2003 Atlanta Braves season

The 2003 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 38th season in Atlanta and 133rd overall. The Braves won their 9th consecutive division title, finishing 10 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins. The Braves lost the 2003 Divisional Series to the Chicago Cubs, 3 games to 2. The Braves finished 2003 with their best offensive season up to that point in franchise history, hitting a franchise record 235 home runs. Atlanta also had one of the most noteworthy combined offensive outfield productions in league history.

2003 Atlanta Braves
NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record101–61 (.623)
Divisional place1st
Other information
OwnersAOL Time Warner
General managersJohn Schuerholz
ManagersBobby Cox
Local televisionTBS Superstation
(Don Sutton, Joe Simpson)
Turner South
(Pete Van Wieren)
FSN South
(Tom Paciorek, Bob Rathbun)
Local radioWSB (AM)
(Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray)
WWWE
(Luis Octavio Dozal, Jose Manuel Flores)
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The Braves' starting rotation had new faces in 2003, but aged pitchers. Opposite of what they were traditionally known for in years earlier. Greg Maddux was joined by trade acquisitions Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz, free agent Shane Reynolds and rookie Horacio Ramírez. Critics noted had Atlanta had a younger staff with this offense, they would've been more likely to win the World Series. Marcus Giles had an All-Star season as the Braves' second baseman and Gary Sheffield as the Braves' right fielder. Sheffield finished with a top 5 voting in NL MVP voting. 2003 also marked the last season for Maddux, ending his tenure in Atlanta after 11 seasons.

Offseason
  • November 18, 2002: Mike Hampton was traded by the Florida Marlins with cash to the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Baker (minors) and Tim Spooneybarger. (Hampton had been traded to the Marlins from the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 2002)[1]
  • November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[2]
  • December 16, 2002: Ray King was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for John Foster and Wes Helms.[3]
  • December 17, 2002: Russ Ortiz was traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez.[4]
  • December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. (Byrd did not play for the Braves in 2003)[5]
  • December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[6]
  • December 20, 2002: Johnny Estrada was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood.[7]
  • January 6, 2003: Robert Fick signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[8]
  • January 8, 2003: Julio Franco was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[9]
  • January 23, 2003: Roberto Hernandez signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[10]
  • April 10, 2003: Shane Reynolds signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.[11]

Regular season
  • In 2003, John Smoltz set a Major League record (since tied) by having 34 saves before the All-Star Break.[12]
  • May 23, 2003 – During the Atlanta Braves 15-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Braves players Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs to start the game.[13]
  • On August 10, 2003, Rafael Furcal of the Braves had an unassisted triple play. He caught the liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner going back to first base.[14]

Opening Day starters
PositionName
Starting PitcherGreg Maddux
CatcherHenry Blanco
First BasemanRobert Fick
Second BasemanMarcus Giles
Third BasemanVinny Castilla
ShortstopRafael Furcal
Left FielderChipper Jones
Center FielderAndruw Jones
Right FielderGary Sheffield

National League East
NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Atlanta Braves 10161 0.623 — 55–26 46–35
Florida Marlins 9171 0.562 10 53–28 38–43
Philadelphia Phillies 8676 0.531 15 49–32 37–44
Montreal Expos 8379 0.512 18 52–29 31–50
New York Mets 6695 0.410 34½ 34–46 32–49

Record vs. opponents
2003 National League record

Source:
Team ARI ATL CHC CIN COL FLA HOU LAD MIL MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL AL
Arizona—2–52–47–210–92–55–110–93–34–24–24–23–39–105–143–311–4
Atlanta5–2—4–23–36–09–105–14–24–212–711–89–107–26–12–44–210–5
Chicago4–22–4—10–73–34–29–72–410–63–35–11–510–84–24–28–99–9
Cincinnati2–73–37–10—4–22–45–122–48–102–42–45–45–113–33–39–77-5
Colorado 9–100–63–32–4—4–22–47–125–13–42–52–43–612–77–124–29–6
Florida5–210–92–44–22–4—1–52–57–213–612–713–62–45–11–53–39–6
Houston1–51–57–912–54–25-1—4–29–83–32–42–410–63–32–411–711–7
Los Angeles 9–102–44–24–212–75–22–4—4–24–23–32–55–18–116–134–211–7
Milwaukee3–32–46–1010–81–52–78–92–4—0–66–34–210–75–11–53–135–7
Montreal2–47–123–34–24–36-133–32–46–0—14–58–113–34–27–01–59–9
New York2–48–111–54–25–27–124–23–33–65–14—7–124–23–34–21–55–10
Philadelphia2-410–95–14–54–26–134–25–22–411–812–7—2–44–33–34–28–7
Pittsburgh3–32–78–1011–56–34–26–101–57–103–32–44–2—4–22–47–105–7
San Diego10–91–62–43–37–121–53–311–81–52–43–33–42–4—5–142–48–10
San Francisco14–54–22–43–312–75–14–213–65–10–72–43–34–214–5—5–110–8
St. Louis3–32–49–87–92–43-37–112–413–35–15–12–410–74–21–5—10–8

