3. Sid Bream, the slowest and weirdest looking man on earth, scores on Francisco Cabrera’s single, sending the Braves past the hated Pirates and into the 1992 Series. I got Francisco’s autograph in spring training the following year and assumed that in a few more years, it’d be worth millions. Unfortunately for me and for him, Francisco faded into obscurity and also ruined what, otherwise, was a really nice hat.
2. Nolan Ryan’s 7th No-Hitter on May 9th, 1991. I remember watching it after having just flown back to the US from Germany where, as you’re probably aware, baseball is as weird to them as snuff films featuring Hitler impersonators are to us here. Nolan Ryan was, is, and will forever be my favorite baseball player…and I had the good sense, at age 9, to name my cat after him. Coolest cat ever.
1. Braves win the 2008 World Series, narrowly edging out the Mets for the division title. In the final game of the season, David Wright charges the mound against closer John Smoltz and Smoltz promptly puts Wright in a headlock and piledrives him into the mound, killing him. When asked about it, Smoltz responds “Well, Nolan Ryan did it and he was Christian’s favorite pitcher…so, since I’m number 2 on that list, I had to live up to the reputation.” Instead of getting suspended, Smoltz is given an award for bettering baseball and saving us from hearing how David Wright is the rich man’s Chipper Jones for years to come. The Braves go on to beat the Cardinals in the NLCS on a Brian McCann go-ahead homer in the 9th against Adam Wainwright, a large piece in the deal we traded away to get J.D. Frickin Drew, providing justice and closure for Braves fans everywhere. Finally, the Braves go on to defeat the Red Sox in the World Series in four games when that same J.D. Drew goes 0 for 81 with 81 strikeouts and when the final out is recorded, does the same thing he did for an entire year in Atlanta…shows no expression whatsoever, collects his paycheck, and goes on his merry little way.
Hey, no one said my favorite sports moment of all time couldn’t be in the future, did they?
And if you can’t tell, I’m intensely loyal to the Braves, I live in SF, my favorite sport is baseball, I’m a total bandwagon guy in every other sport (how bout them Lakers this year, huh?), and I hate my job and wish my permanent occupation was working exclusively for the Bizzo. Fortunately for you all and for me, when the Bizzo takes over ESPN in a few months, all our dreams will come true.
