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00:23Hi everybody, I'm Brian Kenney and welcome to ESPN Classics Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame,
00:27a series that takes a fresh look at sports personalities who are remembered largely for their mistakes, controversial moments, or
00:34questionable decisions.
00:35Within a span of 14 straight division titles, the Atlanta Braves won the National League pennant five times.
00:41Within those five World Series, only once, in 1995, did they emerge as world champions.
00:47Over the next half hour, we'll give you the top five reasons you can't blame Bobby Cox for Atlanta winning
00:52only one World Series.
00:53But before we begin our countdown, let's take a look at the Braves' remarkable run that began in 1991.
01:01The Atlanta Braves have won the West!
01:04I have a daughter that's 14.
01:06Her entire life, every year of her life, they've won the division.
01:10She doesn't know anything but the Braves as a winner.
01:14It's a perfect 10 for Atlanta.
01:1710 straight division titles, unparalleled in professional sports history.
01:24You have other players come to the town and look up the left center field, up over the stadium club
01:30out there,
01:31and they're shaking their heads in awe of what we've been able to accomplish.
01:35Go ahead and celebrate, Braves! No one expected this one!
01:41A 13th straight division championship for the Atlanta Braves!
01:45In this day and age where teams change so much and players change teams,
01:50where the economics of the game make it harder and harder to keep teams together,
01:54you know, it's really remarkable that they've been able to do what they've done.
01:58Let's be celebrating big in, folks!
02:0114 consecutive division titles for your Atlanta Braves!
02:06It was an accomplishment built and sustained by superior pitching,
02:10anchored by the trinity of Greg Maddox, Tom Glavin, and John Smoltz,
02:15who combined to win six Cy Young Awards with Atlanta.
02:18We established a cornerstone of pitching that gave us a chance every year.
02:22With whatever kind of lineup he surrounded us with, we were always in the game.
02:28Greg Maddox pitched a beauty here today.
02:32If you look at the numbers they put up in the mid-90s,
02:34I'll always tell you that's the greatest pitching run in the history of baseball.
02:40The Braves won more than 100 games in six seasons.
02:44Yep, them, Chipper Jones, all Hall of Famers, all their pitchers were first ballot.
02:51But after winning it all in 1995...
03:02You've got this team that's so beautiful during the course of a season,
03:06and then comes October, and they get amnesia.
03:08And it's like, who are these guys?
03:10It's kind of like having a beautiful girlfriend
03:15that you just really don't trust anymore,
03:18because you know she's going to break your heart.
03:21After finishing in last place in 1990,
03:24Atlanta made it to the 1991 World Series.
03:27Up three games to two,
03:29the Braves and Twins were tied at three in the bottom of the 11th inning in game six.
03:34I don't think there's any doubt in anybody's mind
03:36that they were a better baseball team than the Minnesota Twins.
03:40They made some serious mistakes.
03:42One of the few major gaps that Bobby Cox ever made in his entire life as a manager
03:46was putting Charlie Liebrandt in the face of Kirby Puckett.
03:50I mean, what was Bobby Cox thinking?
03:53Puckett's looking at him, he'll get it!
03:55Deep left center, way back, way back!
03:58He's gone!
03:59Touch him all, Kirby Puckett!
04:03Game seven, an epic duel between Smoltz and Jack Morris,
04:07ended in heartbreak for the Braves.
04:10And once again, the Minnesota Twins are baseball's world champions!
04:15In 1992, Atlanta's four losses in the World Series were all by one run.
04:21The Blue Jays win it!
04:23The Blue Jays are World Series champions!
04:28And in 1993, the Braves were stunned by Philadelphia in the NLCS.
04:3420 of the most!
04:35Chuck and I!
04:36Phillies are the 93 National League champions!
04:42To me, the worst was 93.
04:44We had all kinds of opportunities against Mitch Williams late in games.
04:48We just couldn't get over the top.
