Atlanta Braves opening day countdown: the 80s
The weather has hurt the continuation of the Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown. We’ll catch up here with the 80-89 pieces of Braves history.
Winter weather in the frozen tundra has left the Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown stalled for a bit. We’ll catch up with a pair of posts. First, this one counting down the 80s on the list, and then catching up to today’s number 73.
We’ll go through the 80s, starting from 89.
89. Mahler losses
At a time that the Braves were really not great, one guy was consistent for the team year-in, year-out in the starting rotation. Rick Mahler took a starting role in 1981 and after returning from injury in 1984, he was the team’s workhorse through 1988.
Over his Atlanta Braves career, he went 79-89 with a 4.00 ERA over 1,558 2/3 innings, pitching 307 games, starting 218 of them. His best year was his final one with the team when he ended up 9-16 over 249 innings with a 42/131 BB/K ratio.
88. Long’s HR as a Brave
When recalling the best shortstops in Atlanta Braves history, one name that certainly should be mentioned is Herman Long, who played with the team from 1890-1902. Long turned himself into an elite player before the turn of the century, when he aged quickly.
Long finished his Braves career with a .280/.337/.390 line over 1,647 games with 88 home runs and 434 stolen bases. He ranks 3rd among Braves shortstops all-time in home runs, 2nd in games and triples, and 1st in runs scored, hits, doubles, RBI, and stolen bases among shortstops in Braves franchise history.
87. Moylan’s GP in 2009
The submariner from Australia has been one of the brightest personalities in recent Atlanta Braves history. He returned in 2018 at age 39 to toss 39 games. His peak in games pitched came nearly a decade earlier in 2009, throwing in 87 games. He tossed 73 innings, with a 2.84 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 35/61 BB/K ratio. He was one of four Braves relievers to throw at least 70 games that season, along with one of two Braves to toss 80 games in 2009.
86. Notable Chipper stats
Over the incredible Hall of Fame career of Chipper Jones, the number 86 was notable in two of his most significant seasons.
In 1995, rookie Chipper was a huge positive for an Atlanta Braves team that would end up winning the city’s first World Series. That season, he drove in 86 runs as he hit .265/.353/.450 with 23 home runs, finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting to Japanese phenom Hideo Nomo.
The peak of Chipper’s career came in 1999 in a year that he incredibly did not make the National League All-Star team. Jones hit .319/.441/.633 with 45 home runs and 25 stolen bases, winning the National League’s Most Valuable Player. His 86 combined doubles and home runs in 1999 were the most of his career, and the most any Brave has ever collected in a single season.
85. Rabbit’s 1930 runs
One of the more controversial members of the Hall of Fame, Rabbit Maranville was part of the Braves organization from 1912-1920 and then again from 1929 to 1935. Maranville was not a big offensive producer in his baseball career, but he had flashes, and at ages 37 and 38 in 1929-1930, Maranville posted two of the best OBPs of his career. That led to his two best run totals. In 1930, that total was 85, which was second to Wally Berger.
84. King’s steals
After nearly a decade with Cincinnati and Chicago, King Kelly came to the Braves in 1887. In his first season with the team, he set a team mark with 84 stolen bases as he hit .322/.393/.488 with 34 doubles, 11 triples, and 8 home runs to go along with those steals. Those 84 stolen bases are still the top number in the organization’s history in a single season.
83. Rocker’s saves
His comments to a reporter showed that his intensity on the mound was also part of his off-field life, but for a short time, John Rocker was absolutely dominant at the back of the Atlanta Braves bullpen. From 1998 to mid-2001, Rocker pitched in 210 games, with a 2.63 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 123/259 BB/K ratio, and 83 saves for the Braves. The team traded him to Cleveland in mid-2001 for two pitchers who contributed to the Braves immediately. Rocker pitched his final major league season the next year.
82. Torg’s Braves HR
As the Braves were in their final seasons in Boston, they had a young hitting star emerge at first base. Originally from Washington state, Earl Torgeson had originally been signed by the Braves in 1941 out of high school, but he left in 1942 for military service and didn’t return until just before the 1946 season.
Torgeson quickly made his way to the major leagues, and immediately he hit well, hitting .281/.403/.481 with 16 home runs. Just before they left Boston, the Braves traded Torgeson after the 1952 season as part of a four-team trade that landed Joe Adcock and Jim Pendleton in Milwaukee while Torgeson ended up in Philadelphia.
Over his Braves career, Torgeson was a sabermetric dream, hitting .265/.385/.427 in spacious Braves Field in Boston, with 82 home runs in 3,001 plate appearances. He had 478 walks and 294 strikeouts in his Braves career.
81. Holmes 1945 extra bases
When one looks at the Braves franchise history top single-season performances in extra base hits, familiar names show up until you notice Tommy Holmes and his 1945 season.
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Holmes is one of the least recognized “stars” in the history of the Atlanta Braves organization. He came up in 1942 with the team and played through 1952 with Boston, hitting .303/.367/.434 over 1,289 games.
A guy who didn’t have a ton of counting stats, the 1945 season was a rarity for Holmes, as he hit .352/.420/.577, leading the major leagues in hits (224), doubles (47), home runs (28), total bases (367), slugging (.577), OPS (.997), and OPS+ (175). He also scored 125 runs and drove in 117 runs while stealing 15 bases. He finished 2nd in MVP voting while playing on a team that finished far down in the standings.
80. Matty D doubles
A tremendously popular player during his time with the Atlanta Braves, Matt Diaz played for 5 organizations in his major league career, but by far, the most time in the major leagues was spent with the Atlanta Braves.
Overall, Diaz played 578 games over his 7 full and partial seasons with the Braves, hitting .299/.347/.449 with 80 doubles and 43 home runs.
Next. Looking around Braves blogs this past week. dark
That gets us through our countdown in the 80s as we prepare for Atlanta Braves Opening Day. We’ll have more coming soon!