GM: John Schuerholz
1997: made playoffs · 101–61. Ranks are vs the 28 teams that season.
Each position lists its starter then backups by games (so platoons & bench show). Starters (mound) & bullpen (left, foul territory) are ranked by WAR; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Maddux | 31 | FA-elig | 33 | 7.9 | 6.8 | +1.3 |
| John Smoltz | 30 | FA-elig | 36 | 7.5 | 7.0 | +0.7 |
| Denny Neagle | 28 | FA-elig | 34 | 5.4 | 3.6 | +1.9 |
| Jeff Blauser | 31 | FA-elig | 151 | 5.2 | 4.0 | +1.3 |
| Kenny Lofton | 30 | FA-elig | 122 | 5.2 | 4.8 | +0.5 |
| Tom Glavine | 31 | FA-elig | 33 | 4.2 | 5.0 | -0.7 |
| Javy Lopez | 26 | arb | 123 | 3.7 | 2.0 | +1.7 |
| Chipper Jones Jr. | 25 | arb | 157 | 3.7 | 1.5 | +2.2 |
| Andruw Jones | 20 | pre-arb | 153 | 3.7 | 0.2 | +3.6 |
| Michael Tucker | 26 | pre-arb | 138 | 3.0 | 0.2 | +2.8 |
| Mark Wohlers | 27 | FA-elig | 71 | 1.8 | 3.0 | -1.1 |
| Tony Graffanino | 25 | pre-arb | 104 | 1.5 | 0.2 | +1.3 |
| Ryan Klesko | 26 | arb | 143 | 1.4 | 2.5 | -1.0 |
| Fred McGriff | 33 | FA-elig | 152 | 1.4 | 5.5 | -4.1 |
| Mark Lemke | 31 | FA-elig | 109 | 1.2 | 2.0 | -0.7 |
| Kevin Millwood | 22 | – | 12 | 1.2 | – | – |
| Alan Embree | 27 | arb | 66 | 0.9 | 0.2 | +0.7 |
| Keith Lockhart | 32 | arb | 96 | 0.9 | 0.3 | +0.6 |
| Brad Clontz | 26 | pre-arb | 51 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Danny Bautista | 25 | arb | 64 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Terrell Wade | 24 | pre-arb | 12 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +0.3 |
| Mike Cather | 26 | pre-arb | 35 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +0.3 |
| Greg Colbrunn↔ MIN | 27 | arb | 28 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.0 |
| Mike Bielecki | 37 | FA-elig | 50 | 0.2 | 0.7 | -0.5 |
| Tim Spehr↔ KCR | 30 | FA-elig | 8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Chris Brock | 27 | – | 7 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Ed Giovanola | 28 | – | 14 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Randall Simon | 22 | – | 13 | 0.0 | – | – |
| John LeRoy | 22 | – | 1 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Tommy Gregg | 33 | – | 13 | -0.0 | – | – |
| Rafael Belliard | 35 | FA-elig | 72 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Kerry Ligtenberg | 26 | – | 15 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Chad Fox | 26 | pre-arb | 30 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Greg Myers↔ MIN | 31 | FA-elig | 9 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Paul Byrd | 26 | pre-arb | 31 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Joe Borowski↔ NYY | 26 | pre-arb | 20 | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.5 |
| Eddie Pérez | 29 | pre-arb | 73 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.6 |
| Mike Mordecai | 29 | arb | 61 | -0.8 | 0.2 | -1.0 |
| Player | fWAR |
|---|---|
| Kenny Lofton | 5.2 |
| Michael Tucker | 3.0 |
| Kevin Millwood | 1.2 |
| Alan Embree | 0.9 |
| Keith Lockhart | 0.9 |
| Mike Cather | 0.4 |
| Player | 1996 fWAR |
|---|---|
| Marquis Grissom | 4.6 |
| Steve Avery | 2.9 |
| David Justice | 2.4 |
| Greg McMichael | 1.7 |
| Pedro Borbon Jr. | 0.9 |
| Jerome Walton | 0.6 |
What the front office was committed to as of 1997, 1997–2003. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.
