NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Peyton Glavine was born four years after his dad delivered his Game 6 masterpiece for the Braves in the 1995 World Series. Still, while growing up in Atlanta, he was well aware of the legend his father had created while becoming one of the most successful and beloved players in Braves history.
So there was an extra sense of excitement earlier this week when the younger Glavine signed a Minor League contract with the Braves. The hurler, who will turn 27 on March 23, is joining his dad’s organization while attempting to prove he is past the left shoulder issues that halted his rise through the Nationals’ system over the past three seasons.
“Obviously, I'm thrilled that he's going to get an opportunity to go to Spring Training and try to make a team,” Tom Glavine said. “There's no preconceived notions. He's going to have to go in there and have a good spring and try and make the team. If it's not with the Braves, then, you know, hopefully he has a good enough spring that somebody else will give him a chance.
"But, as people who have been around the game long enough know, it's all about getting that chance. So I'm excited for him to be in the Braves organization.”
Peyton Glavine has been assigned to the Double-A Columbus club. He made three appearances in 2023 and missed all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery. His road to recovery began as he posted a 3.64 ERA over 27 appearances for the Nationals’ High-A Wilmington last year.
But there’s hope Glavine proves to be even more effective now that he’s another year removed from shoulder surgery.
“I still play a lot of catch with him,” Tom Glavine said. “I think this is the first winter in the last three years where he hasn't said to me, ‘Man, something just doesn't feel right. I'm excited for him.”
Joining his dad’s organization shouldn’t create any unfamiliar pressure for the younger Glavine. Whether he was playing youth baseball in Atlanta, pitching at Blessed Trinity High School or at Auburn University, he was always recognized as the son of the two-time Cy Young Award winner who helped the Braves reach the World Series five times in the 1990s.
“He’s proud of what I did,” Tom Glavine said. “But at the same time, he wants to put himself in a position to experience some of those things himself. So, I think it's been a motivator for him.”