It was the winter of 1984. The Atlanta Braves, fresh off an 80-82 season, decided to strike while the iron was mostly lukewarm, if you’re being charitable. Anchoring their bullpen was the perfectly suitable committee of Gene Garber, Steve Bedrosian, and Donnie Moore; each registered 28 or more Games Finished and had double-digit save totals. But for some reason, the Braves wanted more. They wanted Bruce Sutter.



Sutter was a closer in an era when the role was still emerging. He spent the 1984 season anchoring the bullpen of the St. Louis Cardinals, leading the league in Games Finished with 63 and amassing a then-record-tying 45 saves while pitching a now unheard of 122.2 IP. He finished sixth in MVP voting and third in Cy Young balloting. He was paid handsomely for his services, too — his $975,000 salary made him one of the highest paid players at the time. As he entered free agency that offseason, he expected to cash in even bigger. And the Braves were willing to...