| 1998 National League Championship Series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 7–14 | |||||||||
| MVP | Sterling Hitchcock (San Diego) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Terry Tata Larry Poncino Tom Hallion Greg Bonin Gerry Davis Steve Rippley | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | Fox | |||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Bob Brenly | |||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Charley Steiner and Kevin Kennedy | |||||||||
| Streaming | ||||||||||
| NLDS |
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The 1998 National League Championship Series (NLCS), to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League, was played from October 7 to 14 between the East Division champion Atlanta Braves and the West Division champion San Diego Padres.
The Braves entered the playoffs for the seventh straight season with a franchise-record 106 regular season wins, an offense that hit 215 home runs, and a pitching staff made up of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, and Kevin Millwood. The lowest win total for any of these five pitchers was Neagle at 16-11, with the other four winning 17, 17, 18, and 20 respectively. However, they also carried the baggage of their embarrassing NLCS loss to the Florida Marlins the previous season. In the NLDS, the Braves swept Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs.
After a 76–86 season in 1997, San Diego stormed out and took control of their division, finishing with a 98–64 record, their best in team history. The offense was led by the 50 home run club's newest member, Greg Vaughn, and by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The San Diego rotation was anchored by 18-game winner Kevin Brown, who helped Florida defeat Atlanta in the 1997 NLCS, along with All-Star Andy Ashby and the series MVP Sterling Hitchcock. Closer Trevor Hoffman saved an astounding 53 games in the regular season. The Padres defeated the favored Houston Astros in four games in the NLDS.
It was the seventh-consecutive NLCS appearance for the Braves and they would be heavily favored against the Padres, though their edge in the season series between the two teams was modest, having won 5 of 9.
The Padres won the series but would go on to the lose in a sweep to the New York Yankees in the World Series in four games.
This was the last NLCS trip for the Padres until 2022.