1986 Atlanta Braves | ||
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League | National League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | |
City | Atlanta | |
Record | 72–89 (.447) | |
Divisional place | 6th | |
Owners | Ted Turner | |
General managers | Bobby Cox | |
Managers | Chuck Tanner | |
Television |
WTBS Superstation WTBS | |
Radio |
WSB ( Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, John Sterling) | |
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The 1986 Atlanta Braves season was the 116th in franchise history and their 21st in Atlanta.
The Braves shutout the Montreal Expos, 6–0 in their season opener, but were 7–12 at the end of April, 6+1⁄2 games out of first. Atlanta won 17 of their first 25 games in the month of May, improving their record to 24–20 May 27. They were tied for second and were 1+1⁄2 games out of first.
On June 24 the Braves dropped into fourth place with a 34–36 record. They were in fourth place, 4+1⁄2 games out of first. Atlanta won seven of their next eight games to surge back into contention on July 3. Atlanta was 41–37 and in third place, 1+1⁄2 games out of first. The Braves promptly lost 20 of their next 25 games and fell into the cellar, 46–57, 12+1⁄2 games out of first. After a 12–5 run put them within 10+1⁄2 games of the lead, the Braves fizzled and faded down the stretch, losing their last five games to finish in last place with a 72–89 record, 23+1⁄2 games out of first.
The strong play of the Braves in the first half of the season was partly attributed to "The Bomb Squad", a group of six veterans who provided clutch hitting of the bench. The members of "The Bomb Squad" were: Ted Simmons, Chris Chambliss, Omar Moreno, Billy Sample, Bruce Benedict, and Andres Thomas. [4] The name for the group was coined during spring training by Simmons in an effort to create unity among the bench players (Simmons, Moreno, and Sample were in their first season with the Braves).
NL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houston Astros | 96 | 66 | 0.593 | — | 52–29 | 44–37 |
Cincinnati Reds | 86 | 76 | 0.531 | 10 | 43–38 | 43–38 |
San Francisco Giants | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 13 | 46–35 | 37–44 |
San Diego Padres | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 22 | 43–38 | 31–50 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 23 | 46–35 | 27–54 |
Atlanta Braves | 72 | 89 | 0.447 | 23½ | 41–40 | 31–49 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 9–3 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 10–8 | 4–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 6–6 | |||||
Chicago | 3–9 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 9–8 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–7 | |||||
Cincinnati | 12–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–5 | |||||
Houston | 13–5 | 8–4 | 14–4 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–5 | |||||
Los Angeles | 8–10 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 8–4 | |||||
Montreal | 7–4 | 10–8 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | |||||
New York | 8–4 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 10–8 | — | 8–10 | 17–1 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 12–6 | |||||
Philadelphia | 8-4 | 8–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–8 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 6–12 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 7–5 | 11–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 1–17 | 7–11 | — | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–11 | |||||
San Diego | 6–12 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 5–7 | |||||
San Francisco | 11–7 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–6 | 7–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |
1986 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Ozzie Virgil | 114 | 359 | 80 | .223 | 15 | 48 |
1B | Bob Horner | 141 | 517 | 141 | .273 | 27 | 87 |
2B | Glenn Hubbard | 143 | 408 | 94 | .230 | 4 | 36 |
3B | Ken Oberkfell | 151 | 503 | 136 | .270 | 5 | 48 |
SS | Andrés Thomas | 102 | 323 | 81 | .251 | 6 | 32 |
LF | Ken Griffey | 80 | 292 | 90 | .308 | 12 | 32 |
CF | Dale Murphy | 160 | 614 | 163 | .265 | 29 | 83 |
RF | Omar Moreno | 118 | 359 | 84 | .234 | 4 | 27 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Rafael Ramírez | 134 | 496 | 119 | .240 | 8 | 33 |
Terry Harper | 106 | 265 | 68 | .257 | 8 | 30 |
Billy Sample | 92 | 200 | 57 | .285 | 6 | 14 |
Bruce Benedict | 64 | 160 | 36 | .225 | 0 | 13 |
Claudell Washington | 40 | 137 | 37 | .270 | 5 | 14 |
Ted Simmons | 76 | 127 | 32 | .252 | 4 | 25 |
Chris Chambliss | 97 | 122 | 38 | .311 | 2 | 14 |
Gerald Perry | 29 | 70 | 19 | .271 | 2 | 11 |
Albert Hall | 16 | 50 | 12 | .240 | 0 | 1 |
Darryl Motley | 5 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
Paul Runge | 7 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Brad Komminsk | 5 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Rick Mahler | 39 | 237.2 | 14 | 18 | 4.88 | 137 |
David Palmer | 35 | 209.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.65 | 170 |
Zane Smith | 38 | 204.2 | 8 | 16 | 4.05 | 139 |
Doyle Alexander | 17 | 117.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.84 | 74 |
Joe Johnson | 17 | 87.0 | 6 | 7 | 4.97 | 49 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Jim Acker | 21 | 95.0 | 3 | 8 | 3.79 | 37 |
Craig McMurtry | 37 | 79.2 | 1 | 6 | 4.74 | 50 |
Charlie Puleo | 5 | 24.1 | 1 | 2 | 2.96 | 18 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Gene Garber | 61 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 2.54 | 56 |
Paul Assenmacher | 61 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2.50 | 56 |
Jeff Dedmon | 57 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2.98 | 58 |
Ed Olwine | 37 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.40 | 37 |
Bruce Sutter | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4.34 | 16 |
Cliff Speck | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.13 | 21 |
Duane Ward | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.31 | 8 |
Steve Shields | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.11 | 6 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Richmond, Pulaski [10]