It seems appropriate to write a column like this since I watched so many Braves players (Milwaukee and Atlanta) during the past 44-plus years. What follows is limited to the players I actually witnessed play and would always be identified as a "Braves player." For example, Babe Ruth finished his career with the Braves and had one memorable 3-HR game. I wouldn't include him even if I had witnessed it because his real career was with the Yankees and he wasn't with us long enough.
I have listed the best I've seen at each position and, also, mentioned who the runner-up(s) are with comments about the players listed. It is true that I would have a clearer memory of the players of the past decade. But I found that I do remember nearly all the players listed below very clearly. I'll try to be objective about doing this very subjective analysis.
1B Joe Adcock
Others: Orlando Cepeda, Andres Galarraga, Fred McGriff, Chris Chambliss
Comments: Joe gets the nod based on longevity. He was our first-baseman for over 10 years and a key RBI producer during that period. Andres' two years with the team produced numbers we haven't seen at this position before, but, I needed to take the past decades' offensive explosion into account.
I would rank Andres 2nd as we add his awesome defensive skill into the mix. I couldn't find myself giving this spot to someone who only played for the Braves for a couple of years.
The Hall-of-Famer, Cepeda, was the best of all. But his best was for other teams.
Fred, the "Crime Dog," was a key piece to our 1995 Championship puzzle but aggravated the heck out of me when he kept refusing to take the outside pitch to the opposite field.
Chris played for the Braves for seven years and the best way to describe him is that a fan could go to sleep every night and not worry about who was manning first-base for the team. The word "solid" always come to mind. The highlight of his career was the pennant-winning home run he hit for the Yankees.
2B Felix Millan
Others: Red Schoendienst, Frank Bolling, Davey Johnson
Comments: Felix was the best we ever had and we were foolish to trade him. It was our inability to develop good pitchers that resulted in us making the move. Felix could hit and field with the best of them. He went on to much greater success with the Mets.
Red is a Hall of Famer and was a key figure in our 1957 World Championship achievement. He was beset with tuberculosis and missed most of the 1958 season. Still, his truly great years were with the team he's most recognized with, the Cardinals.
Bolling was a great fielder and though he did have some "pop" in his bat, couldn't compare to the others cited here.
Davey Johnson had the best year any 2nd baseman ever had with the Braves when he hit 43 home runs. He was also an excellent defensive player but, like Red, will always be remembered for his play on the Orioles.
SS Johnny Logan
Others: Roy McMillan, Jeff Blauser, Rafael Furcal
Comments: This was a tough pick. It boiled down to selecting either Logan or McMillan. I chose Logan and will tell you why.
Johnny was a great fielder, utilizing his quick hands to compensate for an average arm. He won Golden Gloves in 1951 and 1953. He wasn't a great hitter, but his career highs of 37 doubles, 83 RBI's and a .297 batting average dwarf any numbers Roy ever put up. But, the clincher was the leadership role he played on the great Braves teams of the 50's. His fiery personality enhanced his leadership qualities. In particular, he would get extremely outraged when a pitcher threw a "beanball" at him and didn't care that he was smaller than the pitcher who threw it when he went after him. Great pitchers like Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson were famous for brushing back hitters or, literally, throwing at them.
McMillan was a "human vacuum cleaner" at this crucial defensive position. He won three Golden Gloves but did that with the team he's most recognized to be associated with, the Cinncinati Reds. He could make good contact but wasn't a good hitter.
I only include Jeff Blauser as he, recently, was chosen as the shortstop on an all-time Atlanta Braves national poll. Jeff could easily outhit either Logan or McMillan but couldn't come close to carrying either player's glove. It is symbolic of the dearth we had at the position if Jeff could be selected as the best we had over a 25-year period.
I list young Rafael because, if he stays healthy and remains at the position, will take over the top spot within a very short period of time. Of course, he would have to stay at the position, and that would depend on Wilson Betemit and/or Alejandro Machado, but in that case, Raffy would become competition for Felix Millan on this list and Wilson or Alejandro would compete with Johnny Logan for this spot.
3B Eddie Mathews
Others: Chipper Jones, Terry Pendleton, Bob Horner, Clete Boyer
Comments: Eddie is in the Hall of Fame and is considered one of the greatest to ever play this position. He began his career as a poor fielder and worked hard to the point where he excelled in the field. He had the perfect power swing and that was according to , arguably, the greatest hitter of all time, Ty Cobb. He was an extraordinary team leader. Logan would get into a fight knowing that Eddie was behind him. He didn't back off from anybody. A true blue-collar type of player who was a hero to so many.
It is way too early to consider Chipper ahead of him, though I wouldn't bet against it happening (If he stays at 3rd base). Chipper is only 28 years old and entering his prime. He's already won an MVP award and may have others to follow. He's a team leader with the Braves along with Tom Glavine. He's the key player in the Braves batting order. So it is conceivable that I would pick Chipper over Eddie sometime in the future.
Terry gets a high ranking here because he was instrumental in changing the way the Braves played the game. He won the MVP award in 1991 as much for his leadership as his playing prowess. He implemented a winning attitude and work ethic which became the Braves approach in the years to follow.
We did have other third basemen that were pretty good.
Bob Horner had some good years but always came up short of his potential, and our expectations, and was moved to 1st base somewhat because of his sizeable girth.
Clete Boyer was the best fielding 3rd baseman this side of Brooks Robinson and, suddenly, found his power stroke at The Launching Pad, but he would be identified as a Yankee for the role he played on that team.
OF Hank Aaron, Dale Murphy, Andruw Jones
Others: Rico Carty, Ralph Garr, David Justice
Comments: Hank's selection is self-explanatory. Probably the greatest right-handed hitter I've ever seen and baseball's home run king.
