Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound

Johnny Sain had finally found him. Leo Mazzone became his Chosen Disciple. More than 20 years later, Mazzone has become the Johnny Sain of his generation, the best pitching coach in the business. The numbers don't lie. During one stretch in the '90s, he had coached five out of the last six Cy Young Award winners from the National League. His staff routinely leads the majors in earned run average. Two of his aces, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, are headed to Cooperstown; a third, John Smoltz, also could make it. It seems impossible that it has been 12 years, over a decade, since the Miracle Season of 1991. It's easy to forget that the Braves were once the laughingstocks of baseball. They lost 106 games in 1988. Then 97 games in both 1989 and 1990. They had finished dead last in four of the last five seasons. The losing seemed destined to go on forever. Which is why 1991 was so stunning, so magical, so unforgettable. Worst to first. Who could have known it was the beginning of a decade-long reign as the most dominant team in the National League? Of course, the much-heralded pitching staff is the cornerstone of the Braves' dynasty: Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz. Leo contends that they are the greatest starting staff ever assembled, and it's difficult to argue with the proposition. There may have been better pitching staffs overall, but none who were so excellent for so long. In 2001, the three pitchers and Leo Mazzone gathered for a portrait to commemorate the extraordinary run of excellence. Appropriately enough, the photograph was taken in the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium dugout that now resides in the Braves Museum at Turner Field.Mazzone, Leo is the author of 'Leo Mazzone's Tales from the Braves Mound' with ISBN 9781582616742 and ISBN 1582616744.