Maddux was the Ace of the Braves in the 90's
Stan Kasten became the Dodgers' President and CEO on April 2012. The Dodgers has led the league in attendance and also has won 7 consecutive division titles (2013-2019) and two National League championships (2017 & 2018). Also, Kasten became president of the Braves in 1986. From 1987-2003, the Braves won more games than any other teams in MLB and won 14 consecutive division titles (1991-2005), five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series.
From Atlanta to Los Angeles, Kasten has not only built a winning team but also built a dynasty. Many people might say that these are not dynasties because they are not winning many championships. Nonetheless, if you look at win-loss records, the answer is obvious.
Team records
1987-2003
The Braves definitely ruled the 90’s. From 1987 to 2003 (Kasten stepped down in 2003), the Braves won the most games in the league, nearly 1500 games, and had a higher winning percentage than any other teams.
2013-2019
The Dodgers have won 7 straight NL west titles since 2013. The winning percentage is close to .600 from 2013 to 2019. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have two 100-win seasons in 2017 and 2019.
Kasten created long-term success in Atlanta and developed another winning franchise in LA. There are some key elements that we can learn.
1. Great Front Office
John Schuerholz had success with the Royals, winning the World Series champions in 1985. Then he became the Braves’ general manager in 1990. The 1995 Championships with the Braves made him the first general manager to lead teams to World Series titles in both the American League and National League. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Andrew Friedman joined the Dodgers as president of baseball operations in 2014. Under his leadership, the Dodgers have won 5 straight division titles and advanced to the World Series first time since 1988. Before leading the Dodgers’ front office, Friedman was the executive vice president of baseball operations of the Rays and led the team to 4 playoff appearances, including the first AL pennant (2008) in franchise history.
2. Great Coaching Staffs
We probably don’t have to mention the Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. People already know how great he is. But we shouldn’t forget two great pitching coaches, Leo Mazzone and Rick Honeycutt.
Leo Mazzone served as pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves from 1990-2005. Under his long tenure in Atlanta, the Braves led in ERA, WHIP and ERA+.
1990-2005 (Sorted by ERA)
Rick Honeycutt joined the Dodgers for the 2006 season and retired in 2019. Under Honeycutt’s tenure, the Dodgers ranked 1st in ERA, WHIP and ERA+.
2006-2019 (Sorted by ERA)
Performance of Braves’ pitchers showed that Mazzone is one of the best pitching staffs and great results of the Dodgers pitchers provided a good example of Honeycutt’s contribution to the team.
3. Outstanding pitchers
When it comes to the Braves’ rotation, everybody remembers “Big Three”. The Big Three was considered the best pitching-trio of all time and combined to win 6 Cy Young awards with the Braves. All three pitchers have had their numbers retired by the Braves and have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pitchers (Cy Young winners)
We might only see Kershaw on the list. However, from 2013-2015, Kershaw-Greinke was the best 1-2 combo in the league. They combined to win 104 games and threw more than 1300 strikeouts for the Dodgers in these 3 seasons.
Pitchers (Cy Young winners)
A Cy Young winner is considered to be the most dominant pitcher in the season. Besides these Cy Young winners, we can definitely list other great pitchers such as Denny Neagle and Kenley Jansen. Thus, we truly see that pitching staffs from the Braves dominated in the 90’s and Dodgers pitchers are the best in this generation.
It’s not easy to build a winning team. It’s hard to develop long-term successes for a franchise. It’s even harder to have these success stories with 2 different teams. However, Stan Kasten has shown us that from the top-down, a great front office, great coaching staffs and outstanding pitchers help you win and build a dynasty. The teams he led have won more than 2000 games and the story will continue.
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