Murph was MVP two years in a row and had a period where he was, arguably, the best player in the game. The debate continues: Should he be in the Hall of Fame? I love Murph but always felt he just missed deserving to make it...until they elected Bill Mazeroski! Besides, baseball should give some recognition when there is a player whose character is above and beyond any reasonable expectation.
Andruw's defense alone warrants his being picked and who knows the limits of his potential as an offensive force? And who knows what real influence Andruw's agent, Scott Boras, wields over his staying a Brave or leaving via free agency?
Carty was one of the best pure hitters I've ever seen. I was at Shea Stadium when Rico hit a home run that was still rising when it went between the two light poles beyond the Braves bullpen. If you've been to Shea you'll definitely know what a prodigious shot that was. If you haven't visited there…well, trust those of us who were! Rico was the first player I ever heard described this way: "You could wake him up at 3 A.M. and he'd still hit a line drive!"
Garr is the best lead-off man I've ever witnessed don a Braves uniform. Knicknamed appropriately as "The Roadrunner." A terrific hitter with blazing speed. I wonder if there has ever been anything more exciting in Braveshistory than watching Ralph hit and run his way to a triple!
David was an offensive force who was Rookie of the Year and a key figure in our winning the 1995 World Championship. We should never have traded him. He was a catalyst for our team and a real money player. He came up through our system and excelled as soon as he got to the Show, even though he was playing out of position (1B) because a fellow named Murph was in rightfield.
C Del Crandall, Joe Torre, Javy Lopez
Comments: Easily the toughest decision I had to make. Three terrific catchers with great skills. Three catchers who are each better at different aspects of the position and the game.
So I sat down and did a comparison after doing some research. More research was needed because Javy has an advantage over Joe who, in turn, has the same advantage over Del. It is the advantage of my memory. Certainly I remember the present Braves catcher better than those of 40 years and 50 years ago.
Another consideration was what their greatest strengths were and how much it was needed for, and contributed to, their respective Braves team. Del was the best defensive and weakest offensive catcher of this trio. But how crucial was his offense on a team with hitters like Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Red Schoendienst, Joe Adcock, etc.? Joe and Javy were clearly more crucial to their teams' offenses.
Del won four Gold Gloves, Joe won one and Javy has had to work hard to become the fine defensive catcher he is today. Del caught Spahn, Burdette and Buhl, Javy catches Glavine, Smoltz and Millwood while Joe caught the weakest pitchers of this trio of catchers. Joe batted .2937, Javy .2887 and Del .2569 in their years as Braves, excluding years with less than 200 at-bats. It is Javy, Joe and Del, in that order, when it comes to home runs and Joe, Javy and Del regarding RBI's.
However, Joe wasn't on teams that won anything, Del was on the '57 World Championship team as well as the '58 pennant winners. Javy has been a key cog on a Braves team that consistently won divisions, pennants and a World Series.
So here's my conclusion; "different strokes for different folks" and I'll declare it a three-way tie!
RHP Greg Maddux
Runners-up: Phil Niekro, John Smoltz, Lew Burdette
Comments: Niekro is in the Hall of Fame and was great while rarely pitching on a good team.
Smoltz is the best "money pitcher" I've ever seen on the Braves. He's ahead of Burdette as I've seen Smoltz do it over a decade while Burdette had the most extraordinary individual Series in Braves history.
But none of them comes close to Greg. He is a certain Hall of Famer. He won 4 consecutive Cy Young Awards. He is one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all-time. And he has achieved all this amidst the greatest offensive explosion the game has ever had!
LHP Warren Spahn
Runner-up: Tom Glavine
Comments: Spahn is part of the "greatest lefthander of all time" debate. He won 363 games! He's in the Hall of Fame.
I think Tommy will make the Hall but reaching Spahn's numbers are way beyond his reach.
RP Mark Wohlers
Runners-up: Gene Garber, Don McMahon
Comments: Garber was an excellent reliever, a position that has historically plagued the Braves. He was a key component of our 1982 Division winning team. He will be most remembered as the pitcher who stopped Pete Rose's hitting streak at 44 games.
McMahon was a closer before there were closers. He had a different role, though, in that he would pitch multiple innings, not like the closers today. The "single inning when we have the lead" philosophy really began with the great Dennis Eckersley.
I pick Wohlers because I've never seen us have a closer who could be so overpowering, and because he was so crucial to our being the Champions in 1995! I'll never forget the picture of him leaping in the air after the final out of that World Series!
Manager Bobby Cox
Runners-up: Fred Haney, Luman Harris, Joe Torre
Comments: Bobby is the greatest manager in Braves history and may go down as one of the greatest in baseball history as well. The record speaks for itself. He is the epitome of a players' manager.
Fred was the Braves' skipper during those glorious '57 and '58 years. Another players' manager who got the most out of his team.
Lum was a terrific manager who led us in '69 who was able to win the division and then run into the miracle the Mets performed that year.
Joe was our man in '82 and has gone on to greatness as a manager with the record he's accomplished with the Yankees. In fact, Joe has assured himself a spot in the hall of Fame with his extraordinary Yankee work.
There you have it. I don't expect everyone to agree with all I've written here and would stress that it's one man's opinion. But it's from a man who has seen all the players above so the opinion would be considered an educated one.
» Michael Rapaport is a free-lance writer who has written a book called, "Dem Braves...A Brooklyn Boy's Odyssey With His Chosen Team," which recounts Braves history since he became a fan in 1957. He can be contacted at mmr11_2000@yahoo.com.
Also by Michael Rapaport
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Copyright © 2001 by Michael Rapaport. Posted July 18, 2001.
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