The 2011 Atlanta Braves season was the Braves' 46th season in Atlanta, and the 141st overall. For the first time since the 1990 season, Bobby Cox did not manage the club, having retired following the 2010 season. He was succeeded by Fredi González, the former third-base coach for the Braves between 2003 and 2006. After entering the playoffs with their first franchise Wild Card berth in 2010, the Braves attempted to return to the postseason for a second consecutive season. Entering the final month of the regular season with a record of 80–55 and an -game lead in the Wild Card standings, the Braves went 9–18 in September to finish the season with a record of 89–73. This September collapse caused the team to fall one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race after the final scheduled game of the season, which consequently eliminated them from postseason contention. On July 12, 2016, ESPN named the 2011 Braves collapse as the 25th worst collapse in sports history.
Offseason transactions
Offseason additions and subtractions Subtractions Additions Players OF Melky Cabrera (signed with Royals) RHR Takashi Saito (signed with Brewers) INF Omar Infante (traded to Marlins) RHR Kyle Farnsworth (signed with Rays) OF Rick Ankiel (signed with Nationals) LHR Mike Dunn (traded to Marlins) OF Matt Diaz (signed with Pirates) 2B Dan Uggla (Acquired in trade from Marlins) INF/OF Joe Mather (Claimed of waivers from Cardinals) RHR Scott Linebrink (Acquired in a trade from White Sox) LHR George Sherrill (Signed as a free agent) RHR Anthony Varvaro (claimed off waivers from Mariners) RHS Rodrigo Lopez* (signed as a free agent) Personnel Manager Bobby Cox (retired) Bench Coach Chino Cadahia (not offered new contract) First base Coach Glenn Hubbard (not offered new contract) Manager Fredi González Hitting coach Larry Parrish Bench Coach Carlos Tosca *Player was a non-roster invitee to Spring training (not on 40-man roster)
Timeline Names highlighted in bold appear in table above.
October 2010 October 13: The Atlanta Braves announced that Fredi González would replace long-time Braves manager Bobby Cox as manager of the team in 2011. The announcement came just two days after the 2010 Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the postseason. It was also announced that pitching coach Roger McDowell, third-base coach Brian Snitker, and bullpen coach Eddie Pérez would retain their current positions, while former hitting coach Terry Pendleton would replace Glenn Hubbard as the first-base coach. There were two newcomers to the staff, Larry Parrish, as the hitting coach, and Carlos Tosca as the bench coach. Hubbard and former bench coach Chino Cadahia were not offered positions on the new coaching staff. Position 2010 2011 Manager Bobby Cox Fredi González Hitting Terry Pendleton Larry Parrish Pitching Roger McDowell First-base Glenn Hubbard Terry Pendleton Third-base Brian Snitker Bullpen Eddie Pérez Bench Chino Cadahia Carlos Tosca
October 19: The Atlanta Braves released left-fielder Melky Cabrera, reliever Takashi Saito, and back-up catcher J. C. Boscán in order to make room on their 40-man roster for future transactions that would come in the offseason.
November 2010
November 2: The Braves picked up the $2.5 million options for both shortstop Alex González and All-Star utility man Omar Infante. Additionally, the Braves resigned reliever Scott Proctor to a one-year deal worth $750,000 including incentives that bring the total to $1 million. Finally, the Braves declined reliever Kyle Farnsworth's $5.25 million option and center fielder Rick Ankiel's $6 million option for the 2011 season.
November 3: The Braves claimed utility man Joe Mather off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He was later placed on outright waivers by the Braves on March 27 after underperforming in Spring training.
November 16: The Braves traded Omar Infante and Mike Dunn to the Florida Marlins for Dan Uggla. In January, Uggla's contract was extended to a five-year, $62 million deal.
December 2010 December 2: The Braves decided to non-tender the contract of Matt Diaz, effectively ending his tenure as a Brave. On the same day, the Braves agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske, allowing his return in 2011.
December 3: The Braves agreed to a two-player trade with the White Sox, sending minor league right-handed pitcher Kyle Cofield to Chicago in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Scott Linebrink.
December 10: At the Winter Meetings, the Braves agreed to a one-year deal with left-handed relief pitcher George Sherrill for the 2011 season.
January 2011 January 13: The Braves claimed right-handed reliever Anthony Varvaro off waivers from the Seattle Mariners in order to add bullpen depth to the organization.
January 18: In order to avoid arbitration, the Braves offered new one-year contracts to starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens ($3.25 million), second baseman Martín Prado ($3.1 million), and relief pitchers Peter Moylan ($2 million) and Eric O'Flaherty ($895,000). These were the last four Braves players to be eligible for arbitration.
January 31: The Braves signed right-handed pitcher Rodrigo López to a minor league contract, which included an invite to the major league Spring training camp.
February 2011 February 21: The Braves announced that General Manager Frank Wren had been offered a two-year contract extension, taking him through the 2013 season with the Braves.
