MLB 2013 Season

[Mike Schwartz]

Turner Field is only 17 years old...was quite surprised to see this.

Somebody (plural) is making some serious bank on this deal, and some other folks are going to get seriously hosed.

[jeffcrom]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

[Blue Train]

If Detroit of all cities can find the money for a new arena for the Red Wings....I posted about how these things always cost more and never come close to what taxpayers are told by the teams and local politicians that they will return monetarily to the city. You can find multiple links I provided in the Detroit Arena discussion.

P.S. Something else to consider. Atlanta is still going to have to pay the bonds another 13-years for Turner field and have to find way to replace the revenue, or tear it down will still paying those 13-years....and they're is the new stadium for the Falcons which will probably end up costing taxpayers way north of $3 billion over 30-years.....and none of these teams stay in these places the full 30-years the city is on the hook for.

P.P.S. Another thing is more of the teams are having these things built in cities/states outside of the city they're associated with. Take a look @ the Niners new stadium....it's going to be the farthest built stadium from it's "home" city....but they're keeping the San Francisco. Santa Clara's (like New Jerseys) taxpayers are paying and getting screwed, but it's still going to be San Francisco.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

Every single player offered an qualifying offer turned it down. 2nd year in a row it's happened in the 2-years the current system has been in place. Sigh of relief from the Evil Empire and Yankees. They get the picks and can sign whichever of them they want....

It also makes @ least the first round in the next draft closer to being set. The rest depends on if a team signs one of the 13-players, and where they pick in the first round.


http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2014/order.jsp

Edited November 12, 2013 by Blue Train

[Tim McG]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

Edited November 12, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[Blue Train]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

He very clearly pointed out how bogus that is in post #875...but of course, you're team is going to benefit from one of these stadium bamboozles with Santa Clara taxpayers paying for it.

The Mayor of Atlanta announced they're tearing down Turner Field once the Braves leave. `10 more years of bonds payments for something that won't exist.

​Some money quotes....with the translation coming down to too many of the wrong type of people around Turner Field.

"The Braves had made it clear for years they were not satisfied with Turner Field, located just south of downtown near some of the city's poorest neighborhoods."

"Also, Census data shows the team is moving to a much more prosperous area, with a median household income of about $61,000 and a poverty level of 8.6 percent, compared to $23,000 and nearly 40 percent for the neighborhood surrounding Turner Field."

"Reed said the city couldn't match a $450 million offer from one of Atlanta's sprawling northern suburbs, though it wasn't immediately clear how the county of some 700,000 people plans to raise the money or whether it will require a vote of the taxpayers."

"Despite the lack of any rapid-transit in Cobb County and the stadium site being located next to one of the city's most congested interchanges _ a swath of interstates that are as wide as seven lanes _ the Braves insisted the new stadium could actually provide easier access because of a planned "circulator" bus system."

"At the end of the day, there was simply no way the team was going to stay in downtown Atlanta without city taxpayers spending hundreds of millions of dollars," Reed said in the statement.

P.S. Cobb County is the place that gave the U.S. Newt Gingrich and all that came with him....but especially raising taxes.

Just how does a county of only 700,000 pay for a stadium that will cost close to $3 billion without raising taxes, or using taxes that were meant for something else?

Edited November 12, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

Rumors are that the Evil Empire, Yankees, and Rangers are interested in Carlos Beltran....and he wants 3-4 years. I don't get the first...especially with Ortiz still on the team.

3-4 years ($40 - 50 million you have to figure) for someone that will be 37 in April....someone the Yankees twice could have signed and turned down....in 2011 it was because of his knees. He's had two much better than expected seasons...but, they need to get younger/healthier.

On the Masahiro Tanaka front. The posting fee doesn't count against the luxury tax....but he's seems to have had some serious mileage on that arm in terms pitches. Just in the the Championship series he had 160 pitches in one game (and lost for the first time in the season) and they brought him in the very next game/day to save/ win the Championship. He only had to pitch 15 games, but that's insane after 160.

He once pitched 742 in just 6 games which is now the record in high school. He broke Daisuke Matsuzaka's record. That alone would worry me. Posting fee and contract was over $111 million for him....and he was only a year older than Tanaka would be next year. Can't find anything on just how many pitchers per game....

You have to figure whomever wins the bid is going to poke, prod, and hook every part of his pitching arm to whatever machine before signing him.

P.S. Speaking of Atlanta.....The Dodgers signed Roy Clark away from the Nationals. Stan Kasten is with the Dodgers. Just saying....