04:49I'm in the bathroom, over the toilet, and I'm like,
04:53I'm not throwing up, but I'm like dry heaving,
04:56and my wife walks by and goes,
04:57you have a problem, you have a problem.
05:00And I'm like, this is what the Braves do to you.
05:05In 1996, a year after defeating Cleveland in the World Series,
05:09the Braves were poised to capture a second straight title.
05:12We came out of Yankee Stadium with a two-game-to-zero lead
05:15and a six-to-nothing lead in game four,
05:17and managed not to be able to hold on to that.
05:20High fly ball, it's deep to left field.
05:22Andrew Jones back to the warning track, to the wall.
05:25This ball is gone!
05:27That's a series we definitely should have won.
05:29You're going to New York and win the first two in New York.
05:31There's no way you should go back to New York.
05:33You better get New York at home and beat them two out of three
05:35and move on, and we didn't take care of that.
05:38He's over again. He's got room.
05:40And the Yankees have taken the Braves' championship away.
05:45Three years later, the Braves were back in the World Series.
05:49After losing the first two contests to the Yankees,
05:52they led 5-3 in the eighth inning of game three.
05:54A flu-ridden Tom Glavin remained on the mound.
05:58Bobby Cox kept going with him and going with him,
06:00and throughout the game, reporters were saying,
06:02man, he's pushing Tom Glavin,
06:04given that he had the flu, we're in the World Series,
06:07got to get some bullpen action going there.
06:09I think Glavin, before he went out,
06:12said something to Bobby Cox as if, keep an eye on me.
06:15I'm starting to lose it a little bit.
06:16He, in his way, encouraged me to try and go out there
06:20and go one more inning, and, you know, in that situation,
06:22you're not going to fight it.
06:23Swing and a fly ball to right field, deep.
06:26Going back onto the warning track, Jordan, he's at the wall,
06:28he jumps up, it is gone!
06:29A home run! It's tied up!
06:33There's no sense of urgency to his managing in the postseason.
06:37And Bobby Cox has always said,
06:39I'm going to do it just the way I did it in the regular season.
06:42And I think sometimes that has cost him.
06:44The Yankees went on to sweep the 1999 World Series.
06:48Over the next six seasons,
06:50the Braves failed to get past the first round five times.
06:54When historians look back on this stretch
06:56of 14 consecutive divisional titles for the Braves,
06:59they're going to label this as the biggest underachieving team
07:03in the history of Major League Baseball.
07:05Year in and year out, you look at the Braves,
07:07and you come to expect, after so many years, failure.
07:13And I think it has taken away, certainly,
07:15from the legacy of Bobby Cox individually
07:17and from the franchise as a whole.
07:20When you look at Bobby Cox's body of work,
07:23there's no doubt that he's got a mound full of October disappointments.
07:27He has to take blame for that.
07:31In just a few minutes, we'll count down the top five reasons
07:34you can't blame Cox for the Braves' playoff failures.
07:36But first, here are a few reasons that missed the cut.
07:38We call them the best of the rest.
07:42Lonnie Smith.
07:43His base-running blunder in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series
07:47cost the Braves dearly.
07:49Smith was on first base with no outs in the eighth inning
07:52of a scoreless game against Minnesota
07:54when Terry Pendleton ripped a double to left center.
07:58Lonnie Smith hesitates as he's coming to second base
08:01and loses track of the ball
08:03because the Twins' middle infielders,
08:05particularly Chuck Knobloch,
08:07pretend to be running a phantom double play.
08:10I thought that Lonnie scored.
08:11I was very surprised when I turned around
08:13and looked over to check Jimmy Williams,
08:15our third base coach, and Lonnie was standing next to him.
08:17He should score.
08:18He doesn't.
08:18That's the game that would have won the world title for the Braves
08:22and the Twins win in extra innings.
08:24I don't think you can blame Bobby Cox
08:26for losing the 1991 World Series.
