Atlanta Braves: Home Runs, Dynasties and Two Atlanta Titles
Baseball in Atlanta since 1966. From Hank Aaron's 715th home run to the 1995 and 2021 titles and the 2026 NL East crown, the story of Atlanta's beloved ball club.
Truist Park at dusk: Tyler Lahti, CC BY-SA 2.0
Baseball comes south
The Braves trace their roots to the 1871 Boston Red Stockings, making them one of the oldest clubs in professional sports. After moving to Milwaukee in 1953, the franchise relocated to Atlanta in 1966 and gave the Southeast its first major league team. The Braves are the only franchise to win a World Series in three different cities: Boston in 1914, Milwaukee in 1957, and Atlanta.
Hank Aaron and 715
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron stepped to the plate in Atlanta and drove a pitch from Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers over the outfield fence. It was his 715th career home run, moving him past Babe Ruth for the all-time record. The moment remains one of the most famous in Atlanta sports history, and Aaron's grace under enormous pressure made him a hero far beyond baseball.
The dynasty years and two championships
Starting in 1991, the Braves won 14 consecutive division titles through 2005, an unprecedented run. Manager Bobby Cox guided a pitching staff built on future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, while Chipper Jones anchored the lineup. The peak came in 1995, when Atlanta beat Cleveland to win the city's first World Series championship.
A second Atlanta title arrived in 2021, when the Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games. It was the franchise's fourth World Series championship overall. In between, a new generation kept the winning going, peaking with a 104-win season in 2023 as Ronald Acuna Jr. turned home games into a showcase of speed and power.
Truist Park, The Battery and 2026
Since 2017 the Braves have played at Truist Park in Cobb County, about 10 miles northwest of downtown. Opened as SunTrust Park and renamed in January 2020, it holds about 41,000 fans. Wrapped around the ballpark is The Battery Atlanta, a district of restaurants, shops, offices and homes that stays lively on non-game days too. In July 2025 Truist Park hosted the MLB All-Star Game for the first time.
The 2026 season was a bounce-back. After a 76-86 finish in 2025 and the retirement of manager Brian Snitker, Walt Weiss took over and led a club featuring Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Chris Sale and Spencer Strider to a 94-68 record. Atlanta clinched the NL East on September 20, its seventh division crown in nine seasons, then beat the Philadelphia Phillies two games to one in the Wild Card Series. The Braves opened the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 3, dropping Game 1, with the series still underway in early October.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources.
- Truist Park at dusk: Tyler Lahti, CC BY-SA 2.0
- The field at Truist Park, 2017: Thomson200, CC0
Text written by ATL Quality.
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