Edited November 12, 2013 by Blue Train

[Soulstation1]

Tito = AL Manager of the year

[jeffcrom]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

Well, the Braves' management says this:

Turner Field has served the Braves well since 1997, but it is in need of major infrastructure work, which will cost around $150 million. These upgrades are functional ones, such as replacing worn-out seats or upgrading the stadium's lighting, and they would do little to significantly enhance the fan experience. If the Braves were to pay for additional projects focused on improving the fan experience, the additional costs could exceed $200 million.

I don't really know what they're talking about. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what upgrades Turner Field needs, but I think most visitors would be surprised to hear that the Braves think it needs that much work. On my last visit, a couple of months ago, the only negative I noticed was that the lighting in the corridors seemed a little dim, but that certainly wasn't a major issue for me. My impression was that the seats were just fine, that the sightlines were excellent (not a bad seat in the house), that the field was beautiful and well-lit, that the concession choices were widely varied, from cheap hotdogs and nachos to gourmet sandwiches and steaks and PBR to craft beers, that there were lots of activities and entertainment for fans before the game (and during it, if the kids got bored), and that the organ was played by an excellent jazzman, Matt Kaminski. (Okay, he didn't play jazz at this gig, but his sarcastic song choices to introduce the opposing players were pretty funny.)

Maybe Turner Field does need 150-200 million dollars of work after 16 years of operation. That seems excessive to me, but maybe it does. The projections for the new facility are around $672 million. (That's the stadium and surrounding infrastructure.) The Braves won't be paying all of that, of course, but they will certainly be spending more than they would if they stayed put. I guess they are pretty sure they'll recoup their investment, but "throwing away" a perfectly good, relatively new baseball stadium seems insane to me.

[Tim McG]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

Well, the Braves' management says this:

Turner Field has served the Braves well since 1997, but it is in need of major infrastructure work, which will cost around $150 million. These upgrades are functional ones, such as replacing worn-out seats or upgrading the stadium's lighting, and they would do little to significantly enhance the fan experience. If the Braves were to pay for additional projects focused on improving the fan experience, the additional costs could exceed $200 million.

I don't really know what they're talking about. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what upgrades Turner Field needs, but I think most visitors would be surprised to hear that the Braves think it needs that much work. On my last visit, a couple of months ago, the only negative I noticed was that the lighting in the corridors seemed a little dim, but that certainly wasn't a major issue for me. My impression was that the seats were just fine, that the sightlines were excellent (not a bad seat in the house), that the field was beautiful and well-lit, that the concession choices were widely varied, from cheap hotdogs and nachos to gourmet sandwiches and steaks and PBR to craft beers, that there were lots of activities and entertainment for fans before the game (and during it, if the kids got bored), and that the organ was played by an excellent jazzman, Matt Kaminski. (Okay, he didn't play jazz at this gig, but his sarcastic song choices to introduce the opposing players were pretty funny.)

Maybe Turner Field does need 150-200 million dollars of work after 16 years of operation. That seems excessive to me, but maybe it does. The projections for the new facility are around $672 million. (That's the stadium and surrounding infrastructure.) The Braves won't be paying all of that, of course, but they will certainly be spending more than they would if they stayed put. I guess they are pretty sure they'll recoup their investment, but "throwing away" a perfectly good, relatively new baseball stadium seems insane to me.

Fair enough.

I was just relating to what an acquaintance told me who is from the Atlanta area.

It does seem insane. I had forgotten about Fulton Stadium and how bad it was when they built this stadium. Didn't realize it has only been since 1997.

Thanks for the local take on things, Jeff.

[Blue Train]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

Well, the Braves' management says this:

Turner Field has served the Braves well since 1997, but it is in need of major infrastructure work, which will cost around $150 million. These upgrades are functional ones, such as replacing worn-out seats or upgrading the stadium's lighting, and they would do little to significantly enhance the fan experience. If the Braves were to pay for additional projects focused on improving the fan experience, the additional costs could exceed $200 million.

I don't really know what they're talking about. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what upgrades Turner Field needs, but I think most visitors would be surprised to hear that the Braves think it needs that much work. On my last visit, a couple of months ago, the only negative I noticed was that the lighting in the corridors seemed a little dim, but that certainly wasn't a major issue for me. My impression was that the seats were just fine, that the sightlines were excellent (not a bad seat in the house), that the field was beautiful and well-lit, that the concession choices were widely varied, from cheap hotdogs and nachos to gourmet sandwiches and steaks and PBR to craft beers, that there were lots of activities and entertainment for fans before the game (and during it, if the kids got bored), and that the organ was played by an excellent jazzman, Matt Kaminski. (Okay, he didn't play jazz at this gig, but his sarcastic song choices to introduce the opposing players were pretty funny.)