08:28Sometimes players make boneheaded plays
08:30that the manager can't do anything about.
08:35Another best of the rest, opposing pitchers.
08:38The Braves ran up against outstanding performances
08:41in the postseason.
08:42Morris delivers.
08:44Can't take strike three.
08:46A pass call.
08:47Got him looking.
08:48Jack Morris pitched brilliantly against them
08:51in game seven in the 1991 World Series.
08:53Probably has to be considered
08:55one of the greatest pitch games
08:57in the history of the World Series.
08:59Rick come out, pointing to the diamondback, won it.
09:02If you go up against Arizona
09:03when they had Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling together,
09:06you're going to face them four times in those five games.
09:08You're going to have a tough time winning that series.
09:10Pitch from Wood.
09:11Swing and a miss.
09:12Chipper Jones strikes out.
09:14Kerry Wood was as close to unhittable
09:16as I've ever seen a pitcher out there.
09:19Right down the middle.
09:20Struck him out looking.
09:22You really have to look at
09:23who the Braves have been facing over the years.
09:26They've run into some of the greatest pitching
09:28that postseason has ever offered.
09:32Steady brilliance of their manager.
09:34The Braves wouldn't have won
09:36their 14 straight division titles.
09:39I always gave Bobby the name
09:41The Greatest.
09:42And I believe that.
09:44I believe Bobby Cox
09:45can out-manage
09:47every living soul you want to see.
09:49He's going to be in the Hall of Fame.
09:51He's going to be remembered
09:51as one of the greatest managers
09:52to ever be part of baseball.
09:55During Atlanta's record-setting run,
09:57Cox led his troops
09:58to 90 or more victories
09:5913 times
10:01and a 6-0-6 winning percentage.
10:04Players love to play for them.
10:06They love to show up
10:07and give them everything that they've got
10:08because they know
10:09they've got his backing
10:10and he's going to give them
10:11the opportunity to be successful.
10:13He gives you confidence
10:14when you don't deserve it.
10:16He sticks with you.
10:17He doesn't talk about you in the paper.
10:18He takes all the bullets
10:19and he basically is a guy
10:21you want to play for.
10:22Without Bobby
10:25Bobby
10:27good chance
10:27we don't get that far.
10:28We don't even get to the postseason
10:30in the first place.
10:30You can't
10:33blame Bobby Cox
10:35for the fact that
10:36there is only one World Series.
10:37You can credit him
10:38for the fact that
10:39they've had the opportunity
10:4014 years.
10:44One down, four to go.
10:46Here is reason number four.
10:49Mariano Rivera
10:50for most of the Braves
11:02Mariano Rivera
11:03you could make a really good argument
11:04that he's the reason
11:05the Yankees dynasty
11:06was the Yankees dynasty.
11:08Mariano Rivera
11:09was like going to the ATM
11:11and the Braves
11:12didn't have a Mariano Rivera.
11:14If Mariano Rivera
11:16is on the Atlanta Braves
11:17the Braves have
11:18four or five
11:18World Series titles.
11:21In Atlanta's
11:22five World Series
11:23appearances
11:23the bullpen
11:24was responsible
11:25for seven
11:26of its 18 losses.
11:27Two of them
11:28were series
11:28clinching games.
11:30And once again
11:31the Minnesota Twins
11:32are baseball's
11:33world champions.
11:35That's one of the things
11:36about being a Braves fan
11:37you just spend
11:38your entire October
11:39going
11:39I'm really worried
11:41about the bullpen.
11:42The pitch to Sprague
11:44it's a drive
11:45it's deep
11:46left field
11:47it's way back
11:48it's gone
11:50home run
11:51Ed Sprague
11:51on the first pitch
11:53that he sees
11:54from Jeff Reardon.
11:56That's when you start
11:58having the first
11:59of that little
12:00you know that
12:01feeling that hot
12:02orange juice
12:03in the back of your throat
12:04when you
12:05when you
12:05when you're gonna
12:06you don't throw up
12:08but you feel like
12:08you're going to.