| Player | Age | Svc | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Smoltz | 30 | 9.000 | $7.0M | $7.8M | $7.8M | FREE AGENT | $8.0M | $7.7M | $10.7M |
| Greg Maddux | 31 | 11.000 | $6.8M | $9.6M | $10.6M | $11.1M | $12.5M | $13.1M | $14.8M |
| Fred McGriff | 33 | 11.000 | $5.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Tom Glavine | 31 | 10.000 | $5.0M | $7.0M | $7.0M | $9.5M | $9.5M | $8.6M | FREE AGENT |
| Kenny Lofton | 30 | 6.000 | $4.8M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Jeff Blauser | 31 | 10.000 | $4.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Denny Neagle | 28 | 6.000 | $3.6M | $4.5M | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Mark Wohlers | 27 | 6.000 | $3.0M | $4.1M | $5.2M | FREE AGENT | |||
| Mark Lemke | 31 | 9.000 | $2.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Mike Bielecki | 37 | 13.000 | $708k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Rafael Belliard | 35 | 15.000 | $250k | $250k | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Tim Spehr | 30 | 6.000 | $83k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Greg Myers | 31 | 10.000 | $73k | FREE AGENT | $506k | ||||
| Tommy Gregg | 33 | 10.000 | — | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Klesko | 26 | 5.000 | $2.5M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Javy Lopez | 26 | 5.000 | $2.0M | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Chipper Jones Jr. | 25 | 4.000 | $1.5M | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Keith Lockhart | 32 | 3.000 | $290k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |||
| Greg Colbrunn | 27 | 5.000 | $214k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Alan Embree | 27 | 5.000 | $206k | FREE AGENT | |||||
| Danny Bautista | 25 | 4.000 | $200k | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||||
| Mike Mordecai | 29 | 3.000 | $200k | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Player | Age | Svc | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Tucker | 26 | 2.000 | $250k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Brad Clontz | 26 | 2.000 | $245k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Terrell Wade | 24 | 2.000 | $180k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Paul Byrd | 26 | 2.000 | $175k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Eddie Pérez | 29 | 2.000 | $172k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Tony Graffanino | 25 | 1.000 | $152k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Andruw Jones | 20 | 1.000 | $152k | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | |
| Joe Borowski | 26 | 2.000 | $150k | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| Chad Fox | 26 | 0.000 | $150k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Mike Cather | 26 | 0.000 | $150k | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Chris Brock | 27 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Ed Giovanola | 28 | 2.000 | — | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT | ||
| John LeRoy | 22 | – | — | ||||||
| Kerry Ligtenberg | 26 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Kevin Millwood | 22 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
| Randall Simon | 22 | 0.000 | — | Pre-Arb | Pre-Arb | ARB 1 | ARB 2 | ARB 3 | FREE AGENT |
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Braves 1997; the black line = the league-average player at each slot that season. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge; dropping below it = holes & dead weight.
| Regime | Seasons | Win % | Playoff % | Pennant % | WS % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WINDOW | 289 | 52.2 | 30.1 | 4.8 | 1.0 |
| CONTEND | 311 | 56.8 | 63.0 | 19.3 | 10.3 |
| FORCED-SPEND | 260 | 47.9 | 8.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| REBUILD | 328 | 43.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Not enough history to chart.
'; return; } const f=+document.getElementById('yfrom').value, t=+document.getElementById('yto').value, w=+document.getElementById('win').value; document.getElementById('yflab').textContent=f; document.getElementById('ytlab').textContent=t; document.getElementById('winlab').textContent = w===1?'raw':(w+'-yr'); const dark=document.documentElement.getAttribute('data-theme')==='dark'; const ink=dark?'#cdd4dc':'#1d2630', grid=dark?'#2c313a':'#d6dbe2', refc=dark?'#5a636d':'#9aa3ad', dirc=dark?'#ffffff':'#1d2630'; const col=contrastColor(TEAMCOL,dark); function sm(a,w){const h=(w-1)/2,o=[];for(let i=0;iPick a wider year range.
'; return; } const s=sm(raw,w),n=s.length,X=s.map(d=>Math.round(d[1]*100)/100),Y=s.map(d=>Math.round(d[2]*10)/10),yr=s.map(d=>d[0]); let xa=Math.min(1,...X),xb=Math.max(1,...X),ya=Math.min(0,...Y),yb=Math.max(0,...Y); const px=(xb-xa)*.12+.04,py=(yb-ya)*.12+1.5;xa-=px;xb+=px;ya-=py;yb+=py; const k=Math.max(0,n-3), ann=[]; [['WINDOW','#15b6a0',xa<1&&yb>0,xa,yb,'left','top'],['CONTEND','#2f7ed8',xb>1&&yb>0,xb,yb,'right','top'], ['FORCED-SPEND','#ec5a3c',xb>1&&ya<0,xb,ya,'right','bottom'],['REBUILD','#f0a91c',xa<1&&ya<0,xa,ya,'left','bottom']].forEach(q=>{ if(q[2]) ann.push({x:q[3],y:q[4],xref:'x',yref:'y',text:q[0],showarrow:false,xanchor:q[5],yanchor:q[6],font:{size:10,color:q[1]},opacity:.85});}); ann.push({x:X[n-1],y:Y[n-1],ax:X[n-1]-0.5*(X[n-1]-X[k]),ay:Y[n-1]-0.5*(Y[n-1]-Y[k]),xref:'x',yref:'y',axref:'x',ayref:'y',showarrow:true,arrowhead:2,arrowsize:1.3,arrowwidth:1.7,arrowcolor:dirc,text:''}); Plotly.newPlot('orbit',[{x:X,y:Y,mode:'lines+markers',line:{color:col,width:2.6,shape:'spline',smoothing:0.7}, marker:{color:col,size:s.map((d,i)=>5+7*(i/Math.max(1,n-1))),line:{color:dark?'#1b1e23':'#fff',width:0.6}}, text:yr,hovertemplate:'%{text}