Atlanta Braves Top Ten: Andruw front and center
By Tab Bamford
The Atlanta Braves enjoyed their greatest run as a franchise from 1991 to 2005. Countless fans remember the Braves amazing starting staff headlined by future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Then there was Chipper Jones and David Justice providing heroics with their bats and pacing the offense. But it was a centerfielder from a small Island in the Caribbean that was just as transformative a figure in the Braves run.
Andruw Jones made a strongig splash in the Braves’ World Series run in 1996 after just appearing in 31 regular-season games. TheCuraçao native hit a home run in his first two at-strongats in the World Series against the New York Yankees. While the Braves did not win that World Series, Jones was a strongig reason why Atlanta claimed the next ten National League West titles and appeared in two more World Series. Indeed, during that decade, Jones strongecame the Gold Glove standard in centerfield while providing a home run threat strongehind Chipper Jones in the Braves strongatting order.
So which players from Latin America would join Andruw Jones to claim spots on the Braves Latino Top 10? Did anyone else have as big an impact on the Braves franchise? In order to come up with the Top 10 ranking we kept it simple by using WAR (as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com) as our metric of choice. And while this is one measure of the impact of these players, you might have your own opinion as to who deserves to higher (or lower) on Atlanta’s Top 10.
Let us know of what you think of the rankings. Surprised someone is higher or lower than expected? Is there another Latino whose impact on the Braves deserved to be on the list?
Atlanta Braves Top Ten
1. Andruw Jones
12 years with Atlanta, 61.1 WAR, 5-time All-Star, 10 Gold Glove awards
Curaçao
Arguably the best defensive center fielder of his generation, Andruw burst onto the scene late in the 1996 season as a 19-year-old. While his defensive prowess garnered most of the attention, he was an offensive force as well. He hit a career-high 51 home runs and drove in 128 in 2005, his tenth season in the big leagues – at age 28. Over 1,761 games with Atlanta, Andruw hit 368 homers and drove in 1,117 runs while scoring 1,045 times as well.
2. Javy López
12 years with Atlanta, 23.4 WAR, 3-time All-Star, 1995 World Series champion
Puerto Rico
Lopez appeared in 1,156 games as the primary catcher for the Braves during their dynasty run in the 1990s and was a terrific middle-of-the-order run producer. His best offensive season was 2003, his last in Atlanta, when he hit a career-high 43 home runs and drove in a career-best 109 runs. He posted a .839 OPS and hit 214 homers for Atlanta and remains a beloved member of those great teams to this day.
3. Rico Carty
Eight years with Milwaukee/Atlanta, 23.2 WAR, one All-Star Game
Dominican Republic
With the Milwaukee Braves, Carty finished runner-up to Dick Allen for the 1964 Rookie of the Year Award when he hit 22 home runs and drove in 88. He made the move with the franchise to Atlanta, and his best season came in 1970 when he hit 25 homers and drove in a career-high 101. Carty also led the league with a .366 average and .454 on-base percentage that season. The underrated left fielder slashed .317/.388/.496 with the Braves, producing no matter the city he – and the team – called home.
4. Darrell Evans
Nine years with Atlanta, 22.8 WAR, one All-Star Game
US / Mexican American
Evans broke in as a 22-year-old in 1969 and appeared in 24 games over his first two seasons. He was an on-base machine who earned a regular spot in the lineup by 1972 and was named to the All-Star Game in 1973 when he led the league with 124 walks. He walked a career-high (and league leading) 126 times the following year. In 866 games with the Braves, Evans posted a .368 on-base percentage and scored 453 runs in 866 games. He returned to Atlanta for a victory lap in 1989 as a 42-year-old and drove in 39 runs in 107 games. Evans made the top five for the Braves, Tigers and Giants.
5. Felipe Alou
Six years with Atlanta, 22.0 WAR, 2-time All-Star
Dominican Republic
Felipe’s best season in the Majors came in 1966 with Atlanta, when he led the league in at bats (666), runs scored (122) hits (218) and total bases (355) en route to a fifth place finish in MVP voting in the National League. He also led the league with 210 hits in 1968, his other All-Star season with the Braves. Alou slashed .295/.338/.440 in 841 games with the Braves, coming up just 11 hits short of 1,000 with the franchise.
6. Rafael Furcal
Six years with Atlanta, 21.8 WAR, one All-Star Game, 2000 NL Rookie of the Year
Dominican Republic
Furcal joined the Braves in 2000 and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award for a 40 stolen base, 87-run effort in 131 games. Over the years that followed, Furcal established himself as a top tier leadoff man; the only season in which he stole fewer than 25 bases for Atlanta was 2001, when he stole 22 in only 79 games. He led the league with 10 triples in 2003 when he appeared in his only All-Star Game with Atlanta.
7. Andrelton Simmons
Four years with Atlanta, 17.5 WAR, 2 Gold Glove Awards
Curaçao
One of the sterling examples of WAR rewarding exceptional defensive play, Simmons averaged better than 4.0 WAR per season with the Braves while only managing a .304 on-base percentage. However, he posted a 7.0 WAR and hit 17 home runs – still a career high – in his first full season in the Majors. Simmons did score 197 runs in 499 games while with Atlanta. He also qualified for the Angels’ top ten.
8. Martín Prado
Seven years with Atlanta, 15.8 WAR, one All-Star Game
Venezuela
Prado appeared his only All-Star Game in 2010 and also finished in the top ten of MVP voting that season when he hit a career-high 15 home runs and drove in 66. He slashed .295/.345/.435 in 683 games with the Braves, hitting 168 doubles and scoring 355 runs. He also made the Marlins’ top ten.
9. Julio Teheran
Eight years with Atlanta, 15.2 WAR, 2-time All-Star
Colombia
The only active member of the Braves to make the list, Teheran ranks second all-time in strikeouts for Colombian-born pitchers (behind Chicago’s Jose Quintana). He threw a career-high 221 innings in 2014, the season in which he appeared in his first All-Star Game. He’s in his eighth season with the Braves but won’t turn 28 until January.
10. Yunel Escobar
Four years with Atlanta, 11.4 WAR
Cuba
The rare Cuban baseball defector who was actually drafted (second round, 2005). Escobar had his best season in Braves uniform in 2009, when he batted .299 with career-highs of 14 homeruns and 76 RBI. He was traded in the middle of the 2010 season as part of a multiplayer deal with Toronto that brought Álex González (Venezuelan) to the Braves.
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