Atlanta's Big Three dominated baseball for a decade

Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz took different paths to the Braves - one was drafted by Atlanta, one was a splashy free agent signing, and one was acquired in a trade that the other team probably wishes they hadn't made in retrospect. But once they were assembled, the Big Three dominated the National League for most of the 90s and helped make the Braves a regular presence in the postseason.
Subscribe: goo.gl/Nbabae
Check out our full video catalog: goo.gl/9pMHRV
Visit our playlists: goo.gl/NvpZFF
Like SB Nation on Facebook: goo.gl/Pzcs7O
Follow on Twitter: goo.gl/5LI02D
Follow on Instagram: goo.gl/aY2FFK
Explore SB Nation: www.sbnation.com

[@NickGuy0320]

“Maddux took a $6M paycut to NOT play for the yankees” HEROES DO EXIST

[@guseckstein3559]

Amen

[@ericmata3728]

That's why he took 2 Ls to the Yanks in the world series

[@brocody6790]

Id rather take 2 l's than join the lame ass yanks

[@timothymack2779]

"I'd rather lose than win".

[@Morphobro]

Rather lose with people who I will be lifelong friends with than win with overpaid pretty boys who won't remember more than a couple of guys on their championship roster.

[@WhoopityDoo]

And Smoltz went on to become a dominant closer in the early 2000s. Man was a beast.

[@LOLMAN9538]

And now he is a respectable color commentator for Fox.

[@apelletier1886]

Cy Young, Christy Mattewson, Walter Johnson, Bob Feller and Warren Spahn all had to make do with one World Series win too: that's how meaningless that lone stat is when assessing career records. As an Expos fan, I've seen an awful lot of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz over an excruciatingly long period of time, enough to believe they were the best pitching rotation I have ever witnessed. But as much as I dreaded that team back then, I could never muster anything but the highest admiration for these three absolute class acts.

[@OhNikk]

What do you think about the Astros' rotation this year. Top to bottom I think the entire staff is better than anyone else in the league.

[@Skatr]

It must be hard to root for the expos these days lol

[@mrmc9278]

As a Braves fan, I miss the Expos. The strike, along with the city not replacing the stadium, killed them. I am truly sorry...1994 was going to be your year. The team y'all had in 94 was awesome.

[@apelletier1886]

@@mrmc9278 The 94 strike sure did a lot to discourage the fanbase, but if there's one reason the Expos folded, it's Jeffrey Loria.

[@andyhobaugh3104]

Well said

[@ZhangtheGreat]

You know who I feel bad for? Steve Avery. On many other teams, he would've been the ace or the number two starter, but on that loaded Braves pitching roster, he was number four and never even gets mentioned in the conversation for outstanding pitchers.

[@baileyleasure2012]

They were the MLB equivalent of the packers in the 90s. A team that should of won multiple championships but got only 1. At the very least you’re not the bills or the Indians of the 90s

[@arnola88gt]

Bailey Leasure thank god. But the sweep in 99 still hurts

[@BeefPapa]

arnola88gt I don't think they had a chance in '99. '96 should hurt more. They just gift wrapped that series.

[@arnola88gt]

BeefPapa i cant argue with that! I guess the only reason 96 didn't hurt because we just came off a WS win. 99 was kinda like our last chance at it. But i knew we wasn't ready. But you're right.

[@WhoopityDoo]

They kind of were the Bills. They went to multiple World Series in the '90s and lost again and again.

[@wrighthowell9801]

Garbage the Packers weren't anywhere near as good as the Braves in the 90s. The teams you should compare us (hi!, native Atlantan) to in the NFL would be the Cowboys or the 49ers, the teams that were consistently dominant. It is much easier to get to the Super Bowl than the World Series, much less win one, so our 1 World Series Win equals 5 Packers Super Bowl wins. This is why football fans should not analyze baseball. Most NFL fans have too simplistic of a way of analyzing things, that's why you love a league that gives people CTE.

[@alexandermonks9892]

Finally something about Atlanta that doesn't make me get depressed.

[@jdesai5086]

Right, all of our teams choke one way or another

[@Thefvkingoat]

Boys don’t be depressed anymore we are VERY GOOD!

[@kkingdrs6630]

@@Thefvkingoat that did not age well

[@magicstuff505]

The depression comes when you realize we only won one World Series with this line up

[@stuffstuff8942]

Well, The History of the Atlanta Falcons is about to be released, so have fun lol

[@BenjaminKassel]

Also of note: Tom Glavine was drafted 69th overall (nice) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 4th round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. That’s two rounds ahead of future Hall of Famers Brett Hull (Calgary) and five ahead of Luc Robitaille (Los Angeles). Glavine was an all-out prodigy.

