5 Greatest Hits in Atlanta Braves Franchise History

There wasn’t any ill will towards Soler from Braves Country, because Soler cemented himself as a Braves legend with one of the biggest hits in the team’s history.

It got me thinking as to what the five biggest hits in Atlanta Braves history are. I came up with four, I think most Braves fans will agree on, if not the exact order. The fifth was tougher. I’ll nominate a few that came to mind for me, ask for your feedback on either X, YouTube, or Facebook, and I’ll do a follow-up story based on consensus feedback.

5. The Kids

In 1996, Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero were being hyped up as the game’s best prospects. The term generational talent gets thrown around daily these days, but it was meant to describe guys like Jones and Guerrero.

They didn’t disappoint. Both players are Hall of Famers, but Jones got off to a much faster start. He had five home runs in 31 games as a rookie, but exploded onto the scene in the World Series against the New York Yankees with a pair of home runs in Game 1.

At 19, he’s still the youngest player to hit a home run in the World Series, let alone do it twice.

For this list, I would pick the second home run. The game was getting out of hand, but hitting one home run can be lucky; hitting two in one game, that’s announcing yourself.

Roughly 15 years later, Jason Heyward makes his Braves debut as arguably the most hyped prospect since Jones.

He delivered.

In this first inning on Opening Day, Heyward scorched a line drive home run in front of the home crowd. Heyward would go on to have a good career as a pro, never quite living up to the promise of his rookie season, but on that day, in front of the home crowd, the anticipation, the pop, the hope, those who witnessed this moment will never forget it.

4. Redemption for Dave Justice

After losing in the postseason three consecutive years, the Braves were feeling the pressure in 1995, coming back to Atlanta with a 3-2 lead over the Cleveland Indians. Star right fielder Dave Justice made the mistake of popping off in the media that week about the excitement from Indians fans (who were so downtrodden they made a movie about them), vs. the pressure building in Atlanta.

“If we don't win, they'll probably burn our houses down,” Justice said.

Fans weren’t happy, but winning cures all.

Indians reliever Jim Poole missed his target by about 8 inches inside. Justice turned on it. catcher Tony Peña immediately rips his mask off and slams it to the ground after the poorly executed pitch, and the ball flew over the right field wall at Fulton-County Stadium.

Overshadowed by Tom Glavine’s eight innings of one-hit ball, Justice delivered the game’s only run with the solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. As he took his position in the top of the seventh, the outfield crowd cheered him, and he took off his hat to salute the home crowd.

As Bob Costas said on the national broadcast as Justice was crossing home plate, “Dave Justice, all is forgiven in Atlanta.”

3. The Home Run King

On April 8, 1974, amid racial tensions that forced the city of Atlanta to assign a bodyguard to Hank Aaron, Hammerin’ Hank hit the home run in front of the home crowd that passed Babe Ruth and made him the all-time home run king with 715.

He had tied the record on Opening Day, and he broke it just two games later. He went on to hit 18 more home runs that season before the Braves traded him to the Brewers. He spent 12 years in Milwaukee before the team moved south, and heading back to play two more seasons before retiring with 755 home runs.

Some still recognize him as the true Home Run King.

2. Soler’s Moon Shot

Plenty of times in the 1990’s, Braves fans watched their team dominate the regular season only to fall flat in the postseason. In 2021, they flipped the script.

The Braves won the NL East with only 88 wins. But as they say, they got hot at the right time. They closed the season going 12-2, dispatched the 95-win Brewers in four games, upset the might 107-win Dodgers in six games, before facing the 95-win Astros in the World Series.

Atlanta split in Houston before taking a 3-1 lead in the series by winning the first two games in Atlanta. The Astros found life by winning Game 5 and heading back to Houston for Game 6.

Game 6 opened scoreless through two innings before Soler stepped to the plate and hit a home run that still hasn’t landed.

Joe Buck’s call for FOX was on point. It was a 3-2 pitch with two outs, and the Astros crowd was on its feet. I’ve watched this home run 200 times, and I watch each individual reaction.

Soler pimped this home run to an extent that normally would have caused retribution from the Astros and teeth gnashing from fans and talking heads.

He got none of that.

While the game was still in the third inning, he knew he had just won the World Series. The Astros knew he just won the World Series, and the Fans knew he just won the World Series.

If there was ever a place in this game to take a little extra time to celebrate the moment, it’s after literally hitting a ball out of the stadium to win the biggest prize in the sport.

1. It was Sid’s Slide, but Francisco’s Hit

Let’s roll it back to 1991. In the Atlanta Braves' worst-to-first season, on August 21st, the Braves were desperately trying to chase down the Dodgers in the NL West. This was when winning the division actually mattered. No wildcard. No second chances.

The Braves were 2.5 games behind LA after trailing by 9.5 at the All-Star break. Every game was crucial. On this night, they were trailing in Cincinnati 9-6 in the top of the ninth when reserve catcher Francisco Cabrera lined a missile off the Nasty Boy himself, Rob Dibble, to tie the game.

The man came up clutch.

The Braves would go on to win 10 to 9 in 13 innings, and overtook the Dodgers on the final day of the season to vanquish a decade of misery and launch a new era of Braves baseball.

Fast forward about 14 months to the NLCS. The Braves had blown a 3-1 lead in the series and hadn’t been able to touch Pirates starter Doug Drabek through 8 innings. It. Looked. Glum.

Terry Pendleton led off the ninth with a double, and the comeback was on.

With two outs, Cabrera hits a low liner to the league’s MVP in Barry Bonds, the slowest guy on the field comes chugging around third in a play at home so close it looked like it was straight out of a movie.

Sean McDonough’s call on the national broadcast was magical. Bream was mobbed at the plate, and Andy Van Slyke’s picture in center field was unforgettable.

The Braves lost that World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, but finally broke through in 1995, thanks in part to Justice’s home run.

The Pirates didn’t have another winning season for 20 years, and have had only three since.

What You May Not Remember

Following Cabrera's clutch hit, with back-to-back World Series appearances, the Atlanta Braves had become the hot team in the National League. Barry Bonds was entering free agency, and at one point, even he thought he was going to Atlanta.

Instead, the Braves shocked Bonds and everyone else by doubling down on pitching and signing Greg Maddux. Bonds went to the San Francisco Giants.

The following year, the Braves set a franchise record with 104 wins, edging Bonds’ Giants by one game in the NL West and keeping them from the postseason in the last great pennant chase before wild-card baseball ended pennant chases.

What’d I Miss?

Ronald’s grand slam?

Brian Hunter’s dagger shot to the Pirates in 1991?

Brooks Conrad’s improbably slam?
Weiss' Hit on Soler?

It’s been fun taking this walk down memory lane, and I will be interested in your feedback.

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