Worst-To-First Retrospective: NLCS MVP Steve Avery reflects on the 1991 season

Though Atlanta came up short in that seven-game showdown, that season launched a sustained run of success for the team and introduced a new generation of Braves that would star throughout the decade.

Steve Avery was anything but a household name when he entered the 1991 season but found himself throwing some of the most important games in franchise history by year's end.

The third overall selection in the 1988 draft out of Taylor, Michigan, Avery made it to the big leagues in roughly two years. He took his lumps as a 20-year-old rookie in 1990, finishing 3-11 with a 5.64 ERA in 20 starts for Atlanta following his June promotion.