[@WClark-lp9vc]

i forgot all about the hockey skill that Glavine had.

[@alanlee67]

Benjamin his golf game is probably good too. Triple threat

[@KingJaymo2k11]

As a Braves fan, it blew my mind knowing Barry Bonds was almost a Brave...But Greg Maddux is a damn great consolation prize

[@joshlewis575]

Best pitcher ever imo. Dude was so precise with it n to win that much soft tossing, he was amazing

[@wealljammin]

i moved to atlanta when i was 6 at the tail end of these three's run together, back when we had andruw n chipper jones as well. god baseball was so fun in the early 00's

[@jasonfire3434]

And yet for all that dominance they only won one World Series. Shows how cruel baseball can be.

[@stephen4401]

jasonfire34 better than the Bills lol

[@slackpacker2789]

how cruel a mismanaging front office can be

[@megakirbyx]

How cruel a single baserunning error can be

[@stephen4401]

The Jon Bois video almost made me forgive him...... almost.

[@nwilliams6076]

How cruel a Yankees team that already had 23 World Series titles could be

[@westxlcr]

Dude, who doesn't remember how terrifying this pitching corps was?

[@matthewjosephthecommonsens2940]

As a yankee fan I found them comedic since we beat them in 2 world series, one of which was a sweep

[@briagadaress]

@@matthewjosephthecommonsens2940 Well. I find comedic that the cheating Astros and Red Sox hace beaten the Yankees since 2017 to 2019.

[@rydawg26]

I wish Atlanta Braves won another World Series in the 90s

[@MrAtlfan21]

We got robbed in 91, 95 we got ours, and in 96 we blew a 2-0 lead on the road

[@mikeysawchyn9415]

You'll never hear this from any other phillies fan but you guys deserved it you should have had the 91,92,95 & 96 world series

[@sega32xxx14]

mikey Sawchyn What happened in 93 then you think?

[@mikeysawchyn9415]

SeGa32xXx the phillies had a great year they outplayed the braves and the rest of the east all year but lost in the worst possible way to the bjs

[@rydawg26]

I’m a cubs fan so I wanted Maddox to get a WS

[@joesullivan9750]

90s braves also had Steve Avery, Kevin Millwood, Denny Neagle 18-20 game winners besides the big three.

[@RightCenterBack321]

Often forgotten is how the Braves had #4 and #5 starters that were easily #3s, #2s, and even #1s on other clubs. Steve Avery, Kevin Millwood, and Denny Neagle, among others, had great seasons with the Braves.

[@brianlara6451]

Didn’t Avery and the big three all win 20 games one season?

[@ahogg5960]

@@brianlara6451 Avery never won 20 games. Ever.

[@ethanlampe5820]

Who do I have to kill for a new chart party to be made?

[@millicentchuyin6763]

Plot to kill John Schuerholz and you'll get your very own pretty good episode

[@rvx7608]

They should only do chart party

[@ncrtrooper6619]

Pretty good is pretty good though

[@rmpaq5784]

Or another Pretty Good!

[@Nic-oi2yn]

Jon Bois fans will know Lonnie Smith was on those Braves squads

[@Nic-oi2yn]

Jon Bois is my son

[@paulthompkins4150]

Lonnie Smith broke my heart!!

[@williambaugus927]

He should have scored on TP's hit. It is heartbreaking

[@joetaylor5113]

It’s his fault we didn’t win in 91...

[@christfollower7315]

@@joetaylor5113 , one could make such a statement in reference to Minnesota Twin first Baseman, Kent Hrbeck who pulled our player's leg up off the base and tagged him, getting him called out. Completely illegal, but they didn't have replay for such a thing. That could have also been what cost the Braves a World Series win.

[@MoviesUnderTheSurface]

I grew up watching this rotation. It was amazing, and I consider myself very lucky to have seen it when I did

[@redbug3485]

Its so great to remember these guys! Legends of Baseball! The Braves are 49-37 right now, 7/6/18.

[@chrisdelbosque]

While today they are considered the "Big Three", for those first few years the Braves rotation was actually known as the "Fab Four" -- with Steve Avery being considered the trio's equal. Indeed, if you look at his style of play and career before his shoulder injuries, Avery was well on his way to being the Clayton Kershaw of the '90s. The Braves only had one season with a healthy Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery; I wonder if they could have won more than one title during that run.

