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.