Atlanta Braves – Throwback Thursday Special – The First Basemen

Chris Chambliss as a Yankee. Edited from original; uncredited.

Chris Chambliss

Most people associate Chambliss with the Yankee teams of the 1970’s.  However, he was a regular with the Braves of the 1980’s, playing from 1980 through 1986 to essentially end his career.

Chambliss’ best seasons as a Braves came in 1980 and 1982 with a 2.7 fWAR in both years.  That was actually close to his peak as a Yankee as well, excepting 1976 (4.1).  After 1983, his production declined sharply, and his last three seasons in Atlanta were as replacement-level production in increasingly limited playing time.

Still, the 7 seasons ranks as the longest current streak of first basemen in Atlanta – at least so far – with 5900+ innings.

February 22, 2013; Atlanta Braves special instructor Fred McGriff (27) during spring training. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Fred McGriff

The Crime Dog – who quite literally set the team on fire upon his arrival in 1993.  He then continued with the Braves for over 5000 innings and 4-1/2 seasons in Atlanta, including the World Series Championship year of 1995.  Of his career 493 home runs, 130 of them came as a Brave.  He enjoyed productive years throughout his Atlanta stint, and clearly was one of the most feared hitters of his era.

McGriff spent 15 full seasons in the majors – 18 overall – and has been receiving steady Hall of Fame voting consideration, though not nearly enough for enshrinement.

A Boston Herald archives photo of Orlando Cepeda (R) with Bob Tillman and Hank Aaron. http://sports.mearsonlineauctions.com/1969-hank-aaron-orlando-cepeda-bob-tillman-atlanta-braves-%22boston-herald-collection-archives%22-origin-lot59739.aspx

Orlando Cepeda

Like Chris Chambliss, Cepeda made his name with another team before joining the Braves.  From 1958-1966, he was a Giant, and posted quite robust numbers.  After a stint as a Cardinal, he came to Atlanta in 1969, remaining into the 1972 season.  He was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee in 1999.

Cepeda’s production declined sharply in 1971 when sharing time at first with Hank Aaron, the other Hall of Famer in this list of first basemen.  He was sent back to the Cardinals in 1972, bouncing around a bit before finishing his career in 1974 with Kansas City.

While in Atlanta, he played roughly 2000 innings at first, and was still a solid offensive threat in 1969-70 (3.1, 4.4 WAR) with 56 HR in those years and hitting .305 in 1970.  The Braves won their division in 1969 with Cepeda – only to fall to the Miracle Mets.

Cepeda clubbed 379 homers for his career, hit .297 overall, and stole 142 bases while knocking in 1365 runs.

Felipe Alou

It wasn’t exclusively his position in 1966, but Felipe Alou should probably be remembered as Atlanta’s 1st first baseman, taking 90 games and over 700 innings there in 1966.

Alou was a Brave from 1964 through 1969, taking in a total of 262 games at first.  His best career seasons were in ’66 and ’68, with 6.1/6.2 WAR, a combined 44 home runs, 194 runs scored, batting averages of .327/.317, and 131 total RBI.

Like many others of his era, Alou was an outfielder first.  He started with the Giants in 1958, and was part of a triumvirate of brothers:  Jesus and Matty also had excellent major league careers, not to mention Feilpe’s son, Moises.  The funny bit is that “Alou” wasn’t really his surname – it was Rojas – but the Giants messed that up when they originally signed him… and it stuck.

Felipe moved into coaching after his playing career ended, managing both the Montreal Expos and the San Francisco Giants.

Julio Franco. Photo Credit: Kyle Terada, US PRESSWIRE

Julio Franco

The ageless Julio Franco was a Brave from 2001-2005, handling first on a part time bases during each of those years – a total of 2350 innings.

He never was a spectacular player with Atlanta, though had a stretch of 3 awesome years with the Texas Rangers from 1989-1991 (combined 17.3 WAR).  He just went out and did exactly what Bobby Cox needed him to do.  This made him a perennial fan favorite.