[@brody10123]

I’d love to see Jessica more, I saw a few of her videos when she started and she’s really getting good

[@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub]

But not Pretty Good

[@ewokoniad2396]

Baseballs the only sport where you could say a team had the best team for a decade straight, and only won a single championship, and I would say, yeah that makes sense. Baseball is weird.

[@mockingslur6945]

This is absolutely true. The Astro’s are playing the Brave’s right now, and I’m still never confident when it come’s to Baseball Bc there are so many factor’s that go into winning it all. Umpire’s, the hotter team, clutch hit’s, and having the pitcher’s hit.

[@angelac2578]

One of the best pitching rotations of all time! Humble yet great!

[@theleap2946]

One thing people also forget is when Turner Field was created in 1997, it was built to specifically aid pitching teams. Hence, that really helped their dominance later in their careers.

[@peloteroloko10]

Braves fan from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 #ChopOn

[@mmmcounts]

Jonathan González What do you call the time zone that Puerto Rico is in? Serious question.

[@peloteroloko10]

mmmcounts Atlantic Time Zone, it's same as Eastern USA except we don't change it on winter.

[@elibell6550]

Yay, a Atlanta Braves video

[@vastexpanse2376]

an*

[@treymagathan847]

Damn, and to think I knew a lot about my favorite sport.

[@minichiggz]

Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and Oswalt was a force to be reckoned with

[@tarquinbullocks1703]

Mets fan and I LOVED watching these guys pitch. Aces.

[@StoryboardMindset]

Great video. I was and still am the worlds biggest Tom Glavine fan.

[@Jerbear1022]

Good video, but the coloring is backwards. You have red where they're the best, green when the worst, why?

[@popovic011]

thank god I'm not the only one that noticed.. that royally pissed me off

[@JIB411]

+1

[@kylefunderburk4194]

Red for being on fire maybe

[@bdbyace28]

Smoltz/Glavin/Maddux = the greatest rotation of all time hands down

[@Riley4CHRIST]

FAX

[@rodneyhewitt2772]

I love how she just rattled off the fact that they allowed 2 ER or less in 70% of their starts like it was almost normal. I watched every game in the 90s and it was normal, even expected. To this day I have a hard time seeing how giving up 3 runs was a good start but look at what I grew up on

[@ThirteenAmp]

Loved watching them as a kid, catcher Lopez was my favorite player on the teams, then chipper

[@Archman2312]

Good voice over. The story, straight up, without trying to be funny every 5 seconds. Great job.

[@blueglue52]

I love this series because it is like historic teamwork spotlights

[@kylefunderburk4194]

The Braves almost had a Big 4, if Steve Avery had stayed healthy.

[@arlobennett8504]

Those were the big 4 while he was there, definitely.

[@StarNBars94]

And in the tail end of that era, Kevin Millwood to a lesser extent

[@smitty16s]

They almost had a big 4 since we drafted Randy Johnson, and he went to college instead of signing. Oh what could of been.

[@strikeout77777]

danny neagle for a brief period was solid too

[@JohnEFashion]

They actually had a big 4 with Neagle for 2 and a half years (96-98). He won 20 games for the braves in 97 but was 3rd in cy young voting (the year pedro posted a 1.90 ERA). Not sure why they didn't keep Neagle for longer.

[@wildspierce623]

Awesome video, makes me feel good about being an Atlanta sports fan

[@tyler_antle]

There are two teams I love. The Red Sox and the Braves. Even with all the stuff going on with the two teams now. I love watching their old games. ESPECIALLY 90's Braves

[@CuteLesbo69]

That was a glorious time for my Braves.

[@bwredder]

Great show!

[@nickynomads7410]

I'm a die hard philly fan in every sport. It pains me to say that the braves were my first favorite team of any sport mainly because of these 3 pitchers. Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones... What a team.

[@jessiebarrington9565]

Maddux was the best ever you new the chance up was coming but you couldn't do anything about it. He would carve batters up like a Thanksgiving turkey

[@HB-fg8ne]

He got more strike calls on outside pitches than any pitcher I have ever seen.

[@matthew-nt3gz]

Aces in Atlanta clocked up Cy Awards. Beautiful 😀

[@gamerspot11]

As a Mets fan growing up, seeing those 3 aces on the Braves pitching staff was unbelievable.

