1999 National League Championship Series - Aftermath

Aftermath

Although Atlanta would move on to the World Series, their joy would be short lived. Physically and emotionally spent following this series, the Braves didn't put up much of a fight as they lost in four games to the other New York City team, the Yankees, making it the second time in 1999 that a New York City team had swept an Atlanta team out of a playoffs; the Knicks had swept the Hawks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs during their Cinderella run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. (By a twist of fate, the Mets won a game in Atlanta on the same night the Spurs won the NBA championship against the Knicks.)

The Mets had created as much of a stir from losing as one possibly could imagine. Much of the post-series spotlight ended up focusing on the Mets. Manager Bobby Valentine, who was seen smashing the dugout railing, screaming "NO! NO! NO!" as Rogers walked Jones, said in a postgame press conference,

Mets General Manager Steve Phillips summed up the harrowing four weeks the Mets had been through saying that "we had destiny in our own hands, we lost destiny, we got it back in our own hands...We didn't choke. We didn't fold. We won."

Bob Costas would close out his NBC telecast by saying,

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that The New York Times printed an Delta Air Lines advertisement lauding the Mets for their postseason run. The ad said, "Thanks for giving the fans something to cheer about this season. It was great to hear the crowd at Shea roar louder than our planes." It ran beneath a softball-sized reproduction of the Mets logo. A spokesperson at Delta Air Lines said that "at Delta, we are good sports, and we admire good competition. We have a major presence in New York, and we are the official airline of the New York Mets as well as the Atlanta Braves."

This series would prove to be a harbinger of many events that would shape the 2000 baseball season. Rocker would go on to make several controversial remarks in a Sports Illustrated article. Jones, and many other members of this Braves team, most notably Andruw Jones and Brian Jordan, would continue to be heckled mercilessly at Shea Stadium, which still continues at the current time. The Mets would post a remarkable ten-run rally to defeat Atlanta 11–8 in a game they once trailed 8–1, on June 30, 2000. Regardless, the Braves would again win the NL East and relegate the Mets to the Wild Card. The Mets, however, were the ones who ended up in the World Series, in which they fell to the Yankees. With the Braves being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, it made the Mets' path to the World Series much easier.

The Braves also avenged their loss from the first ever NLCS 30 years before, losing to the Miracle Mets, who were underdogs despite the fact that the Braves had a weaker record (93–69 compared to the Mets' 100–62). In addition, Atlanta teams had avenged their losses to New York City teams in a playoffs in 1999; following the Knicks sweep of the Hawks. (see above)