12:09And the 2-2 offering
12:11high fly ball
12:12hit deep
12:13to left field
12:13Andrew Jones
12:14back to the warning
12:15track to the wall
12:16this ball is gone
12:19a 3-1 homer
12:21for Jim Lairitz
12:22and we are tied
12:23at 6
12:25Jim Lairitz
12:26I mean
12:27the powerhouse
12:28Jim Lairitz
12:30takes you deep
12:31none of this
12:32has really torn
12:33my soul out
12:34I just remember
12:35every detail of it
12:37I don't know
12:38what it is
12:38with their relievers
12:41except for Mark Wollers
12:43and John Smoltz
12:44and one season
12:44from John Rocker
12:45Cox lacked a
12:47slam the door
12:47in your face closer
12:48and they've had
12:50Alejandro Pena
12:51and Kerry Leitenberg
12:52and Jeff Reardon
12:53at the end
12:54and Greg McMurtry
12:55I'm sorry
12:56with all due respect
12:57those are not
12:57top quality closers
12:59when you get
13:00to the postseason
13:00you have to have
13:02somebody to pitch
13:02the 9th inning
13:03the Braves relievers
13:04have always been
13:06a
13:08a bone of contention
13:09that's not where
13:10they put a lot
13:11of their money
13:12and it shows
13:13sometimes
13:14they had a
13:15signature closer
13:15they're in the
13:16World Series
13:16more often
13:17and they win more
13:18I mean
13:19they don't become
13:20baseball version
13:21of the Buffalo Bills
13:25damn Yankees
13:26half of Atlanta's
13:27World Series losses
13:28were to the
13:29pinstripe princes
13:30of New York
13:31part of the reason
13:32you can't blame
13:33Bobby Cox
13:34for not winning
13:34all these World Series
13:35is because they have
13:36gone against the Yankees
13:37when they were
13:38at their absolute best
13:42Yankees win
13:43no
13:44Yankees win
13:47that first
13:48series
13:4896
13:49that really
13:50started the
13:50Yankees dynasty
13:51by the time
13:53the Braves
13:53faced the Yankees
13:54in 99
13:54the Yankees
13:55were just
13:56at full motor
13:57running
13:57and the Braves
13:58really had no shot
13:59in that World Series
13:59the 1999
14:01World Champions
14:02of the New York
14:03Yankees
14:05the Yankees
14:06were awesome
14:07I felt like
14:08there's times
14:09in the past
14:09we should have won
14:10but you can't say
14:11we should have won
14:12this series
14:14over a five-year span
14:16the Yankees
14:16captured four
14:17championships
14:18going 16-3
14:20in the Fall Classic
14:21you can't blame
14:22Bobby Cox at all
14:23the Yankees
14:24of those days
14:24we played so well
14:25especially in the
14:26postseason
14:27that we knew
14:29what it took to win
14:30we just found ways
14:31we got the breaks
14:31we played good baseball
14:32a one-on-one pitch
14:34swing
14:35and there's a long
14:35high drive
14:36deep to left center
14:37this one is on its way
14:39and the Yankees
14:40have won it
14:42these guys
14:42always performed
14:43better in the
14:44postseason
14:44than they had
14:45in the regular season
14:46Derek Jeter
14:47was the guy
14:47who seemed to be
14:48hitting a home run
14:48to wrap up a game
14:50Tino Martinez
14:51was always great
14:53in the clutch
14:53Scott Brocious
14:54came through
14:55in the clutch
14:55in the postseason
14:56it has nothing to do
14:58with the Braves' failure
14:59in the case
15:00of those Yankee teams
15:01they were pretty damn good
15:06three reasons down
15:07two to go
15:07here is reason number two
15:11Brett Butler
15:12the famous character's
15:13last words
15:14in the classic movie
15:15set in Atlanta
15:16during the Civil War era
15:18exemplified the city's
15:19attitude towards the Braves
15:20well the quote
15:22in Gone with the Wind
15:23frankly I don't give a damn