[@Jeterfan906]

These guys were fun to watch and even more fun to play with in MLB games

[@christophergomez1402]

I recommend a video about the year the orioles had four pitchers with 20 wins in one season.

[@danielrodrigues2041]

Funny thing is, the Braves pitchers didn't expand the strike zone. The umpires did...If you give it to me, I'll take it. It was consistency that made them great.

[@nickharn9340]

Smoltz is the man. One day on a rainy afternoon he gave us a ride back to my friends house. Super nice guy.

[@christfollower7315]

Of course he's a nice man, he's a Christian. Smoltz and Jeff Foxworthy started a private Christian school in the Atlanta suburbs.

[@BLKPlutoh]

'Lanta Big 3- watched em all the time as a kid!😎

[@albertocorrales7953]

I called them the three amigos, hahaha great baseball memories.

[@nerfusplz]

Great video

[@nateklein3619]

"Glavine relied on his fastball, slider and changeup" ... "this makes sense, as they were the only pitches he threw." lol

[@pnotuner1]

Glavine relied on the outside strike

[@rafa521NOLA]

I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but to say that Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz dominated "quietly" is ridiculous. Anyone who even casually watched baseball in the '90s knew about the Braves' pitching staff.

[@jesselancaster7]

This was before my time, wish I could have seen this

[@jeremyhughes6020]

We all know who the best Brave of the 90’s was… Lonnie Smith! Love you Jon.

[@shadytnu24]

That 1987 trade between Detroit and Atlanta is one that gets CONSTANTLY undersold. People rag on the Tigers for that trade, but the truth is the Tigers got EXACTLY what they were looking for in that trade. Alexander was to be the piece that put them over the top to win the highly competitive AL East, and that's exactly what he did, posting a 9-0 record with a 1.53 ERA in 11 appearances. The truth is, that trade might be the best example in baseball history of a deal that worked out EXACTLY as both teams envisioned when it was made.

[@mpaulm]

I liked the triumvirate of Zito, Mulder, and Hudson for Oakland in the 2000’s.

[@yriafehtivan]

I liked Hudson even more when he joined the Braves.

[@WrongedSports]

Maddux will go down as one of the top 20 pitchers of all time. He looked like a high school biology teacher but he could give you 20 wins every year

[@Wesrl]

I think the coolest part was the fact that off the field they were friends

[@MrLeoni2]

Correction. The Braves were part of the NL West until 1994. They were moved to the East the year after the Players strike of 94. So, the 1991-93 Braves were Champs of the west.

[@rebeltvr6046]

Tom Glavine is so underrated.

[@DN_13]

3? I would put Avery in there too. For a total of 4 aces.

[@andyhobaugh3104]

BEST! VIDEO! EVER!

[@_boils_8492]

Not that this means much of anything, but I ump for one of Glavine’s adopted kids

[@JeevesAnthrozaurUS]

Damn, why's baseball got all the sexiest dudes, leave some for the other sports

[@scj8863]

Jeeves Anthrozaur nah hockey

[@bosslax3162]

🤨

[@spookyshark632]

Yeah but they're all missing half their teeth

[@monetti22]

Almost every chick I’ve ever dated has said the same thing. Baseball has the most handsome athletes..

[@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub]

All those unwritten rules, man...

[@oeao2841]

They gotta redo the commercial from “We got Cy Young winners over here” to “We got Hall of Famers over here”

[@stevenmiller7747]

I think a story of The Oriole's having 4 20 game winners in the same season would be a much better video.

[@SixTenVisuals]

The A's came close to having that pitching domination 5 years later.

[@philly_sports1558]

Probably the best team core to only win one championship. They're up there with Brett Favre's Packers, the mid-2000s Pistons, the Big Three Celtics, the 80s Bears, and Charlie Manuel's Phillies.

[@ToddieBender]

Maddux=Movement!

[@Isguros]

Kenny Powers carried that team on his back

[@bootitup6927]

This was the team of the 90's. Should've won in 96 as well, maybe even 98.

[@jw7665]

Soufflé Samuel LOL. They weren’t beating that Yankees team. No one was.

[@bootitup6927]

@@jw7665 except for the Marlins... And the Diamondbacks... and the Red Sox... Which were garbage teams compared to Braves.

[@andrewsylvia7774]

Looking forward to the Jon Bois version of this.