Spring training The 2011 Atlanta Braves played a 35-game slate that started on February 26, 2011, for the 2011 spring training season. Pitchers and catchers were to report by February 14 with the first full-squad workout occurring February 19. For the fourteenth straight season, Champion Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista served as the Florida home for the Atlanta Braves. The last two games, on March 29–30, were played at Turner Field against the Minnesota Twins.
2011 Atlanta Braves spring training schedule
Spring training standings
Luis Salazar injury In the first inning of the March 9 game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, Brian McCann pulled a foul ball sharply toward the Braves' dugout, striking Minor League manager Luis Salazar in the left eye. After being knocked down four stairs and falling on his head, he was airlifted to the Orlando Regional Medical Center for further treatment. Following a strong recovery from multiple facial fractures, doctors determined that Salazar's left eye could not be saved and performed an operation to have it removed on March 16. Despite this, he still plans to perform his new job as manager of the Class A Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats. During the entire ordeal, Brian McCann expressed feelings of guilt for hitting the ball and was notably shaken by the incident.
Regular season
Season standings MLB Standings National League East
National League Wild Card
Record vs. opponents
+Opening Day starters Position NameStarting PitcherDerek LoweCatcher Brian McCannFirst BasemanFreddie FreemanSecond BasemanDan UgglaThird BasemanChipper JonesShortstopÁlex GonzálezLeft FielderMartín PradoCenter FielderNate McLouthRight FielderJason Heyward
Notable occurrences March 31, 2011: On Opening Day versus the Washington Nationals, right-fielder Jason Heyward launched a home run in his first at-bat of the season. Combined with his first at-bat home run on Opening Day of 2010, Heyward became just the second player in major league history to hit a home run on his first at-bat in his first two Opening Day games. The other player was Kaz Matsui who did the feat in 2004 and 2005.
April 8, 2011: In the sixth inning of the first game of the season at Turner Field, long-time Braves third-baseman Chipper Jones notched his 2,500th career hit, a single off of Antonio Bastardo. Braves long-time skipper Bobby Cox was in attendance to view the milestone. Chipper is just the ninth switch hitter to reach the 2,500 hit plateau.
April 13, 2011: In the bottom of the ninth of a 1–5 loss to the Marlins, Chipper Jones hit a solo home run to collect the 1,500th RBI of his career. Combined with his hit milestone just five days prior, Chipper now stands with just Eddie Murray as the only switch-hitters in history to collect 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs in a career.
April 25, 2011: In his third major career milestone of the month, Chipper Jones collected his 500th career double to leadoff the top of the twelfth inning against the Padres. Chipper became just the 52nd player in MLB History and only the fourth switch-hitter to reach the milestone.
May 15, 2011: The May 15 series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field was the fifth annual Civil Rights Game, concluding four days of festivities in Atlanta. In a pre-game ceremony, Ernie Banks, Carlos Santana, and Morgan Freeman were honored with the Beacon of Life, Beacon of Change, and Beacon of Hope awards, respectively.
May 17, 2011: Down to the last strike and trailing by one run in the final game of a series against the Astros, Brian McCann hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game. Two innings later, McCann hit another home run to win the game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McCann became just the second player in Major League history to hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run in the ninth inning and then end an extra-inning game with another homer. The other player to achieve this was Jeff Heath for the Boston Braves in a 1949 win over the Reds.
June 12, 2011: With the 4–1 win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, the team put the Braves franchise record since inception in the National League in 1876 at 9,983 wins and 9,982 losses. This was the first time since June 4, 1923, when the overall record was 3,084 wins and losses, that the overall franchise record was over .500.
July 7, 2011: Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel collected his twenty-seventh save of the season with the series-sweeping 6–3 win against the Colorado Rockies, setting a major league record for most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break. The previous record was held by Jonathan Papelbon, who had registered twenty-six saves during his rookie season in 2006. On June 3, Kimbrel broke the record for the most saves before the All-Star break by a National League rookie when he collected his seventeenth save against the Mets at Citi Field. The previous National League record holder was Yhency Brazobán, who had sixteen saves before the break for the Dodgers in 2005. Kimbrel entered the All-Star break with twenty-eight saves to set the mark for the new record.
July 15, 2011: In the first game after the All-Star break, the Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 11–1, earning the franchise its 10,000th win since inception into the National League in 1876. They, along with the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, are now the only Major League franchises with ten thousand or more wins.
July 26, 2011: Hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates for a four-game series at home, the Braves played the longest game in terms of time in franchise history. Starting at the scheduled 7:10 time in the evening, the marathon lasted six hours and thirty-nine minutes to end at 1:50 the following morning. The game, which ended with a very controversial walk-off for the Braves in the nineteenth inning, was the longest in terms of innings for the team since May 4, 1973, when a game against Philadelphia lasted twenty innings and ended in a Phillies victory.
August 12, 2011: The Braves announced in the off-season that Bobby Cox would be inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame after having retired at the end of the 2010 season. As a part of the Braves Alumni Weekend, his number six was retired at a special luncheon and afterward an on-field ceremony was held to recognize the long-time Braves manager before the scheduled game versus the Chicago Cubs.