The Atlanta Braves became an organization in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings. They have been through multiple team names and locations, but finally became the Atlanta Braves in 1966. The franchise has three World Series titles, with the most recent one being in 1995. The team has 11 retired numbers including Jackie Robinson‘s number 42. Here is an all-time starting lineup for the Atlanta Braves.
1. Rico Carty, Left Field (1963-1967, 1969-1970, 1972)
After playing just two games in 1963, Carty was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 1964. He hit 22 home runs and 28 doubles in 133 games that year. The left fielder made the All-Star game in 1970 when he slashed .366/.454/.584. He had a single season best in runs scored (84), RBIs (101) and hits (175) that year. Carty finished his career with Atlanta with an .884 OPS.
2. Freddie Freeman, First Base (2010-Present)
Freeman is in his 11 season with the Braves. In his first 10, he’s played in at least 117 games in nine of them, and at least 147 games in seven of them. In 2016, Freeman hit 34 homers, 43 doubles and scored 102 times. The 2019 season was his fourth in-a-row with at least 65 extra-base hits. At the time of writing, Freeman has a .978 OPS through 36 games in 2020.
3. Hank Aaron, Right Field (1954-1974)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1982
Uniform Number 44 Retired by the Braves in 1977
Aaron spent 21 seasons with Atlanta, slashing .310/.377/.567 in 3,076 regular season games there. He is currently the all-time leader in RBIs with 2,297. He had at least 106 RBIs in 11 seasons, with his single-season best being in 132 in 1957. Aaron won MVP that season with 44 homers, 118 runs scored and a .600 slugging percentage. Aaron also made the All-Star game in every season with the Braves except his debut year.
4. Chipper Jones, Third Base (1993-2012)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2018
Uniform Number 10 Retired by the Braves in 2013
In Jones’ career, he made eight All-Star games, won two Silver Slugger awards and was the MVP of the 1999 season. That year, Jones hit 45 long balls, 41 doubles and had 110 RBIs. That was one of the seasons where he had at least 100 RBIs every year from 1996-2003. Jones retired with 468 home runs and 549 doubles.
5. Andruw Jones, Center Field (1996-2007)
One of Jones’ biggest accomplishments on the field is winning 10 Gold Gloves in-a-row from 1998-2007. He also made five All-Star games and won a Silver Slugger in that span. Jones was the runner-up for NL MVP in 2005. That year, he had a career high in homers (51), OPS (.922) and RBIs (128).
6. Javy Lopez, Catcher (1992-2003)
In 1,156 regular season games with Atlanta, Lopez made three All-Star games and won a Silver Slugger award. The year he won the Silver Slugger award in 2003 was the same year that he finished in fifth for the NL MVP voting. That year, his slugging percentage was way up at .687 with 43 home runs and 29 two-baggers.
7. Marcus Giles, Second Base (2001-2006)
Although GIles’ major league career only lasted seven seasons, he still made an impact at second base in his six seasons with Atlanta. He made an All-Star game in 2003 when he slashed .316/.390/.526 in 145 games. Giles wrapped up his Braves career with an .809 OPS, 717 hits and 294 RBIs.
8. Johnny Logan, Shortstop (1951-1961)
Logan ended his career with the Braves in 1961 when they were still in Milwuakee. In his eleven seasons on the Braves, Logan made four All-Star games. The shortstop also played in at least 117 games each seasons with the Braves except for his first and last year there. In 1,351 regular season games, Logan slashed .270/.330/.374.
9. Greg Maddux, Starting Pitcher (1993-2003)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2014
Uniform Number 31 Retired by the Braves in 2009
Maddux accomplished the impressive feat of winning the NL Cy Young award in his first three seasons with the Braves. He also won it in 1992, giving him four consecutive Cy Young awards. Maddux went on to finish in the top five of the Cy Young voting the next three seasons after winning the award four times. He had a 2.63 ERA in 2,526 2/3 innings pitched in the regular season with Atlanta.
Relief Pitcher- Craig Kimbrel (2010-2014)
In the five seasons Kimbrel pitched with the Braves, he only had an ERA above 2.00 once when it was 2.10 in 2011. He finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting each season from 2011-2014. He pitched at least 61 2/3 innings in each of those four seasons, including 77 in 2011 when he won Rookie of the Year. Kimbrel had a 1.43 ERA with the Braves in 289 innings pitched.
Featured Image Courtesy of Talking Chop.
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