Atlanta Braves All-Time Team

Rather than take a short trip to the American League Central, the All-Time Teams tour took a long flight from the Great White North allll the way down south. We're in splendid Atlanta, Georgia - home of the Braves.

Atlanta's first pro sports championship was the Braves' World Series victory at Fulton County Stadium in 1995. The 2021 champs now call Truist Park home. In between those titles, the team moved into and out of Turner Field.

Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox will be looking to make some changes to his lineup and avoid another shocking upset in the All-Time Tournament.

One-third of these guys are playing out of position, most notably Dale Murphy in left field and Chipper Jones at shortstop. Chipper was drafted and debuted at that position, but it isn't a natural fit. Bobby Cox could play him in left field (Jones played more games there than Dale Murphy did) and move Murphy to his secondary position - right field. But that would reduce iconic right fielder Hank Aaron to designated hitter.

Just to make this even more convoluted, Cox called in some competitors for Rico Carty's starting DH spot.

	Braves stats	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
	*Rico Carty	23.2	0.317	0.388	0.496	0.884	143
	Hugh Duffy	28.6	0.332	0.394	0.455	0.849	121
	David Justice	24.3	0.275	0.374	0.499	0.873	132
	Wally Berger	36.7	0.304	0.362	0.533	0.894	141

Wally Berger looks to have the inside track. He might even be a better option than Dale Murphy, but Atlanta fans would riot if Cox dared to bench Murph. Hugh Duffy is a toughie. He's a Hall of Famer with 2,200+ career hits and a .332 lifetime average, not to mention nearly 600 stolen bases. He looks like the lightest-hitting player here, but Duffy played in the 1890s. He's not going to have power numbers like Berger or Justice. Put a pin in this one.

Joe Adcock and Johnny Logan [seen in the previous panel] are locked into their roles as backup infield options. Javy Lopez gets a second look in an open catching competition with starter Brian McCann and reserve Del Crandall.

	Braves stats	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
	*Brian McCann	24.5	0.275	0.348	0.469	0.817	115
	*Del Crandall	26.8	0.257	0.313	0.412	0.725	98
	Javy Lopez	23.4	0.287	0.337	0.502	0.839	114

Crandall's production doesn't look impressive next to these modern stars, but he was an 11-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove honoree. Javy has a higher slugging percentage as a Brave than Carty, Murphy, and Justice. Maybe he should DH!

Time to make some tough calls here. Murphy-Jones-Aaron is the outfield, period. Hall of Famer Rabbit Maranville moves back to his natural position of shortstop. Chipper Jones is taking DH duties from Rico Carty. And we've got a new second baseman:

Ozzie Albies slides into the starting lineup. McCann keeps his job as the starting catcher, and Wally Berger holds down the forth outfielder spot. That leaves Crandall to compete with Lopez and Carty fighting to hold off Justice and Duffy.

It's a tough call for Cox, but Duffy wins with his speed and consistent contact. Lopez can't unseat Crandall, who ranks sixth all-time among Braves position players in dWAR.

At least there's no uncertainty in the Braves' pitching rotation. Right?

Ah, the Greg Maddux quandary. How can I justify letting him go to the Cubs when he was so much more dominant in Atlanta? Just kick that Kid Nichols guy out of here and it's settled. Right?

Here's the problem with that:

	Braves stats	WAR	ERA	ERA+	K/BB	WHIP	CG
	*Kid Nichols	107.4	3.00	143	1.48	1.234	476

Nichols is the franchise leader in pitcher WAR. He's second to Spahn in wins and shutouts, and first in complete games by a country mile. Heck, he's second among all Braves players in WAR. If anything, he should rank higher in the rotation. Atlanta can live without Maddux, strange as that may sound.

You know what else sounds strange (especially to this Red Sox fan)? Future Hall of Famer Craig Kimbrel.

Now on his seventh MLB team, Kimbrel is the active career leader in saves with 394 as of Opening Day 2023. He's made eight All-Star teams, won three Reliever of the Year awards, along with NL Rookie of the Year honors and a World Series ring. And he hasn't even celebrated his 35th birthday yet.

Bobby Cox initially had an exclusively right-handed bullpen (is that why they lost to the all-time Marlins?)

Yes, John Rocker is allowed to compete for a spot in the Braves' bullpen. We've already revealed that Aubrey Huff, Aroldis Chapman, and Roberto Osuna are on their respective teams' All-Time rosters. If Rocker can beat out Wohlers, Camp, or Bedrosian - and fellow lefty Eric O'Flaherty - he's in.

	Braves stats	SV	ERA	ERA+	K/BB	WHIP
	*Mark Wohlers	112	3.73	112	2.14	1.385
	*Rick Camp	57	3.37	115	1.21	1.386
	*Steve Bedrosian	41	3.26	119	1.80	1.302
	John Rocker	83	2.63	170	2.11	1.326
	Eric O'Flaherty	0	2.82	142	2.34	1.238

Looks like he made it, right? Not so fast. Rocker made just 210 appearances for Atlanta, while every other reliever listed here pitched in at least 350 games for the club. O'Flaherty earns the spot. Wohlers should be the odd man out, but Bedrosian has eligibility with another NL East team - one with a very shallow 'pen.

Looking ahead, there are two more young stars on the Braves who could push for a spot on this All-Time squad someday - if they weren't stuck behind the GOATs of the franchise. At least Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. could conceivably end up on the bench ten years hence; starting pitchers are going to have a near-impossible task breaking through the Braves' All-Time rotation.


TL; DR: Three changes from the original roster. Carty, Justice, and Bedrosian out. Albies, Duffy, and O'Flaherty in.

Come back tomorrow for the Miami Marlins All-Time roster. No, seriously, it'll be interesting. I swear. 😁


Thanks for reading!

 

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