15:24could be a snapshot
15:25of how the Braves fans
15:27in Atlanta
15:28and around Georgia
15:29feel about their team
15:30they don't care about anything
15:32we were playing the Cubs
15:33and if there was
15:3445,000 people there
15:36there might have been
15:3625,000 Braves fans
15:38and 20,000 Cubs fans
15:39this big throng
15:41of Cubs supporters
15:43has given them
15:43a sellout crowd
15:44at Turner Field tonight
15:46I think as players
15:47it aggravates you
15:48a little bit
15:48I think you feel like
15:50there's a certain sense
15:51of the accomplishments
15:53that you've had
15:54as a team
15:55are kind of taken
15:56for granted
15:56a little bit
15:57while the Braves
15:58drew more than
15:592,000,000 fans
16:00every year
16:00during their run
16:01the fans didn't
16:02come out in droves
16:03in the postseason
16:04from 1997 to 2005
16:07only 5 of the Braves
16:0919 home games
16:10in the division series
16:11were sellouts
16:12I think you could
16:14blame the fans
16:14to a degree
16:15and I think some
16:16of the players
16:16will say that
16:17obviously
16:18you know
16:19they're disappointed
16:20when they take the field
16:21in a division series game
16:23for example
16:23and Turner Field
16:24isn't filled
16:25the capacity
16:26we were pretty upset
16:28Fonkies have never
16:29done anything
16:30Hawks have never
16:32done anything
16:32in Atlanta
16:33they don't have
16:34an NHL team
16:35what could Atlanta
16:37possibly be doing
16:38that's better
16:39than watching
16:40Braves baseball
16:41when they're at
16:42their peak
16:45it's garbage
16:46way to support
16:47your city's best team
16:51and uh
16:52first right at
16:53the same time
16:53because uh
16:54here's the Braves team
16:56uh
16:56working hard
16:58playing their best
16:59every single year
17:00to make it to the playoff
17:07so
17:08when we saw the stand
17:10during the playoff
17:11you know
17:11it is sad
17:13you would hope
17:14that
17:15anytime you get in the playoffs
17:16no matter how many times
17:17in a row it is
17:18that you've done it
17:18you would have a full house
17:19and have that kind of support
17:21but
17:21for whatever reason
17:22down there it hasn't happened
17:24the Braves were 5-13
17:26in their last 18
17:28home postseason games
17:29in one 8-year stretch
17:31they were eliminated
17:327 times from the playoffs
17:34at Turner Field
17:35for the third consecutive year
17:37the Atlanta Braves
17:39are forced to watch
17:40the visiting team
17:41celebrate on their diamond
17:43one of the things
17:44one of the things
17:45that you need
17:46in the postseason
17:46is energy
17:47and a lot of that
17:48comes from the fans
17:49you know
17:50but you know what
17:51when you're the Braves
17:51and you've been in the postseason
17:52there are no fans
17:53at least when you're
17:54playing at home
17:55and that's gotta
17:56affect the team
17:58I don't think
17:58it's a stretch
17:59to say that
18:00perhaps the Braves
18:02postseason success
18:04over this last
18:05decade and a half
18:06would have been
18:06much higher
18:07had Turner Field
18:08been filled
18:09every game
18:11welcome back
18:12you've seen now
18:13reasons 5 through 2
18:14why you can't blame
18:15Bobby Cox
18:16for the Braves
18:16postseason failures
18:17here is reason number 1
18:21Mr. October
18:28the Braves never had
18:30anyone close
18:31to Reggie Jackson
18:32it wasn't
18:33an accident
18:34or a coincidence
18:35that
18:36the Oakland Athletics
18:37and the New York Yankees
18:39won pennants
18:40in World Series
18:40with Reggie Jackson
18:41on their team
18:42they didn't call him
18:43Mr. October
18:43for nothing
