by Ira Silverman

Baseball fans, especially Atlanta Braves fans, may remember the tension in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during game 7 of the 1991 National League championship.  On that October night, it look like the Pittsburgh Pirates would best the home team and police stood ready to quell a riot.

Mounted police moved into position near the Braves bullpen. When reliever Marvin Freeman realized what was going on, he shouted. “Get those horses out of here. We’re gonna make a comeback.”

The police and the horses backed off and the Braves went on to best the Pirates. With the bases loaded and Atlanta down 2-1, Francisco Cabrera hit a two-run single that scored David Justice and Sid Bream. 

When the Braves Ruled the Diamond: Fourteen Flags Over Atlanta, the new baseball book by Dan Schlossberg, takes an inside look at the Braves’ great run from 1991 to 2005.  And rule they did, winning 14 consecutive NL Division titles in as many years.

Bobby Cox, the Braves’ manager during that great run, wrote the forward to the book that coincides with the 25th anniversary celebration of the Braves win over Pittsburgh.

Former Braves opened up to Schlossberg and shared their memories. So you’ll hear from Hall of Fame pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, GM John Schuerholz, pitching coach Leo Mazzone and dozens of other players, coaches and front office personnel.

Author Dan Schlossberg, a former AP sportswriter, has written or co-authored 36 baseball books and roughly 25,000 articles. So the guy knows from baseball.

You can find When the Braves Ruled the Diamond: Fourteen Flags Over Atlanta, on Amazon, and at Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Enjoy.