2001 National League Championship Series | |||||||||||||
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Teams | |||||||||||||
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Dates | October 16–21 | ||||||||||||
MVP | Craig Counsell (Arizona) | ||||||||||||
Umpires | Jerry Crawford, Jeff Kellogg, Angel Hernandez, Mike Reilly, Gerry Davis, Tim McClelland | ||||||||||||
NLDS |
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Broadcast | |||||||||||||
Television | Fox | ||||||||||||
TV announcers |
Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (Games 1–2) Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons (Games 3–5) |
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Radio | ESPN | ||||||||||||
Radio announcers | Charley Steiner and Dave Campbell | ||||||||||||
Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
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Arizona Diamondbacks (4) | Bob Brenly | 92–70, .568, GA: 2 | |
Atlanta Braves (1) | Bobby Cox | 88–74, .543, GA: 2 |
The 2001 National League Championship Series (NLCS) saw the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Atlanta Braves in five games to win the National League pennant in the franchise's fourth year of existence. The Diamondbacks went on to defeat the New York Yankees in seven games to win the World Series.
The Diamondbacks won their division with a 92–70 record. The strength of their team was clearly the pitching duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. The primary weapon for Arizona on offense was Luis Gonzalez, who belted 57 home runs during the season. The Diamondbacks had outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS to reach their first NLCS.
The Atlanta Braves won their tenth straight division title, but it had not been by a wide margin in 2001. They struggled to an 88–74 record, their worst since 1990. Greg Maddux had another big season for the Braves, winning seventeen games. Chipper Jones was the leader of the Atlanta offense, batting .330 during the season to go along with his 38 home runs. After their embarrassing defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2000 NLDS, the underdog Braves blitzed the Houston Astros in the 2001 NLDS, sweeping them in three games.
Arizona won the series, 4–1.
Tuesday, October 16, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona