A50: Atlanta Braves Throwback Thursday Special – The Left Fielders
By Dan Horton
Jeff Burroughs
Jeff Burroughs was the regular left fielder from 1977-1980. He arrived from Texas, where he brought home an American League MVP award in 1974 as well as an All-Star selection that same year.
Jeff Burroughs had a reputation as power hitting outfielder. He produced seasons of 30, 25, 29, and 18 home runs before coming to the National League. Aside from 1977, where he hit 41 HR’s with 114 RBI’s, Burroughs’ power and production dropped offensively.
Only totaling 23, 11, and 13 HR’s, along with 77, 47, and 51 RBI’s after 1977.
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In what used to be known as The Launching Pad at Fulton County Stadium, Burroughs never topped 23 homers (1978) and 77 RBI (1978). Ironically, 1978 was his only other All-Star appearance. In ’78, he led the league with 117 BB’s and a .432 OPB.
Burroughs’ slash line in 4 years with the Braves wasn’t too bad, but wasn’t that great either. However, if you base your judgement on these stats alone, his best years were in a Brave uniform. At .268/.377/.472/.849, these were all better than any other lines with TEX, OAK, SEA, and TOR.
Of course, Burroughs played in less than 300 games for OAK in 3 years, 89 and 86 with SEA/TOR. He only spent one year at both places before retiring in 1985.
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