When Turner bought the
television rights to the Atlanta Braves baseball team, they quickly became a
valuable asset to his channel. He bought the Braves franchise in 1976 for over
$10 million to ensure that the team, which was in dire straits, wouldn’t leave
Atlanta and thus his channel. Turner wasn’t accepted by some in the Major
League Baseball community. He was much more hands on than the other owners and
preferred to sit field side at games, sometimes even hopping over onto the
field to celebrate a home run, and got to know the players on the team
personally. He had some issues with running the team, including firing managers
Bobby Cox and Joe Torre, but was able to rehire Bobby Cox during their 1985
season and eventually the team improved.
In 1995, the Braves made it to
the World Series for the third time in five years and Turner and Jane Fonda
attended every playoff game. It took many more years than he expected, but that
year the Braves won the World Series.