Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 41, Eddie

One of the most oft-misspelled names in the Hall of Fame, this Atlanta Braves franchise icon is one of the elite all-time at the hot corner.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has 17 members who list third base as their primary position. Two of them spent at least 15 seasons as part of the Atlanta Braves organization. Today, we’re covering one of the first, the only player to play for the franchise in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, Eddie Mathews.

Born to athletic parents, Mathews got his love for baseball from his father, but his mother was the one who would pitch to Eddie, and if Mathews would hit the ball near his mother, he would have extra chores, which he attributed to making him into a pull hitter.

The Braves lucked into Mathews over other teams who offered more money, simply because their third base position was likely to be open soon. Sure enough, at age 20, Mathews was the Braves full-time third baseman, hitting 25 home runs.

Eddie made his mark on the league in his second full season, the team’s first in Milwaukee, when he launched 47 balls out of play to lead the majors as he hit .302/.406/.627. He finished second to Roy Campanella in the 1953 MVP voting.

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Mathews would go on to 40 or more home runs 4 times with the Braves and 30 or more 10 times (including 9 straight seasons). However, after years of playing nearly every game, injuries came on Mathews hard as he reached his mid-30s. The team’s first season in Atlanta was by far his worst as a member of the Braves, as he hit .250/.341/.420 with 16 home runs.

He would play one more full season before injuries ended his 1968 and led him to retire. Mathews finished his Atlanta Braves career with a .273/.379/.517 line in his time with the team, good for a 145 OPS+. He clubbed 493 home runs and had a nearly 1/1 BB/K ratio (1,376 walks, 1,387 strikeouts).

When he retired in 1968, Mathews had the record for the most games played at the hot corner in major league history. His record has since been passed, but he’s still 8th all-time in games played at the position.

Mathews would have been even more appreciated in the modern era as he had a knack for spitting on balls out of the zone, topping 100 walks 5 times, leading the NL four times and the majors once in his career. By contrast, he struck out 100+ times just 5 times.