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Atlanta Braves: Top 15 leadoff seasons in Braves history

By Benjamin Chase

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 05: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a solo homer to lead off the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 05: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a solo homer to lead off the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at SunTrust Park on September 5, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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15. 1987 Dion James

Overall: 134 G, 574 PA, .312/.397/.472, 37 doubles, 6 triples, 10 HR, 10 SB, 70/63 BB/K
Leadoff: 97 G, 452 PA, .321/.402/.495, 28 doubles, 5 triples, 10 HR, 8 SB, 53/53 BB/K
The 1987 Atlanta Braves were not exactly headed to great things. The season would see an influx in offense league-wide, and multiple Braves hitters capitalized on it, with Dale Murphy knocking out 44 homers and Ozzie Virgil hitting a career-high 27.

Finding a guy to lead the offense, however, was a challenge, one that ended up falling on the shoulders of a player in his first season with the team. Dion James was acquired in a trade in January 1987 by the Atlanta Braves. Manager Chuck Tanner was old-school and installed Dion James in center field and the leadoff spot, and any time James was not in center, the center fielder for the day would end up taking the leadoff spot, even when James was also in the lineup.

James was 24 when he came to Atlanta, having spent seven seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, having 157 games of major league experience over 3 major league trips with the Brewers, hitting very well in 1984, but he was injured in 1985 and spent the entire 1986 season in AAA.

After his big 1987 season, James struggled to a .256/.353/.350 line in 1988 and was traded after repeating near the same line in 1989 for the Atlanta Braves. He was an impact player down the stretch, hitting .306/.368/.400, but he couldn’t secure a starting role the following season and in spite of hitting .332/.390/.466 in a part-time role for the 1993 Yankees, James found no work available and headed to Japan for a season before returning to the Yankees for two seasons in a reserve role before retiring with his 1987 season accounting for 100 more plate appearances at the major league level than any other season in his career and nearly half of his career bWAR.

In the 1987 season, James was noted for a first in baseball history, at least a first in recorded baseball history. In the third inning of a game on April 12th, when he hit a dove (the article says pigeon, but it was later corrected) in flight with a batted ball. He should have been out on a routine fly ball to left, but he ended up with a double! No word on what it sounded like when the dove cried. (Okay, terrible pun, but had to be said!)

James also left a lasting Braves legacy. His son Jared James played in the Atlanta Braves system as recent as this summer, making it as high as AA and leaving the Braves system in mid-August with a line of .277/.350/.409 over 251 career minor league games.

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