Atlanta Braves

Incredibly, the Atlanta Braves had already been around almost a century as a franchise when they moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1966, starting out in Boston, where they were known as the Red Stockings, the Red Caps, (amusingly) the Beaneaters*, the Doves, the Rustlers, the Braves, the Bees, and the Braves once more. In 1953, they moved to Milwaukee (where they beat the mighty New York Yankees to win the 1957 World Series in seven, then lost in seven to those same Yankees in 1958. In 1966, the team relocated to Atlanta for financial reasons and have remained the Atlanta Braves* ever since. The Braves were perennial doormats for their first two and a half decades in Atlanta, making the playoffs just twice in their first 25 seasons in the city, but as the 1990s dawned, so did the era of the Braves as the dominant team in the National League. From 1991-1999, powered by incredible heat from the mound by aces like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz along with the smooth skills of David Justice and Chipper Jones, the Braves appeared in every single NLCS series, winning five of them and thus appearing in an impressive five World Series in a single decade. Unfortunately for the Braves and their suddenly passionate fans, there were also some fantastic teams in the American League in the 1990s. The Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Yankees (twice) all broke Atlanta hearts, particularly the Jays in 1993, against whom all four games that the Braves lost in the six-games series were decided by a single run, and Twins in 1991, who came from two games behind, beating the Braves 4-3 (in the 11th inning) and 1-0 (in the 10th) in Games Six and Seven. Despite losing in two of the most dramatic World Series contests of all time, the Braves did at least manage one triumph in their decade of near-domination, defeating the Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) in Game Six in front of an ecstatic home Atlanta crowd of over 50,000. The team declined somewhat as they entered the 2000s, missing the playoffs sometimes and failing to get past the NLDS when they did until 2020, when the Braves squeaked into the Wild Card game, then swept the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The Braves went one better in 2021, with an World Series MVP performance by Jorge Soler leading to a World Series victory over the Houston Astros to bring the title back to Atlanta for the second time in franchise history. With their team still competitive in recent seasons, Braves fans are optimistic that a third title could be heading their way in the years to come.

Atlanta Braves Rivalries

The Atlanta Braves have particularly strong rivalries with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, who both vie for the NL East division against the Braves, though the clashes with the Mets tend to be filled with more venom than their more respectful brotherly rivalry with the Phillies(who beat the Braves in the playoffs 3-1 in both 2022 and 2023 despite the Braves having much better regular season records). Getting a ticket to a Braves-Mets or Braves-Phillies game can be a tall order. For the best available tickets, be sure to check TicketX, the best source of affordable tickets to the most exciting Atlanta Braves games.

*The franchise actually won their first-ever World Series as the Beaneaters in 1892 (prior to the first “proper” World Series in 1903). The first game ended in a 0-0 tie, because it got dark. After that, the rootin’-tootin’ Beaneaters swept the Cleveland Spiders in five straight games, taking the best-of-nine (!!) series. 

**Like several other teams in North American professional (and amateur) sports with names linked to representations of Native Americans that are sometimes considered problematic, the Braves have come under some pressure in recent years to change their name. While some teams have chosen to make the change, the Braves, like the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and Kansas City Chiefs of the NHL, have elected to keep their familiar moniker.