."
September 3, 1993: "The Braves ended up losing when Wohlers gave up a HR to some minor league scrub. Oh well, that's the way it goes."
(The minor leaguer was John Patterson, who in four years in the majors accumulated a -0.4 fWAR.)
"We came back and watched the Braves come from behind on a shaky start by Avery and win 5-3. It was great. They also beat the Padres tonight and are still 3.5 games back. Glavine got his 17th."
September 8, 1993: "We watched ...the Braves win. The Giants lost. 2.5 back!"
September 10, 1993: "I went home and watched the Braves win 9-2 (it was actually 8-2) against the Dodgers. Tommy G got his 18th win."
"I watched the Braves win 1-0 on a 10th inning homer. Mercker, Wohlers and McMichael pitched a 1-hitter over 10. Cool."
September 15, 1993: "I left and watched the Cubs beat the Giants as they also did last night. The Braves are now up 2.5. Jawohl!"
September 16, 1993: " After class I went home and watched the Braves get down 6-2 going into the 9th. Someboy got on and Klesko crushed a ball to right field. 6-4. 2 more got on and Gant one handed a ball off Rob Dibble that hit off the left field wall before bouncing over for a homer. First pitch. 'You Gant stop us now.' The Braves are up 3.5 and have won 93. Not bah, huh? The Giants have lost 8 straight. The Cubs swept them at home, as did the Cards."
September 17, 1993: "By the way, the Braves won in 13 last night. (It was in 12). Another 1-run game. They have now won 94 games and have only lost 53. That puts them 4 games up. Magic #13. Jawohl!"
September 21, 1993: "I left, showered, went to Converse, picked up Amy, went to the clinic and we headed to Atlanta for the Braves. We drank a few on the way and parked in a shady area. The Braves won 11-2, but didn't hit any homers. Glavine won his 20th and the Braves their 95th. They are now 2.5 games up but start a road trip in Montreal today and then move on to Philadelphia. Scheisse. We got home a little after 2. I dropped her off and then went to bed."
September 23, 1993: "After typing class, I drove home and watched the Braves rout the Expos 18-5. It was great."
September 28, 1993: "The Braves have won 100, the Giants 99. Es wird Crunch Time."
September 30, 1993: "I watched the Braves last night at Longhorn's because Union Station was closed. Harnisch shut them down and the Giants won, so now they are both 100-57 with five to go. But last night Glavine won his 21st and the Rockies beat the Giants, so they are now up 1. Jawohl!"
October 4, 1993: "The next morning ...I went to pick up Chris. That was about 11, and we headed to Atlanta to see the Bravos. Maddux was on the hill and pitched well in winning his 20th. So now I have seen Glavine and Maddux win their 20th. The seats were great, right behind Ted Turner's box about 15 rows back. Twas cool except for the dorks around us. McGriff got his 100th RBI and the Braves won 10-1. I've seen 2 games and 21 runs by the Braves but no dingers. Komisch. After the game, we watched the Giants win, so both teams were 103-58 going into the last game. Amazing."
"I was able to watch the 8th and 9th innings after I finished [playing tennis]. The Braves won 5-3, Glavine got his 22nd and Justice hit his 40th HR. The only thing left was to see how the Giants would do. They got creamed 12-1 by Piazza and Co. Jawohl!"
October 7, 1993: "The Braves came on at 8:15 and ended up losing 4-3 in 10. F!"
Ocotber 12, 1993: "I watched the Braves lose 2-1 (2-2). It sucked."
"We watched the Braves lose 4-3 even after they tied 3-3 in the ninth. F! (2-3)."
October 16, 1993: "I came home and watched the Braves lose and not go to the series. They got robbed by the umps and had some bad breaks."
You can talk Braves, Baking and Beer with Harris on Twitter @ohkiv.
