Atlanta Braves: 5 Stages of Grief with The Rebuild
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Braves are the worst team in baseball, without question. How does a team go from a 96-win team in 2013 to a team that won’t win 69 games in 2015?
In the words of former NFL HC Dennis Green, “They are who we thought they were!” This 2015 Atlanta Braves team is the worst team I’ve seen in my entire lifetime following my hometown team. Yes, I was beyond blessed to grow up during the Atlanta Braves’ heyday in the 1990’s. While I love all of our city’s professional teams and my alma mater, the University of Georgia, I will proudly say that the Atlanta Braves were my first love.
-= Related: Atlanta Braves Swept by the Nats, Lose 12th Straight =-
What we had the privilege to watch for 15 seasons, complete National League dominance, may never happen again in the game of baseball. Not even the New York Yankees or the St. Louis Cardinals could string together 14 straight division titles in their peak years. Braves Country had the distinct pleasure of watching the greatest starting rotation ever assembled play in 10 straight National League Championship Series, appear in 5 of 9 World Series in the 1990’s, and win Atlanta its only professional championship to date: the 1995 World Series.
More from ATL All Day
- Atlanta Braves: Felix Has Already Shown Enough to Win a Rotation Spot
- Atlanta Braves Implode Late To Phillies, Cole Hamels Remains Sidelined
- Kyle Wright Shines As Folty Struggles In Atlanta Braves Loss To Red Sox
- Atlanta Hawks Sweep Back-to-Back Games Over Weekend
- Atlanta Braves: Grapefruit League Play Check Up
What we’ve seen the last two months out of the Atlanta Braves has been the nadir of the organization in the last quarter of a century. From expecting to play in the Fall Classic every season as a child to wondering if the team will win a game before next weekend, we’ve seen the longest bottoming out of a proud franchise that I can recall.
I know we’ve been spoiled over the last two and a half decades with great baseball, but did we actually expect our Atlanta Braves to sink to the point of having no choice but to completely rebuild the team. This wasn’t part of the Braves Way, I thought? Well, how did we get here?
Next: Stage 1: Denial