ATLANTA — UPDATE: The Braves clinched a spot in the World Series for the first time in 22 years on Saturday night, beating the Dodgers 4-2 in Atlanta and winning the NLCS in turn, 4-2.
Original story below
For the second year in a row, the Braves are one win away from the World Series.
Fans, of course, are hoping things go differently this time around than last year, when Atlanta dropped three straight to the Dodgers to lose the best-of-7 series 4-3 after going up 3-1.
If they can exorcise that ghost, they'll reach the Fall Classic for the first time in more than two decades.
Before that, though, they were a frequent participant in the World Series in the 90s.
Braves history in the World Series
- 1999: Lost 4-0 to New York Yankees
- 1996: Lost 4-2 to New York Yankees
- 1995: Won 4-2 over Cleveland Indians
- 1992: Lost 4-2 to Toronto Blue Jays
- 1991: Lost 4-3 to Minnesota Twins
- 1958: (As Milwaukee Braves) Lost 4-3 to New York Yankees
- 1957: (As Milwaukee Braves) Won 4-3 over New York Yankees
- 1948: (As Boston Braves) lost 4-2 to Cleveland Indians
- 1914: (As Boston Braves) Won 4-0 over Philadelphia Athletics
The last time they appeared in the Series -- in 1999 -- the Braves faced a colossal New York Yankees team led by future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
During the '99 Series, the Braves were themselves led by future Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz, with legendary Baseball Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox at the helm.
Though both teams were the number one seeds in their respective leagues, the Yankees took down the Braves easily, winning four straight to Atlanta's zero.
The Yankees and Braves had met three years earlier in the World Series, with New York kickstarting their late-90s dynasty by winning 4-2.
The year before that, though, Atlanta faced the Cleveland Indians and broke a stretch of nearly 40 years without a championship in a 4-2 Series win that still ranks as one of the most cherished Atlanta sports moments.
New York and Cleveland have both popped up as World Series opponents more than once through the years - the Braves have won a championship in each of the three cities they've played in, and one of those titles (in 1957) came for the Milwaukee Braves against the Yankees.
The next year, the Yankees got their revenge in a 4-3 Series win.
The Boston Braves lost the franchise's first meeting with Cleveland in a World Series, in 1948. That was their second appearance in the Fall Classic.
The first time the Boston Braves reached the World Series, they won it - more than 100 years ago, back in 1914, they swept the Philadelphia Athletics for their first modern championship.
If you want to go back farther, though, the Boston Beaneaters - as they were called in the late 1800s before becoming the Braves - won an early version of the World Series in 1892.
While it's now been a while since Atlanta fought for a championship, maybe they can draw on the 90s precedent - 30 years ago, a trip to the 1991 World Series preceded a total of five NL pennants that decade.
First, though, the Braves have to finish off the Dodgers and get there.