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 What Atlanta apathy? Unprecedented comeback wakes up Braves' fans
Posted: Tuesday October 13, 1998 09:13 PM
ATLANTA (AP) -- The fans of Atlanta are excited about the playoffs -- finally. With the Braves two victories away from an unprecedented comeback in the NL championship series, fans flocked to the Turner Field tickets windows Tuesday morning, intent on making up for the city's disappointing turnouts in the first two games. A few hours later, all but 500 of the 11,000 available tickets for Wednesday's Game 6 were gone, virtually ensuring the first Atlanta sellout of the NLCS. In fact, standing room tickets are likely to be sold the day of the game. "We had a great day," Paul Adams, the Braves ticket manager, said. "The people responded. I think they got excited not only about seeing some exciting baseball, but also by what they saw from the fans in San Diego." Two of the games at San Diego attracted more than 60,000, in stark contrast to the more than 8,000 empty seats for Games 1 and 2 at 50,000-seat Turner Field. "It's similar to what happened two years ago in the St. Louis series," Adams said, referring to the 1996 NLCS against the Cardinals. "We didn't sell out the first two games, but when we came back from a 3-1 deficit, the fans responded." The Braves rallied to win that series in seven games, but this would be a comeback of landmark proportions. No major-league team has ever won a best-of-7 series after losing the first three games. In fact, Atlanta is the first team even to force a sixth game. After a 7-6 victory in Game 5, several hundred people greeted the team when it arrived at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport about 5 a.m., and ticket buyers began huddling in morning chill outside Turner Field before the sun came up. "I got up just for this," John Hightower said. "I've got to get tickets." Still, most of those who bought tickets Wednesday took a wait-and-see attitude toward a possible seventh game. Adams said there were still 7,000 tickets remaining for Thursday's game, which will be played only if the Braves win Game 6. "I'm kind of surprised," he said. "They might as well have bought them for Game 7, but a lot of them didn't do that. I guess they didn't know the money will be refunded if the game isn't played." Tom Glavine, who took the loss in Game 2, is scheduled to pitch Wednesday with the Braves in another must-win situation. "They wanted to wrap it up [in San Diego] and we wanted to prolong things to get back to Atlanta and that is what we did," Glavine said. "But they are still one win away from clinching and we have to win both games." Unlike the Padres, who shook up their rotation by using Kevin Brown in relief Monday night, the Braves' rotation is right on track. Glavine will be pitching with five days' rest. "I feel great, well rested," he said. "I'm looking forward to it. For being down 0-3, I was just hoping to get another start. So I'm happy we were able to come back and still have a chance." Comebacks are nothing new to the Braves, who have gotten a first-hand look from both sides during their seven straight postseason appearances in the '90s. In the 1992 NLCS, the Braves trailed Pittsburgh 2-0 in the ninth inning of the finale, but Francisco Cabrera's two-out, two-run single capped a memorable 3-2 victory. Two years ago, after the Braves rallied from that 3-1 deficit to beat St. Louis for the NL pennant, they were on the opposite end of an improbable comeback. Atlanta won the first two games of the World Series at Yankee Stadium -- then lost four in a row to New York. After winning the last two games in San Diego, the Braves feel like the momentum is in their favor. "We're taking it back to Atlanta," said Michael Tucker, the Game 5 hero. "And everything is pretty much going our way. If we keep the pressure on, keep things going, we'll be pretty successful with it."
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