Maybe Turner Field does need 150-200 million dollars of work after 16 years of operation. That seems excessive to me, but maybe it does. The projections for the new facility are around $672 million. (That's the stadium and surrounding infrastructure.) The Braves won't be paying all of that, of course, but they will certainly be spending more than they would if they stayed put. I guess they are pretty sure they'll recoup their investment, but "throwing away" a perfectly good, relatively new baseball stadium seems insane to me.

And once again the numbers they publicly say are not really what ends up being paid with 30-years of interest. Beside Turner Field being surrounded by "the wrong type of people"....the real thing this is all about is all the latest bells and whistles that come with a new stadium....and all the ways the team (not the taxpayers) can make more money from them.

I don't think we will see many teams staying in any stadium longer than 20-years before wanting a new one anymore.

If cities had any sense they would do what San Francisco/NY/Atlanta now did with the Giants/Jets/Niners/Braves, etc. Let another city/county/state taxpayers be robbed while they still keep their city/state name. The money saved might go to do some actual good for taxpayers of the city/state.

Cities really should stop subsidizing everyone of them...they're all White Elephants to taxpayers.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

Now onto the funny stuff. Really hilarious how upset those in Boston are about Francona winning MOY. I do not think Farrell was even top 3. Melvin should have been second.

P.S. Clint Hurdle was a given. I don't think anyone really expected the Pirates to be relevant again.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

Both Max Scherzer & Clayton Kershaw easily and deservedly won the Cy Young. 2nd for Kershaw. The Dodgers allegedly already offered a $300 million deal earlier in the season. If that is true and he didn't accept it right then and there?...what's it going to cost now?


Detroit is allegedly interested in trading Scherzer. He would be the 13th Cy Young winner to ever be traded. It's going to have to a really deep pocket team considering his contract.

Evil Empire has offered Saltalamacchia 2-years for $20 million to return.

Brian Wilson will not be joining the Yankees.. The Hillbilly/Jeb Stuart look doesn't work. They're apparently interested in trading for David Freese. Just had his worst year, but he would be cheaper than a free agent.....and even if Mr April comes back (hopefully not!) he's probably playing DH most of the time.

Mets are interested in Jhonny Peralta. As well as Curtis Granderson , Shin-Soo Choo, and Stephen Drew. Wilpon's must be past the Madoff Clusterfuck.

P.S. With HR bonuses Mr. April's hideous $275 million (even if they won in 2009...they were bidding against themselves!...and I still say it was Kate Hudson*. He hasn't been the same since....even with all the new shit he "allegedly" took.) comes to $305.

* I may, or may not be serious about that.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Blue Train

[PHILLYQ]

Maybe this is venturing into the political, but I don't care - it speaks to what's really going on with the Braves' move. Delete if you will.

Here's a quote from Cobb County GOP Chairman Joe Dendy on the transportation issues:

“It is absolutely necessary the solution is all about moving cars in and around Cobb and surrounding counties from our north and east where most Braves fans travel from, and not moving people into Cobb by rail from Atlanta.

For anyone familiar with Atlanta demographics, this is pretty blatant.

I get your point, but isn't Turner field pretty beat down?

That's what I have heard.

Well, the Braves' management says this:

Turner Field has served the Braves well since 1997, but it is in need of major infrastructure work, which will cost around $150 million. These upgrades are functional ones, such as replacing worn-out seats or upgrading the stadium's lighting, and they would do little to significantly enhance the fan experience. If the Braves were to pay for additional projects focused on improving the fan experience, the additional costs could exceed $200 million.

I don't really know what they're talking about. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what upgrades Turner Field needs, but I think most visitors would be surprised to hear that the Braves think it needs that much work. On my last visit, a couple of months ago, the only negative I noticed was that the lighting in the corridors seemed a little dim, but that certainly wasn't a major issue for me. My impression was that the seats were just fine, that the sightlines were excellent (not a bad seat in the house), that the field was beautiful and well-lit, that the concession choices were widely varied, from cheap hotdogs and nachos to gourmet sandwiches and steaks and PBR to craft beers, that there were lots of activities and entertainment for fans before the game (and during it, if the kids got bored), and that the organ was played by an excellent jazzman, Matt Kaminski. (Okay, he didn't play jazz at this gig, but his sarcastic song choices to introduce the opposing players were pretty funny.)