18:44you know
18:44I mean this guy
18:45delivered in the clutch
18:47when the game
18:48was on the line
18:48we needed him
18:50to come through
18:50he was there
18:51in sports in general
18:53it's been said
18:53that good players
18:54make great plays
18:55great players
18:57make great plays
18:57when it matters most
18:58the Braves
19:00have been short
19:01of great players
19:02who have made
19:03great plays
19:04when it's mattered most
19:05that being October
19:08the possible exception
19:10was David Justice
19:11in 1995
19:12he stirred the drink
19:13when he called out
19:14the fans
19:15before game 6
19:16of the World Series
19:17Justice said
19:18that the Atlanta crowds
19:20were too sedate
19:21as compared
19:22to the crowds
19:23they had faced
19:24in Cleveland
19:24and that they needed
19:26to wake up
19:27he was the guy
19:28who wasn't afraid
19:29to come out
19:30and rip the fans
19:31for not showing up
19:32in Atlanta
19:33in his way
19:34David put the burden
19:36on himself
19:37to go out
19:37and perform that night
19:38because certainly
19:39all eyes were on him
19:40like Reggie
19:41Justice delivered
19:43the game was scoreless
19:44in the 6th inning
19:45fastball
19:46swung on and felt it
19:47deep right field
19:48back goes Ramirez
19:50that ball is gone
19:52home run
19:55Justice's solo shot
19:56in the 6th
19:57against Cleveland's
19:57Jim Poole
19:58was the only run
19:59of the game
19:59but it was all
20:00Tom Glavin needed
20:01he gave up
20:02one hit
20:03in 8 innings
20:05strikeout number 8
20:06for Tom Glavin
20:07and that's a career
20:08high in the postseason
20:09it's the greatest
20:10game I've ever pitched
20:12and it was in
20:13in a form
20:14in which it enabled
20:15us to win
20:15a world championship
20:17in each of their
20:185 World Series
20:19appearances
20:19the Braves team
20:20batting average
20:21was lower than it was
20:22during the regular season
20:23two of their
20:25three aces
20:25Greg Maddox
20:26and Glavin
20:26couldn't make up
20:27for their teammates
20:28light hitting
20:29they win a combined
20:3023 and 28
20:31in the postseason
20:33if the criticism
20:34needs to go anywhere
20:35it's just execution
20:36of the Atlanta Braves
20:37players
20:37we have not done
20:38the things you need
20:39to do to win
20:39those crucial games
20:40outside of John Smotes
20:42the rest of those guys
20:43have not shown up
20:44we're talking about
20:45Tom Glavin loses it
20:47Greg Maddox loses it
20:48it's like
20:49what happened
20:49to these guys
20:50you know
20:50they're not the same
20:51pitchers
20:53strike him out
20:54Bobby Cox
20:55sent lineups out
20:56that were awesome
20:57lineups
20:58was pretty good
20:59for playoffs
21:00these guys
21:00got a hit in October
21:01at the end of the day
21:02these guys didn't hit
21:03in October
21:04I don't think you can
21:05blame one man
21:06for the fault
21:07of 25 different guys
21:09in 14 different years
21:10and 14 different
21:11postseasons
21:12it's just impossible
21:16well there you have it
21:17the top five reasons
21:18you can't blame
21:19Bobby Cox
21:19for the Braves
21:20winning only one
21:21World Series
21:21and whatever way
21:23you like to categorize
21:24your winners and losers
21:25the Braves
21:25under Cox
21:26and GM John Sherholtz
21:27will always be associated
21:29with one of the more
21:30consistent runs
21:30of sustained excellence
21:31in the long history
21:33of Major League Baseball
21:34I'm Brian Kenney
21:35thanks for watching
21:36and I'll see you
21:37in the next one
21:38well
21:39well
21:39well
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