2002 Atlanta Braves season

2002 Atlanta Braves
2002 NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Eastern Division (since 1994)
Location
Turner Field (since 1997)
Atlanta (since 1966)
Results
Record	101–59 (.631)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	AOL Time Warner
General manager(s)	John Schuerholz
Manager(s)	Bobby Cox
Local television	TBS Superstation Turner South (Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson) Fox Sports South (Tom Paciorek, Bob Rathbun)
Local radio	WSB (AM) (Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson) WWWE (Marcelo Godoy, Jose Manuel Flores)
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The 2002 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 37th season in Atlanta. The Braves won their 11th consecutive division title, finishing 19 games ahead of the second-place Montreal Expos. The Braves lost the 2002 Divisional Series to the San Francisco Giants, 3 games to 2.

2002 marked the final year that pitchers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz played on the same team. Smoltz set the Braves’ single season record for saves (55). Chipper Jones moved to the outfield to allow for Vinny Castilla to be signed and added to the lineup. Julio Franco became a regular player in the second stint of his Major League career and Gary Sheffield was new to the Braves in 2002.

Offseason

• October 26, 2001: Aaron Small was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[1]
• December 4, 2001: John Smoltz was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[2]
• December 11, 2001: Vinny Castilla signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[3]
• December 17, 2001: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[4]
• January 15, 2002: Gary Sheffield was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Atlanta Braves for Andrew Brown, Brian Jordan and Odalis Pérez.^[5]
• January 16, 2002: Doug Linton was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.^[6]
• March 20, 2002: Henry Blanco was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Atlanta Braves for Paul Bako and Jose Cabrera.^[7]

Regular season

Opening Day starters

• Vinny Castilla
• Rafael Furcal
• Marcus Giles
• Tom Glavine
• Andruw Jones
• Chipper Jones
• Javy Lopez
• Gary Sheffield
• B.J. Surhoff^[8]

Season standings

National League East

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	101	59	0.631	—	52–28	49–31
Montreal Expos	83	79	0.512	19	49–32	34–47
Philadelphia Phillies	80	81	0.497	21½	40–40	40–41
Florida Marlins	79	83	0.488	23	46–35	33–48
New York Mets	75	86	0.466	26½	38–43	37–43

Record vs. opponents

2002 National League Records Source:
Team	ARI	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	3–3	4–2	6–0	14–5	5–1	3–3	9–10	4–2	4–2	5–2	4–3	4–2	12–7	8–11	2–4	11–7
Atlanta	3–3	—	4–2	4–2	4–3	11–8	3–3	2–4	5–1	13–6	12–7	11–7	3–3	3–3	3–3	5–1	15–3
Chicago	2–4	2–4	—	5–12	4–2	4–2	8–11	2–4	7–10	3–3	1–5	2–4	10–9	2–4	3–3	6–12	6–6
Cincinnati	0–6	2–4	12–5	—	3–3	5–1	6–11	4–2	13–6	1–5	2–4	2–4	11–7	5–1	2–4	8–11	2–10
Colorado	5–14	3–4	2–4	3–3	—	5–2	3–3	7–12	3–3	4–2	3–3	3–3	4–2	11–8	8–12	2–4	7–11
Florida	1–5	8–11	2–4	1–5	2–5	—	3–3	3–3	4–2	10–9	8–11	10–9	4–2	5–1	4–3	4–2	10–8
Houston	3–3	3–3	11–8	11–6	3–3	3–3	—	3–3	10–8	3–3	4–2	3–3	11–6	4–2	1–5	6–13	5–7
Los Angeles	10–9	4–2	4–2	2–4	12–7	3–3	3–3	—	5–1	5–2	4–2	4–3	4–2	10–9	8–11	2–4	12–6
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	10–7	6–13	3–3	2–4	8–10	1–5	—	2–4	1–5	1–5	4–15	5–1	1–5	7–10	2–10
Montreal	2–4	6–13	3–3	5–1	2–4	9–10	3–3	2–5	4–2	—	11–8	11–8	3–3	3–4	4–2	3–3	12–6
New York	2–5	7–12	5–1	4–2	3–3	11–8	2–4	2–4	5–1	8–11	—	9–10	1–4	3–4	0–6	3–3	10–8
Philadelphia	3–4	7–11	4–2	4–2	3–3	9–10	3–3	3–4	5–1	8–11	10–9	—	2–4	2–4	3–3	4–2	10–8
Pittsburgh	2–4	3–3	9–10	7–11	2–4	2–4	6–11	2–4	15–4	3–3	4–1	4–2	—	2–4	2–4	6–11	3–9
San Diego	7–12	3–3	4–2	1–5	8–11	1–5	2–4	9–10	1–5	4–3	4–3	4–2	4–2	—	5–14	1–5	8–10
San Francisco	11–8	3–3	3–3	4–2	11–8	3–4	5–1	11–8	5–1	2–4	6–0	3–3	4–2	14–5	—	2–4	8–10
St. Louis	4–2	1–5	12–6	11–8	4–2	2–4	13–6	4–2	10–7	3–3	3–3	2–4	11–6	5–1	4–2	—	8–4