Maybe Turner Field does need 150-200 million dollars of work after 16 years of operation. That seems excessive to me, but maybe it does. The projections for the new facility are around $672 million. (That's the stadium and surrounding infrastructure.) The Braves won't be paying all of that, of course, but they will certainly be spending more than they would if they stayed put. I guess they are pretty sure they'll recoup their investment, but "throwing away" a perfectly good, relatively new baseball stadium seems insane to me.

And once again the numbers they publicly say are not really what ends up being paid with 30-years of interest. Beside Turner Field being surrounded by "the wrong type of people"....the real thing this is all about is all the latest bells and whistles that come with a new stadium....and all the ways the team (not the taxpayers) can make more money from them.

I don't think we will see many teams staying in any stadium longer than 20-years before wanting a new one anymore.

If cities had any sense they would do what San Francisco/NY/Atlanta now did with the Giants/Jets/Niners/Braves, etc. Let another city/county/state taxpayers be robbed while they still keep their city/state name. The money saved might go to do some actual good for taxpayers of the city/state.

Cities really should stop subsidizing everyone of them...they're all White Elephants to taxpayers.

I saw something recently that the Atlanta baseball team has a horrible TV contract with a lot of years left on it. A new stadium would provide a nice revenue boost for them.

I think every stadium deal I've seen in the last 20+ years involves hosing taxpayers, poor people(who gets hit when budgets are cut to pay for debt service on stadium bonds?), etc., all to line the pockets of the teams. Don't believe a word when a team trumpets them paying for a stadium- did they also pay for the infrastructure improvements to make it possible- NOT! In NYC, Nanny Bloomberg gave away about a billion bucks to the Yanks and Mets for new stadia, and was prepared to go more for the Jets on the west side of Manhattan.

[jeffcrom]

I saw something recently that the Atlanta baseball team has a horrible TV contract with a lot of years left on it. A new stadium would provide a nice revenue boost for them.

You're right - several commentators in Atlanta have pointed this out as a factor in the move.

[Tim McG]

When they built ATT it was done with corporate money. Only the land was given to the project [which was just a collection of abandoned buildings in China Basin as I recall] so the taxpayer came out OK.

The bad news is the ticket prices are absurdly high now. Even the nose bleeds cost $40-50+ bucks.

Either way they do it, the fans take it in the shorts.

Edited November 14, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[Blue Train]

Either way they do it, the fans take it in the shorts.

No, with a privately funded stadium only the fans are affected. A public bamboozle screws them and those that don't even like sports and will never watch a game....even on tv.

Having saying that....San Francisco did it the right way. Either have it privately funded, or let another cities' taxpayers be robbed.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

I saw something recently that the Atlanta baseball team has a horrible TV contract with a lot of years left on it. A new stadium would provide a nice revenue boost for them.

You're right - several commentators in Atlanta have pointed this out as a factor in the move.

Like I said, Turner Field doesn't have the latest bells and whistles that come with a new stadium....just on naming rights alone they will get half of whatever is agreed too....with the country the other half. You have to figure that's @ least an extra $100 million+.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

NOT! In NYC, Nanny Bloomberg gave away about a billion bucks to the Yanks and Mets for new stadia, and was prepared to go more for the Jets on the west side of Manhattan.

Even though the Yankees paid half the price....the whole thing was a fiasco,...because of the prices....especially the best seats....I think you can count on one hand the new stadium being sold out during the regular season.....but the parking

http://www.streetsblog.org/category/special-reports/yankee-stadium-parking-scandal/

Edited November 14, 2013 by Blue Train

[Blue Train]

The go to site on Stadium boondoggles. The breakdown of the Braves/Cobb County deal and why the taxpayers won't be able to vote about it.

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2013/11/14/6228/what-cobb-countys-braves-stadium-finance-plan-does-and-doesnt-tell-us/

And earlier post on how workable the site proposed would be.

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2013/11/12/6186/braves-stadium-mysteries-who-would-pay-for-it-and-is-the-site-workable/

Edited November 14, 2013 by Blue Train

[BERIGAN]

The braves(How long ago were they "America's Team"?) have a terrible, terrible tv contract....IF I had been buying the team and found out about that recently signed tv deal, I would have said the offer would be $200,000,000 less...don't know why someone hasn't looked into that deal, clearly someone at Time/Warner was paid off....a bit more about the deal....

