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Atlanta Braves in the Hall of Fame

By Alan Carpenter |
Former Atlanta Braves players Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
Former Atlanta Braves players Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)

As another is being officially named today, it seemed a good idea to review the Braves’ players that Chipper Jones will be joining at Cooperstown.

The Atlanta Braves have existed since 1966, though the franchise that eventually found its way to Georgia is the oldest continuously-operating professional baseball organization in existence, dating back to 1871.

A few members of the baseball Hall of Fame passed through the Braves team on their way to the ultimate recognition for their careers – Babe Ruth being a prime example.

This list notes those who spent either the majority of their baseball time with the Braves, or at least a prime chunk of it:

The Boston Era

  • Hugh Duffy.  The first Braves’ inductee.  OF.  Started with the 1888 White Stockings, then with the Beaneaters from 1892-1900, playing elsewhere until 1906. Career .326 hitter, peaking at .440 in 1894 with a 1.196 OPS and 237 hits that year.
  • Tommy McCarthy.  OF.  I’ll claim him while slightly discounting his time in the American Association league.  Played for the Beaneaters in 1885, then again from 1892-1895.  Stole 468 bases, hitting .292 overall (.349 in 1894).
  • Kid Nichols.  1890-1901.  RHP, 361-208 overall, winning 30+ games 7 times.  Was just 30 years old when getting his 300th win.  Pitched again in 1904-06 with St. Louis and Philadelphia.  For some reason, his HOF plaque features a Cardinals logo.  Was said to have never been removed from a game for a reliever, though the stats are sketchy on that claim.
  • Rabbit Maranville.  1912-1920 and again 1929-1935.  Shortstop and 2B.  Was runner-up for the MVP award the year of the miracle Braves that won the 1914 World Series.  Received MVP votes in 8 different seasons.
  • John Clarkson.  RHP.  Played for Boston 1888-1891.  Video-game numbers early on, winning 53 games for the White Stocking in 1885, 38 in 1887, and then 49 for Boston in 1889 en route to a 328-178 overall record.  In that 1889 season, he started 72 games and finished 68 of those and throwing 620 innings.  He’s another guy with 300 wins by 30… but of course didn’t pitch after age 32 since his arm probably fell off after 4500+ innings.
  • Frank Selee.  Manager of the Beaneaters from 1890-1901, winning 5 National League Pennants.  His teams won 102 games in both 1892 and 1898.  Lifetime:  1004-649 (.607).  80-grade mustache.
  • Vic Willis.  1898-1905 for Boston.  RHP.  249-205 overall, with 2.63 ERA, punctuated by a 1.73 mark in 1906 (Pittsburgh).  Won 20+ games 8 times, but actually lost 29 in 1905 despite a 3.21 ERA (Boston went 47-107 that year).

The Milwaukee Era

This era was relatively short:  1953-1965, but we’ll still put three Braves in this group, even as each one spanned multiple cities:

  • Warren Spahn.  LHP.  1942, skipped 3 seasons for WW2, then 1946-1964.  363-245 overall with a 3.09 lifetime era, winning 20+ games a whopping 13 times.  Let the league in complete games 9 times.  Averaged 1.195 WHIP for his career.  Perrenial All-Star, MVP and Cy Young candidate (winning Cy Young award once).
  • Eddie Mathews.  3B/1B.  512 homers as the only player to play in all three Braves’ cities.  Lifetime .271/.376/.509/.885 hitter.  Was part of the first-ever Sports Illustrated cover.  Said by Ty Cobb to have a ‘perfect’ swing.  Later managed the Braves in parts of 1972 through 1974, including the game featuring Hank Aaron’s 715th homer.
  • Hank Aaron.  The Hammer.  OF.  1954-1974 with Milwaukee and Atlanta, then traded to the AL for a return trip to Miwaukee in 1975-76.  755 home runs.  2297 RBI.  6856 total bases.  Never struck out 100 times in any season.  Lifetime .305/.374/.555/.928 hitter, exceeding 1.000 OPS in 5 seasons over a 15 season span.  All-Star from 1955-1975 consecutively.  MVP in 1957.  World Series champion.  The true home run king.

The Atlanta Era

  • Phil Niekro. RHP from 1964-1987 with all but most of the last 4 seasons with the Braves.  318-274 despite enduring some fairly bad teams (lost 76 games in 1977-1980, but also won 71 others while leading the league in complete games in 1977-79).  3.35 lifetime ERA; 1.87 in 1967, which led the league (though “only” 207 innings, so he didn’t get Cy Young consideration).  5 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Gloves, Cy Young votes 5 times (2nd once; 3rd once).
  • Bobby Cox.  As a player? Not so good (Yankees, 1968-69).  As a manager? The best:  1978-1981 for the Braves; 1982-85 for Toronto; 1990-2010 for Atlanta.  2504-2001 in 29 total seasons.  5 NL Pennants, 1 World Series title.  1st place 15 times (once with Toronto).  4th All-time in managerial wins.  Famously the record-holder for game ejections with 161… 3 of those in playoff games.
  • Tom Glavine.  LHP., 1987-2008, excepting the “lost years” with the Mets in 2003-2007.  305-203, 3.54 lifetime ERA.  Of note regarding the Braves’ current crop of young pitchers, Glavine went 9-21 in 1987-88 with an ERA close to 5.00.  He got better.  Cy Young winner just 3 seasons later.  He added another in 1998 and was second twice.  Won 20+ games 5 times.  25th All-time in strikeouts…though not a ‘strikeout pitcher.’

More from Tomahawk Take

  • Greg Maddux.  RHP.  1986-2008, and with Atlanta 1993-2003.  “The Professor”, though I think “The Psychologist” might have been a better moniker to go with his other nickname: ”Mad Dog’.  355-227 overall, with a 3.16.  10th All-time in strikeouts.  His 1992-1998 seasons were among the best in baseball history, and his 4 consecutive Cy Young awards coincided with that 1992 effort.  Perennial All Star and Gold Glove winner.  Got votes for MVP several times.  Got into the heads of opposing hitters a lot more.
  • John Smoltz.  1998-2009, and with Atlanta (after the infamous Doyle Alexander trade) from the start through 2008.  213-155 with 154 saves – the only pitcher ever with a 200/150 combination (Dennis Eckersley had 197/390).  16th All-time in strikeouts.
  • John Schuerholz.  General Manager and President of the Braves during the ‘glory years’.  Also guided the organization through transitions into Turner Field, Sun Trust Park, Disney’s Champion Stadium and now the next Spring facility under construction at North Port, FL.

Next: Celebrating Chipper

And today:  we add Chipper Jones.

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