Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame to welcome new members

The missing rocker

While both Pendleton and Duffy are worthy selections, it remains notable year after year that one of the most influential members of the most dominant era of Atlanta Braves baseball is still not among the Braves Hall of Fame inductees. Reaching out for a player from before the 20th century, let alone the 21st century really makes the absence of a certain rocking pitching coach all the more notable.

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I’ve always had a personal fandom of Leo Mazzone as he and I share a birthday (his 3+ decades before mine). Mazzone’s time in the Atlanta Braves organization spanned four decades, beginning when 30-year-old Pepe Frias was the oldest regular on the team in 1979 and finishing on a team full of “Baby Braves” in 2005, a year where 33-year-old Chipper Jones was the only regular over 30 on the team.

For 16 seasons, Mazzone was the Atlanta Braves pitching coach, with some of the best pitching in the entire league under his tutelage. Even elite pitchers like Greg Maddux got better when working with Mazzone, but his trademark was working with guys like John Burkett, who went from an All-Star and 20-game winner to the point where the Braves signed him for just $750K. He returned in 2001 after a year with Mazzone and was able to turn in his best season by bWAR of his career at age 36.

Many different publications have gone to lengths to measure the impact of Mazzone’s impact on his pitchers, and the general consensus was that he positively affected his pitchers’ ERAs by a half to a full run. With that level of effectiveness for the longevity that he had, Mazzone should really be in strong consideration for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, not just in Atlanta, but alas, he’s yet to even be honored by the Atlanta Braves.

While the ceremony for Pendleton and Duffy definitely will be well-deserved and one that Atlanta Braves fans should enjoy, there definitely continues to be a major piece of the team’s history missing in the Braves Hall of Fame.