The Braves deal, negotiated as the team was being sold by Time Warner to Liberty Media in 2007, is believed to be worth less than $20 million annually to the team. Some have said that figure is closer to $10 million annually, which would place it at the bottom of the major league scale.

The Dodgers are still in negotiations with Fox on a record-setting local TV deal that reportedly will be worth at least $6 billion over 25 years, which works out to at least $240 million annually, completely dwarfing the Braves’ deal.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-ceo-says-tv-deal-isnt-crippling/nTyd4/

[Tim McG]

If the Dodgers make that TV deal that is bad news for anyone living in Central California.

FoxSports is already trying to monopolize the baseball viewing up here by encroaching on the NorCal Sports market; specifically, the Giants. More money means more clout with which to do that.

Edited November 15, 2013 by GoodSpeak

[Blue Train]

The braves(How long ago were they "America's Team"?) have a terrible, terrible tv contract....IF I had been buying the team and found out about that recently signed tv deal, I would have said the offer would be $200,000,000 less...don't know why someone hasn't looked into that deal, clearly someone at Time/Warner was paid off....a bit more about the deal....

The Braves deal, negotiated as the team was being sold by Time Warner to Liberty Media in 2007, is believed to be worth less than $20 million annually to the team. Some have said that figure is closer to $10 million annually, which would place it at the bottom of the major league scale.

The Dodgers are still in negotiations with Fox on a record-setting local TV deal that reportedly will be worth at least $6 billion over 25 years, which works out to at least $240 million annually, completely dwarfing the Braves’ deal.

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-ceo-says-tv-deal-isnt-crippling/nTyd4/

It's not Fox, it's Time Warner (Fox is who their current TV contract is with, which ended this year) and they already agreed to a $8.5 billion dollar deal @ the beginning of the year. $1 billion+ of it goes to the other owners as part of the revenue sharing. They only thing that has held it up from becoming formal was the other owners wanted a bigger cut of the pie.

And that's going to be on top of Guggenheim money. Beside the drunken sailor bit of overpaying for the team and the bit with the Red Sox....they already spent $100 million (privately funded) into renovations of the stadium....and they're planning even more renovations.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Blue Train

[jeffcrom]

An interesting online opinion piece, which in many way reflects the still shocked feelings of many Atlantans I know. If you don't want to read the whole thing, here are two quotes I like:

So the idea of an Atlanta sports team playing in a suburb makes me sick. Because I have no love for the suburbs. I care about cities, because that's where people are forced to intermingle. I care about cities, because that's where the culture is. And I care about my city above all, because it's mine.

and

Amid a day full of angry and bewildered phone calls, texts, and emails from a collection of friends, I was reminded that, throughout all of this, my perspective on this stadium move stems from the fact that I live in a bubble. A bubble where one's city means something. A bubble where sprawl is the devil. A bubble where part of one's life's work is to help a city reverse its misfortune. A bubble where moving back is a requirement. A bubble where your parents can tell you about the night Hank hit no. 715. A bubble where no one around you is happy about this move. A bubble where you're preparing for a third Braves stadium in your short lifetime. And a bubble that will continue to grow smaller with each passing year that Atlanta becomes less a city and more like a more amorphous mess.

I'm older than the writer; I remember Hank's 715th myself. WSB radio "the voice of the South," played a silly novelty song called "Seven One Five" in the weeks leading up to Aaron's milestone. It was supposedly by "Big Daddy Beavers," who I realized later was announcer and program director Elmo Ellis.

When the Braves moved to Atlanta, I was eight. Hank Aaron was my hero. I wanted an Aaron jersey, but there was no way I was going to get one. So I made my own, with a white T-shirt and a black magic marker. It had the Brave's script, the tomahawk, and Aaron's number, 44. I once wore it to church, under my white dress shirt. As we were walking in, my mother noticed that you could see my homemade tribute to Aaron through my shirt; she was not happy with me.

The feeling of "losing" the Braves has made me nostalgic. I was there at Atlanta/Fulton County Stadium the night Otis Nixon made "the catch." It was as unbelievable in person as it is on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSHzGtPx8zo

[jeffcrom]

And every Atlantan who is old enough remembers the moment in 1992 "when Sid slid." Francisco Cabrera hit a ninth-inning line drive that drove in two runs and sent the Braves to the World Series. The second of those two runs depended on the notoriously slow Sid Bream beating the throw from left field. If the throw had been better, he wouldn't have. My first wife, the guy who was renting a room from us, and I were watching the game on television; we went as nuts as the folks at the ball park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C54Rj-evUAQ