Transactions

• June 4, 2002: Jeff Francoeur was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed July 8, 2002.^[9]
• September 30, 2002: Aaron Small was released by the Atlanta Braves.^[1]

Roster

2002 Atlanta Braves
Roster
Pitchers 30 Jung Bong 33 Joey Dawley 56 John Ennis 48 John Foster 47 Tom Glavine 49 Kevin Gryboski 36 Chris Hammond 45 Trey Hodges 40 Darren Holmes 46 Kerry Ligtenberg 32 Albie Lopez 31 Greg Maddux 38 Jason Marquis 34 Kevin Millwood 27 Damian Moss 26 Andy Pratt 37 Mike Remlinger 30 Aaron Small 29 John Smoltz 43 Tim Spooneybarger		Catchers 20 Henry Blanco  8 Javy López 50 Steve Torrealba Infielders 19 Vinny Castilla 16 Mark DeRosa 4,23 Julio Franco  4 Matt Franco  1 Rafael Furcal  2 Jesse Garcia 22 Marcus Giles 18 Wes Helms  7 Keith Lockhart 15 B. J. Surhoff		Outfielders 28 Darren Bragg 25 Andruw Jones 10 Chipper Jones 72 Ryan Langerhans 11 Gary Sheffield		Manager  6 Bobby Cox Coaches 39 Pat Corrales (bench) 52 Bobby Dews (bullpen) 17 Glenn Hubbard (1st base) 54 Leo Mazzone (pitching)  9 Terry Pendleton (hitting)  5 Ned Yost (3rd base)

Player stats

Batting

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

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

2002 National League Division Series

San Francisco Giants vs. Atlanta Braves

San Francisco wins the series, 3-2

Game	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Date	Stadium	Series
1	Atlanta	5	San Francisco	8	October 2	Turner Field	1-0 (SFO)
2	Atlanta	7	San Francisco	3	October 3	Turner Field	1-1
3	San Francisco	2	Atlanta	10	October 5	Pacific Bell Park	2-1 (ATL)
4	San Francisco	8	Atlanta	3	October 6	Pacific Bell Park	2-2
5	Atlanta	1	San Francisco	3	October 7	Turner Field	3-2 (SFO)

Award winners

2002 Major League Baseball season Braves' team pitching led the league with a 3.13 ERA. John Smoltz was National League Relief Man of the Year, as he led the league with 55 saves, which was a National League record at the time (since broken by Éric Gagné in 2003). Greg Maddux and Andruw Jones were chosen for Gold Glove awards.

2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Representing the Braves on the 2002 National League All-Star team were pitchers Tom Glavine, Mike Remlinger and John Smoltz. Andruw Jones was elected to receive the final roster spot on the 2002 National League All-Star team.

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Richmond Braves	International League	Fredi González
AA	Greenville Braves	Southern League	Brian Snitker
A	Myrtle Beach Pelicans	Carolina League	Randy Ingle
A	Macon Braves	South Atlantic League	Lynn Jones
Rookie	Danville Braves	Appalachian League	Ralph Henriquez
Rookie	GCL Braves	Gulf Coast League	Jim Saul

^[10][11]

References

1. http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smallaa01.shtml
2. http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smoltjo01.shtml
3. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/castivi02.shtml#trans
4. Julio Franco Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
5. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheffga01.shtml#trans
6. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lintodo01.shtml
7. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blanche01.shtml#trans
8. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2002&t=ATL
9. Jeff Francoeur Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
11. Baseball America 2003 Annual Directory

• 2002 Atlanta Braves at Baseball Reference