By Troy E. Renck
Denver Post Staff Writer
Atlanta – The Atlanta Braves dominance was adequately explained at precisely 8:23 p.m. MDT on Tuesday night.
At that moment, the P.A. announcer told the rowdy crowd of 25,306 the Philadelphia Phillies had lost, meaning the Braves had clinched their 14th consecutive division title.
Winning isn’t a tradition, it’s ho-hum. Trying to remember the Braves before their streak is like imagining Penn State before JoPa. It’s hard to believe, but there are Georgia kids in junior high who never have seen the Braves miss the postseason.
The run began in 1991 with Charlie Leibrandt and Terry Pendleton. It continued Tuesday in a 12-3 flogging with Tim Hudson and Andruw Jones.
“It is amazing when you think about it. Every year we are in the playoffs,” said Jones, who joined the Braves during the 1996 postseason as a 19-year-old kid. “So many teams hope for that but show up in spring training and know they aren’t going to be competitive. The faces keep changing here, but nothing else.”
