On This Date in Sports July 20, 1993: Catching Fire
The Atlanta Braves acquired Fred McGriff, hoping he would spark a comeback as they trailed the San Francisco Giants by nine games in the National League West. Just before his first game in Atlanta, a fire breaks out in the press area at Fulton County Stadium, delaying the start two hours. The Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 as McGriff hits a key two-run homer.
Coming off two straight trips to the World Series, the Atlanta Braves were expected to be even stronger in 1993, with the addition of Greg Maddux to the best pitching staff in baseball. However, the Braves were outclassed in the first half of the season by the San Francisco Giants, who, with the addition of Barry Bonds, became the best team in baseball in the first half of the season. Despite holding a solid record of 50-39, the Braves trailed the Giants by nine games as the second half began. With the trade deadline approaching, the Braves, looking to add some punch to their lineup, acquired Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres for a trio of minor league prospects Vince Moore, Donnie Elliott, and Melvin Nieves.
On Tuesday, Fred McGriff arrived in Atlanta; the Braves held a record of 53-41 and were still nine games in back of the Giants in the final season before realignment and the creation of the Wild Card. The extra press was on hand for the introduction of McGriff in his new Braves uniform. While the Braves were taking batting practice in the press box area, a Sterno flame was accidentally knocked over, creating a raging fire. Fans entering Fulton County Stadium were quickly evacuated as crews worked to douse the fire.
Despite the extensive damage, the game was played as scheduled after a two-hour delay. Manager Bobby Cox sent Tom Glavine out to start for the Braves, while Rene Arocha made the start for the St. Louis Cardinals, led by Joe Torre. The Cardinals broke through in the fourth, with three runs after the first three innings were scoreless, getting RBI singles from Mark Witten and Brian Jordan, while Tom Pagnozzi added a double. Todd Zeile knocked Glavine out of the game with an RBI single in the fifth, while Steve Bedrosian allowed a fifth run to score on Wild Pitch.
Down 5-0 in the sixth inning, the Braves began their comeback charge with a three-run home run by Jeff Blauser after back-to-back singles from Bill Pecota and Deion Sanders. Ron Gant kept the pressure on St. Louis with a single that brought Fred McGriff to the plate as the tying run. McGriff, doing what the Braves acquired him to do, launched a game-tying home run to send the crowd at the smoldering stadium into a frenzy. The score remained tied until the eighth inning when David Justice led off with a single and advanced to second on an error by Whitten in right. Terry Pendleton looking to sacrifice Justice to third, reached first as Justice scored on a throwing error by Cardinals reliever Rheal Cormier to give Atlanta a 6-5 lead. The Braves would add two more runs on an RBI single by Sanders to make it 8-5. A lead that would stand up as Mike Stanton retired the Cardinals in order in the ninth.
The Braves improved to 54-41 with the win but still trailed by nine games as the San Francisco Giants kept pace by beating the Montreal Expos 8-3. However, the acquisition of Fred McGriff was just the spark the Braves needed as they caught fire, posting a 51-19 record over their final 70 games. In 68 games with Atlanta, McGriff hit .310 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI. The Braves needed every one of those wins, as they edged the Giants by one game in the Western Division with a record of 104-58. The Giants, who went home despite a record of 103-59, would be the last team to miss the playoffs despite 100 wins, as realignment arrived the following season with a Wild Card adding a new round of playoffs.