It started in 1957, when I was 9 and the Milwaukee Braves beat the Yankees in the World Series. All my friends rooted for the Yankees, but I figured the Braves must be the best team because they beat the Yanks in the World Series.
The Dodgers and Giants were out of the equation because they were going for the West Coast after the 1957 season, leaving New York with only one team.
By the time the Mets came along as a 1962 expansion team, I was thoroughly hooked on the Braves. They had Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Lew Burdette -- players of prominence who helped the team stay in contention throughout its 13-year tenure in Milwaukee. The Braves won a pennant in 1958, tied for first in 1959 before losing a playoff, and finished second to Bill Mazeroski's Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960.
My reward for staying loyal through many lean years (only one title of any kind between 1970 and 1990) was the 14-game championship streak that started in 1991. No team in professional sports has ever finished first in its division so many years in a row.
It was hard enough to root for the visiting team when it was losing, but even tougher once the Braves and Mets became perennial rivals in the National League East.
There were memorable moments from the losing years, though:
- Watching Hobie Landrith hit a pop fly home run down the short right-field line at the Polo Grounds to beat Warren Spahn in the bottom of the ninth inning, 3-2. It was Hobie's only home run as a Met and deprived Warren of a certain win
- Seeing Satchel Paige play catch in front of the Braves dugout at Shea Stadium, which the Mets opened in 1964. Paige had been signed as a coach so he could qualify for the players pension plan.
- Bragging to friends that Hank Aaron would break Babe Ruth's career home run record 10 years before it happened
- Wondering why the Braves tried to make catchers out of Rico Carty and Earl Williams
- Getting angry every time radio talk show guys mentioned Willie, Mickey, and the Duke but left out Hank -- the greatest player in baseball history.
Today, it's a battle of Big Money vs. Good Scouting. The Braves, blessed with baseball's best farm system, keep replacing departing veterans with great kids, not only from their own affiliates but also from other teams (the trade that sent Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh for Mike Gonzalez and Brent Lillibridge is the latest example, since Lillibridge is the likely heir to Edgar Renteria when his salary becomes unaffordable).
The Mets are trying to buy a pennant, while the Braves are trying to win one the old-fashioned way. Sure, they still depend upon Chipper, Andruw, and Smoltz but they're doing just fine with Francoeur, McCann, and Kelly Johnson. The biggest question is what to do with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who not only has the longest last name in baseball history but talent to match.
With McCann signed for the next six seasons, maybe Salty could play first base. He's a switch-hitter with power and enormous potential.
The biggest development of 2007 from an Atlanta perspective is the total turnaround in the bullpen. After "leading" the National League last year with 29 blown saves, the Braves have managed to switch their bullpen from worst to first. Even when closer Bob Wickman went down with a bad back in April, the tandem of newcomers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez prevented any recurrence of the late-inning losses that plagued last year's team.
Even with three starters out -- Mike Hampton, Lance Cormier, and Mark Redman -- the Braves entered Mother's Day weekend in first place, albeit by a slim margin over the power-packed Mets.
My guess is that youth will trump age as the weather warms. The Mets are just too old, with El Duque, LoDuca, Alou, and others already slowed by injury and the pitching too dependent on retreads like Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele. My guess is that pitching in the World Baseball Classic in March of 2006 deprived Sosa of pitching enough innings that spring and caused his catastrophic season (3-13 with the Braves and Cards after a 13-3 year in 2005). The Mets, desperate for arms, took a chance -- just as they did with the disastrous Chan Ho Park. You win some and you lose some.
Although talk radio hosts in New York are bemoaning the slow starts of David Wright and Carlos Delgado of the Mets, wait til Andruw Jones starts finding his stroke in Atlanta. The Braves led the league in home runs last year and should do so again. Coupled with Tim Hudson's comeback, an airtight bullpen, and welcome addition of Kelly Johnson at the top of the lineup, the Braves are likely to start a new streak of divisional titles this year.
You heard it here first.
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