Franco always hit with a high average:  .298 for his career, and .300/.284/.294/.309/.275 for those five seasons in Atlanta.

For his career (is it actually over??) Franco hit 173 homers, had a .365 OBP, .782 OPS, and smacked 2586 hits.

Julio Franco, Professional Hitter.

PITTSBURGH – 1979: Outfielder Bob Horner of the Atlanta Braves bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a Major League Baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium in 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Bob Horner

Yes, I know – he was mostly a Hot Corner guy… but was the primary occupant at first base for half of 1985 and all of 1986.

Horner was in Atlanta from 1978 through 1986, then a Cardinal in 1988.  It was a relatively short career, but he did hit 218 home runs, including four in a single game on July 6, 1986… as a first baseman.  And that’s why he’s in this list.

Much more of that 4-bagger game, complete with the classic banter of Ernie Johnson and Skip Carey, is here – which starts with Horner’s first home run.  Interestingly enough, Andres Galarraga was playing first base for the visiting Expos that day.

(Spoiler: despite the heroics, the Braves lost that game)

Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman (right) greets RF Jason Heyward (left) at home plate after Heyward hit a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman has only been with the Braves’ major league club for four full seasons (starting part of 2010 – has it really been that long already?) and he is already rocketing up the charts among Atlanta first baseman… and will most probably be the mainstay anchoring that position for years to come (being under contract until 2021).

He already has amassed these totals:

• 5,438 innings
• .286 batting average
• .831 OPS

The last two seasons, he’s busted out with 4.7 and 4.2 WAR production, driving in over 100 runs in 2013.  For this 50th year in Atlanta, the Braves will look to Freeman again at first base.  He is already clearly the #1 first baseman in terms of innings, and is just reaching his peak production years.  Freddie will be the player a generation of Braves’ fans remember at the position for years to come.

Have a hug, Freddie!

Mark Teixeira. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Others of Note

THE BIG CAT – Andres Galarraga was limited to two seasons in Atlanta as he lost all of 1999 to injury.  He was a force during his 1998 season, with 44 homers and a .305 batting average while knocking in 121 runs (oddly, a disappointment to some after 290 RBI – as a Rockie – during the prior two seasons).  But those results put him 6th in the MVP voting for that year.

THE HAMMER – Hank Aaron owns the best single season of anyone playing first base in Atlanta, though he split time between there (71 games) and right field (60 games).  That was a 47 HR year for Aaron while hitting .327 and OPS’ing 1.079 for the year… while walking more often than striking out – which wasn’t ususual for him.

MARK TEIXEIRA – Mark Teixeira is mentioned here for two reasons:  because of the team history that he is inextricably intertwined with; and because he actually did the job he was expected to do — for all of 157 games between one trade deadline and the next in 2007-08.  5 WAR, 37 HR, 134 RBI… and a pair of bad trades.   Looking at the bright side:  at least Atlanta didn’t get saddled with the contract the Yankees signed with him.

ADAM LaROCHE – Just 3 seasons in Atlanta (2004-06) until the Braves declined to pay Adam Laroche enough to keep him after a 32 HR campaign in 2006. Almost 2900 innings at first base.  Still hunts with Chipper Jones a lot.

Also:

• David Justice manned first base for 69 games and 535 innings in 1990.
• Davey Johnson, primarily a second baseman, notheless played first for 73 games in 1974.
• Ryan Klesko.  Now thought of as a 1st baseman, but was mostly an outfielder with the Braves (1992-99)… since others listed on prior pages were occupying that position.  Took 75 games and 530 innings at 1st in 1999, his last in Atlanta.
• Mike Lum.  Was with the team from 1967-1975, returning later.  Shared the position from 1973-75, then again on a return to Atlanta in 1979-80, though was primarily an outfielder.  Roughly 1900 total 1B innings, though hitting (career .247, 90 HR from 1967-1981) wasn’t his strong suit.