Braves TBS Baseball network's rights fee payments to Major League Baseball. In turn, national sponsors could fulfill their advertising commitments by purchasing ads on TBS, in addition to ESPN or Fox. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, Atlanta area media outlets and team manager Bobby Cox. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" newspaper preferred the team of Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After that year's All-Star break, TBS brought back Caray and Van Wieren to work
Billy Smith (baseball, born 1930) development of the Toronto Blue Jays of the American League, serving in that post for four seasons before returning to uniform as a Blue Jay coach under Bobby Cox and Jimy Williams from 1984–88. Billy Smith (baseball, born 1930) Billy Franklin Smith (born January 14, 1930 at High Point, North Carolina) is a retired American professional baseball first baseman, outfielder, manager and coach. He threw and batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed during his active career. Smith compiled a lifetime batting average of .312 in minor league baseball but he never climbed higher than the Double-A level. Smith graduated from