None but the Braves: A Pitcher, a Team, a Champion Book

I've won the Cy Young Award, and I'm the winningest pitcher in the nineties. Nice. But these personal accomplishments meant little to me without a championship ring on my finger. Back when I started, winning a championship didn't look too realistic. Those were the dog days, the years when the Braves would have losing records and maybe five thousand fans showing up for a game. We were the joke of the National League. When we finally turned it around, we battled the likes of Pittsburgh and Toronto, getting so close to - but not quite - winning it all. People were calling us the Buffalo Bills of baseball. It was always a case of being second best, of being almost but not quite good enough, though in our hearts we always believed we were the best. We proved it, finally, in 1995. Not only that, but I was the World Series MVP. Who would have thought that would happen to a kid who grew up in Billerica, Massachusetts, loved playing hockey, and was drafted by the L.A. Kings? It was more than a tough road - it was nail-biting, suspenseful, depressing, frustrating, exciting, challenging, and exhilarating. What you hold in your hands is my story of how it all happened, from worst to first. I'll give you an inside look at one of the best pitching staffs in the history of the game of baseball. I feel privileged and lucky to be surrounded by guys like Greg Maddux, Steve Avery, John Smoltz, and Mark Wohlers. Then there are the guys who back us up - Fred McGriff, Javy Lopez, David Justice, Chipper Jones, Mark Lemke, Marquis Grissom, and Jeff Blauser. And Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone, who have been there, steady at the helm, helping the team through some crazy times.