Iconic Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone was never a fan of 'giving in' to a hitter.
To this day, it’s simply not his style.
One telling moment, in particular, during the Braves historic run of 14 consecutive division titles, he paints a picture of then future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine starring down the barrel of Kevin Mitchell’s powerful bat with two outs in the first inning and the bases loaded with the Braves trailing the Reds 1-0.
In a prime sampling of his mulish mentality, Mazzone moseyed to the mound to send Glavine a rather mystifying message: “Tommy, I want you to pitch to Mitchell like there’s nobody on, because there’s a base open.