A50: Atlanta Braves Throwback Thursday Special – The Left Fielders

Rico Carty

Rico Carty was Atlanta’s first Left Fielder. A true utility player, Carty is listed by Baseball-Reference.com as the Braves starting left fielder on April 12, 1966. His listed positions are LF, DH, and 1B, in that order. However, in 1966, Carty fielded at 5 different spots. LF (118 games), Catcher (14 games), 1B (2 games), 3B (1 game), and RF (1 game).

Listed as the left fielder for ’66 and ’67, Rico Carty spent a total of actually 8 seasons in a Braves uniform, with 5 of those 8 as an Atlanta Brave. 1963-1965 were with Milwaukee. Rico Carty ranks first for games played in LF with 708.

His best year in the ATL was 1970. Carty won the batting title that year in the NL with a .366 average and led the league in OPB with a .454 average. 1970 was his only All-Star appearance and he received votes in the MVP voting, never finishing higher than 10, again in 1970.

Carty garnered NL Rookie of the Year consideration in 1963 with Milwaukee finishing 2nd.

Having been given credit for 8 years of service with Atlanta, Rico Carty’s value numbers are a bit skewed. His best year of 1970 seems like an over achieving campaign. His WAR was 5.8, the highest of his time in Atlanta, or anywhere else for that matter. In 1966, he had a 4.6, never getting any higher than 3.1 after his 1970 season.