Sid Bream played for the Braves (in Atlanta) from 1991 to
1993. He was born on August 3, 1960 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He batted left and
threw left. The Braves took off in the early 90′s. He was a
big part of it. He was 30 when John Schuerholz became manager and signed him as
a free agent to bring some “maturity” to the young Braves team.
He came to Atlanta from Pittsburgh. He had helped them win
the National League East the year before. The most famous moment of Bream’s career came in Game 7 of
the 1992 National League Championship Series. Bream was the Atlanta first baseman,
and the Braves were playing his old team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the NLCS.
The Pirates carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth
inning under the pitching of their ace, Doug Drabek, needing just three outs to
make the World Series. However, Drabek gave up a leadoff double to Terry
Pendleton, then allowed another runner (David Justice) on an infield error by
second baseman José Lind. After Drabek walked Bream to load the bases, Pirates
manager Jim Leyland pulled him out of the game. Reliever Stan Belinda replaced
him on the mound, and managed to get two outs, despite giving up a run on a
sacrifice fly by Ron Gant. Then, Braves third-string catcher Francisco Cabrera
belted a single to left field, and Justice scored easily to tie the game. Pirates
left fielder and eventual National League MVP Barry Bonds fielded the ball as
Bream (known as a slow runner, possibly one of the slowest in baseball) plodded
around the bases toward home plate. Bonds’ throw arrived first, but it was
slightly offline towards the first-base line. As soon as catcher Mike
LaValliere received the ball, he desperately lunged toward the plate to tag
Bream out, but Bream was able to slide just underneath the tag to score the
winning run and send the Braves to the World Series for the second consecutive
year.