[@Shane-sf9pv]

These guys were the reason I started watching baseball as a kid. Unfortunately I was only 2 when they won their ring. I’m hopeful I’ll be seeing them bring home another in the next few years. We have a great team right now, just gotta get past those pesky dodgers

[@jesusthroughmary]

Stupid title. "Quietly"? They won five pennants in eight years, and they all won Cy Youngs. They are universally revered and the measure against every which pitching staff is measured. Oh, and they're all in Cooperstown.

[@SecretBaseSBN]

ok fine y'all win

[@HufflepuffBaseball42313]

Well when people thought of Stars during the ‘90s they thought of Griffey, Bonds, A-Rod.

[@angelac2578]

And they won only one pennant together. When you have a team and a pitching staff the likes of theirs, they were expected to dominate the decade in World Series wins. Still my all-time baseball team, and favorite pitchers, with Maddux at the top.

[@Totes_ma_Goat]

Avery gets no love for the 90s Braves! Worst to first braves was amazing! My uncles use to be bad boys for the Braves in the "bad days" . One was even the bleecher creature at Fulton County Stadium.

[@masonmaxson6845]

I throw like glavine I’m also lefty and we actually have a lot in common when it comes to throwing and I’m a left handed pitcher

[@austintippett772]

Smoltz is my favorite player of all time

[@teddyjun1]

Hey Maddox left the cubs after 2003 and glavine left for the Mets after 2002. I wished that ted turner was owning the team at that time instead of time warner cable

[@TheLeo1400]

So much aesthetic

[@corkydelarge4440]

Let not forget the famoud baseball card of John Smoltz's. It had Tom Glavine's picture on the front.

[@dontdoittoyoself6786]

If the Braves spent money like the Yankees it would've been over for everyone.

[@ThePhl4ever]

Obviously for a much shorter time, only like a year and a half but the second half of 2010 and 2011 Phillies rotations with Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and Oswalt was pretty dominant as well. Also the 2011 Cliff Lee season was one of the best seasons. His month of June and August that year were sub 1 ERA. If not for Kershaw and Halladay, Lee would have won the Cy Young that year. Having 2 of the top 3 Cy Young Finalists leading your rotation is amazing.

[@ZhangtheGreat]

You know who I feel sorry for? Steve Avery. On any other team, he'd be at least recognized as amazing, but on the Braves, he had to settle for FOURTH best.

[@Jonasg-hy4wg]

tom glavine is my baseball coach you sould have added how tomw was also drafted for pro hokey

[@WClark-lp9vc]

It just goes to show you that the best team in baseball doesn't always win. A lot of things have to still go your way to win.

[@chriscontact5857]

I just wish things would have worked out for Steve Avery. I was not his biggest fan, but everyone I know thought he was going to be the best Atlanta pitcher. As went Steve, so went the chance for the best four man rotation in my lifetime. I think Steve did bring down one of Babe Ruth's longest lived pitching records.

[@stevenkunzer9027]

1996 was their best year too, but baseball and World Series are random AF

[@twnty47hr]

Please do the Core 4 next

[@toptenguy1]

My favorite part is that the Braves' only World Series title came against the Indians, the only team that ended up being BIGGER chokers than they were. Something had to give unless they had a lockout for the 2nd year in a row! LOL

[@lancemoody5108]

Go Bravos

[@ianharper3213]

not gonna mention how Maddux is the all time leader in Gold Gloves at any postition?? almost winning 18 in a row, except the one year where he didn't

[@chloehennessey6813]

Dad has a signed jersey from Smoltz, Maddox, Glavine, Jones on his den wall.

[@avxntvra]

The Braves’ starting Pitching was beyond dominant in the 90s & early 2000s. Even besides their big 3 they got some pretty damn good years out of guys like Steve Avery, Denny Neagle, Charlie Leibrandt & Kevin Millwood. Still crazy to me they didn’t win more than one championship considering they even had a consistently solid lineup. But At least we’re not talking about them being one of the greatest teams to NEVER win a ring.

[@halendaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

can someone please explain me whats the fun in baseball , maybe Im too european but I just dont get it

[@wookiewarrior4612]

Avery should definitely be included with these greats.

[@whoofianbrony8804]

Omg as a lifelong Braves fan this video is pure pain

[@dustinbarnes778]

Dude, in 1998, they had Kevin Millwood and Denny Neagle at the end of the rotation!

[@secondstring]

Fourteen....14...yes, fourteen division titles in a row, a record that will never be broken. We can still hang our hat on that when they throw the "only 1 World Series title" in our faces.

[@qwazwsxedc1]

I do have a World Series ring, I got from the Astros when I work there

[@MrGageHarrison]

Movie Talks congrats?