Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 39, arm quartet
Trade bust
One player that will definitely bring out the ire of Atlanta Braves fans is Len Barker. While Barker had an excellent career, it’s what the Braves gave up in a foolish pursuit to bring him in that leads to him being remembered with such poor memories today.
Barker was a 3rd round pick of the Texas Rangers, and he quickly made his way to the big leagues, though he pitched parts of three seasons with the Rangers before he finally was able to get a full-time major league gig by getting traded to the Cleveland Indians.
His first year with the Indians was rather forgettable, but in 1980, Barker won 19 games in 36 starts for the Indians, hurling 246 1/3 innings and leading the American League with 187 strikeouts. He would again lead the AL in strikeouts during the strike-shortened 1981 season, even hurling a perfect game.
While he was posting league-leading numbers, it was nowhere near the dominance of many of the NL’s pitchers of the time, where 300 strikeouts was not uncommon. Instead, Barker was more of a guy who would strike out 190 over 250 innings.
After winning the division title in 1982, the Atlanta Braves attempted to make a push in 1983, and they acquired Barker, who was in the midst of a horrible year for the Indians. In spite of his poor pitching, they paid a premium for Barker, trading away Rick Behenna, Brett Butler, and Brook Jacoby in order to acquire Barker.
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Barker would never again be fully healthy with the Braves, totaling just 200 innings even over 1984 and 1985 before being released before the 1986 season. Butler had a big 1983 season before headlining the return for Barker, with a .344 OBP, 39 steals, and leading the league with 13 triples. He would go on to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the league for the next decade in major league baseball. Jacoby took over at third base in 1984 for the Indians, and from 1985-1990, he made two All-Star teams, hitting .278/.346/.431 and averaging 18 home runs per season.
Those two players would have been very nice pieces to have alongside Dale Murphy in the latter part of the 1980s when it seemed he was a one-man offense in the worst of the down-trodden 1980s for the Atlanta Braves.
Over the parts of three seasons that he was healthy, Barker tossed 233 innings for the Braves, with a 4.64 ERA.
Next. Countdown #40 - bad deal. dark
Hopefully, you enjoyed this unique quartet of arms and their history in the Atlanta Braves franchise.