Notable transactions
  • August 29, 2003: Jaret Wright was selected off waivers by the Atlanta Braves from the San Diego Padres.[15]
  • Notable draft signings in 2003 include Jarrod Saltalamacchia (36th overall) and Jonny Venters (30th round).[16]

Roster
2003 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

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
CJavy López129457150.32843109
1BRobert Fick126409110.2691180
2BMarcus Giles145551174.3162169
SSRafael Furcal156664194.2921561
3BVinny Castilla147542150.2772276
LFChipper Jones153555169.30527106
CFAndruw Jones156595165.27736116
RFGary Sheffield155576190.33039132

Other batters

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
Mark DeRosa10326670.263622
Julio Franco10319758.294531
Darren Bragg10416239.24109
Henry Blanco5515130.199113
Matt Franco11213433.246315
Johnny Estrada163611.30602
Mike Hessman19216.28623
Ryan Langerhans16154.26700
Jesse Garcia13104.40002

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Greg Maddux36218.116113.96124
Russ Ortiz34212.12173.81149
Mike Hampton31190.01483.84110
Horacio Ramírez29182.11244.00100
Shane Reynolds30167.11195.4394
Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
John Smoltz6202451.1273
Ray King803403.5143
Roberto Hernandez665304.3545
Kevin Gryboski646403.8632
Trey Hodges523304.6666
Darren Holmes481204.2946
Jung Bong446215.0547
Jason Marquis210015.5319
Will Cunnane202232.7020
Kent Mercker180011.067
Jaret Wright111002.009
Joey Dawley500018.008

2003 National League Division Series

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

Chicago wins the series, 3-2

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Chicago Cubs – 4, Atlanta Braves – 2September 30Turner Field52,043[17]
2Chicago Cubs – 3, Atlanta Braves – 5October 1Turner Field52,743[18]
3Atlanta Braves – 1, Chicago Cubs – 3October 3Wrigley Field39,982[19]
4Atlanta Braves – 6, Chicago Cubs – 4October 4Wrigley Field39,983[20]
5Chicago Cubs – 5, Atlanta Braves – 1October 5Turner Field54,357[21]

Award winners

2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Richmond Braves International League Pat Kelly
AA Greenville Braves Southern League Brian Snitker
A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Carolina League Randy Ingle
A Rome Braves South Atlantic League Rocket Wheeler
Rookie Danville Braves Appalachian League Kevin McMullan
Rookie GCL Braves Gulf Coast League Ralph Henriquez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rome, GCL Braves[22][23]

References
  1. "Mike Hampton Stats".
  2. "Donzell McDonald Stats".
  3. "Ray King Stats".
  4. "Russ Ortiz Stats".
  5. Paul Byrd Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  6. "Greg Maddux Stats".
  7. "Johnny Estrada Stats".
  8. "Robert Fick Stats".
  9. Julio Franco Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  10. "Roberto Hernandez Stats".
  11. "Shane Reynolds Stats".
  12. Sports Illustrated, Volume 109, No. 2, July 14–21, 2008, p.24, Published by Time Inc.
  13. Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781553650386.
  14. "Unassisted Triple Plays | Baseball Almanac".
  15. Jaret Wright Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  16. 2003 Major League Baseball draft
  17. "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  18. "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  19. "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  20. "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  21. "2003 NLDS – Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves – Game 5". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  22. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  23. Baseball America 2004 Annual Directory
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