The 1986 Atlanta Braves season was the 116th in franchise history and their 21st in Atlanta.

Offseason November 13, 1985: Randy Johnson was released by the Braves.Randy Johnson at Baseball-Reference December 6, 1985: Miguel Sosa (minors) was traded by the Braves to the New York Yankees for Billy Sample.Billy Sample at Baseball-Reference March 5, 1986: Rick Cerone, David Clay (minors), and Flavio Alfaro (minors) were traded by the Braves to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ted Simmons.Ted Simmons at Baseball-Reference

Regular season

The Braves shutout the Montreal Expos, 6–0 in their season opener, but were 7–12 at the end of April, games out of first. Atlanta won 17 of their first 25 games in the month of May, improving their record to 24–20 May 27. They were tied for second and were games out of first.

On June 24 the Braves dropped into fourth place with a 34–36 record. They were in fourth place, games out of first. Atlanta won seven of their next eight games to surge back into contention on July 3. Atlanta was 41–37 and in third place, games out of first. The Braves promptly lost 20 of their next 25 games and fell into the cellar, 46–57, games out of first. After a 12–5 run put them within games of the lead, the Braves fizzled and faded down the stretch, losing their last five games to finish in last place with a 72–89 record, games out of first.

The strong play of the Braves in the first half of the season was partly attributed to "The Bomb Squad", a group of six veterans who provided clutch hitting of the bench. The members of "The Bomb Squad" were: Ted Simmons, Chris Chambliss, Omar Moreno, Billy Sample, Bruce Benedict, and Andres Thomas."Atlanta`s `Bomb Squad` No Flop." Sun-Sentinel, June 10, 1986. Retrieved March 8, 2017. The name for the group was coined during spring training by Simmons in an effort to create unity among the bench players (Simmons, Moreno, and Sample were in their first season with the Braves).

July 6, 1986: In an 11-8 loss to the Montreal Expos, Bob Horner hit four home runs in one game. Horner became the second player in the 20th century (Gil Hodges was the first in 1950) to hit four home runs in one game in his home park.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.258, David Nemec and Scott latow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, He became the first player since Ed Delahanty to hit four home runs in a losing game.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 1, 1986: Pascual Pérez was released by the Braves.Pascual Pérez at Baseball-Reference June 2, 1986: Ben McDonald was drafted by the Braves in the 27th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.Ben McDonald at Baseball-Reference June 30, 1986: Claudell Washington and Paul Zuvella were traded by the Braves to the New York Yankees for Ken Griffey, Sr. and Andre Robertson.Ken Griffey at Baseball-Reference July 6, 1986: Duane Ward was traded by the Braves to the Toronto Blue Jays for Doyle Alexander.Doyle Alexander at Baseball-Reference

Roster 1986 Atlanta Braves Roster Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 114 359 80 .223 15 48 1B 141 517 141 .273 27 87 2B 143 408 94 .230 4 36 3B 151 503 136 .270 5 48 SS 102 323 81 .251 6 32 LF 80 292 90 .308 12 32 CF 160 614 163 .265 29 83 RF 118 359 84 .234 4 27

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Rafael Ramírez 134 496 119 .240 8 33 Terry Harper 106 265 68 .257 8 30 92 200 57 .285 6 14 Bruce Benedict 64 160 36 .225 0 13 40 137 37 .270 5 14 76 127 32 .252 4 25 Chris Chambliss 97 122 38 .311 2 14 Gerald Perry 29 70 19 .271 2 11 Albert Hall 16 50 12 .240 0 1 Darryl Motley 5 10 2 .200 0 0 7 8 2 .250 0 0 Brad Komminsk 5 5 2 .400 0 1

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Rick Mahler 39 237.2 14 18 4.88 137 35 209.2 11 10 3.65 170 Zane Smith 38 204.2 8 16 4.05 139 Doyle Alexander 17 117.1 6 6 3.84 74 Joe Johnson 17 87.0 6 7 4.97 49

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Jim Acker 21 95.0 3 8 3.79 37 Craig McMurtry 37 79.2 1 6 4.74 50 Charlie Puleo 5 24.1 1 2 2.96 18

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Gene Garber 61 5 5 24 2.54 56 Paul Assenmacher 61 7 3 7 2.50 56 Jeff Dedmon 57 6 6 3 2.98 58 Ed Olwine 37 0 0 1 3.40 37 Bruce Sutter 16 2 0 3 4.34 16 Cliff Speck 13 2 1 0 4.13 21 Duane Ward 10 0 1 0 7.31 8 Steve Shields 6 0 0 0 7.11 6

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Richmond, PulaskiJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

Notes

References 1986 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference Atlanta Braves on Baseball Almanac