[JohnE]

I started a historical league in 1983 and have been controlling my beloved Atlanta Braves to see if I can rewrite history and provide their fans (and Dale Murphy) with a much better decade. I finished in 2nd or 3rd place in 1983, but the pennant race came down to the last week of the season. Prior to the '84 season I traded away Milt Thompson and a couple of pitchers to the Red Sox for Roger Clemens (the Sox were desperate for a CF).

Clemens had a very good rookie year: 16-10 with a 2.67 ERA over 30 starts and 218K's in 225.2 innings (Dwight Gooden won the Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award with a 1.83 ERA for the Mets). The Braves' staff also consisted of Don Sutton (18-10 with a 3.16 ERA), Pascual Perez (15-7 with a 2.43 ERA), and Steve Trout (13-11 with a 3.66 ERA). Gene Garber had 45 saves and a 2.36 ERA.

Dale Murphy had a good, but not great season (.273, 28 HR, 93 RBI, 39 SB's). Brett Butler had another fine season (after NOT being traded away for Len Barker). Butler hit .277 and had 67 SB's. Bob Horner struggled to hit for average (.233, 24 HR, 76 RBI). The offense was really sparked by new first baseman Pete O'Brien (.277, 25 HR, 94 RBI).

The Braves ran away with the division after the All Star break and finished 96-66. The rival Dodgers finished 2nd at 93-69. In the NLCS the Braves beat the Cardinals 4 games to 1. In the World Series they were matched up against the Yankees, who finished 103-59 and went on to beat the Angels in the ALCS. The Braves fell behind in the World Series 3 games to 2 with the remaining 2 games at Yankee Stadium. The Braves won Game 6 to force a final game. Rookie sensation Roger Clemens took the hill for the Braves and faced Ron Guidry. The box score tells the story better than I can...