Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 32, Charlie

On a team of youth and excitement, he was the steady hand on the mound for the 1991 Atlanta Braves.

He pitched just three seasons for the Atlanta Braves, but Charlie Leibrandt did plenty over his three years on the mound for the Braves in the early 1990s.

Leibrandt was initially drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round of the 1978 June draft from Miami-Ohio. He was up quickly, making his major league debut in 1979. He spent the 1980 season primarily in the back of the Reds rotation.

Leibrandt struggled through arm issues in 1981 and 1982 that held him to a total of 137 2/3 innings combined between the two seasons. He then spent the entire 1983 season in the minor leagues. During the 1983 season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.

His first full season with the Royals, Leibrandt won 11 games and as the Royals stormed to the 1985 World Series, he was a key cog, winning 17 games, tossing 237 2/3 innings with a 2.69 ERA.

For the first five seasons of his Royals tenure, Leibrandt was a consistent back of the rotation pitcher that put up a 3.38 ERA over nearly 1,100 innings, winning 71 games over that time. However, Leibrandt struggled through the 1989 season, with a 5.14 ERA over 161 innings.

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That made him an appealing buy-low option for the Atlanta Braves in the 1989-1990 offseason, and they acquired him from the Royals in exchange for first baseman

in a four-player deal. He resigned with the Braves after the 1990 season after putting up a 3.16 ERA over 162 1/3 innings with Atlanta in 1990.

The 1991 Atlanta Braves staff outside of Leibrandt was young. Leibrandt was 34 that season, while no other pitcher that made at least 5 starts for the Braves in 1991 was over 25. Leibrandt was able to give the team consistent innings, posting a 3.49 ERA over 229 2/3 innings, winning 15 games.

After making 5 starts and 7 appearances for the Reds and Royals before coming to the Braves in his playoff experience, he was very comfortable in the NLCS for the Braves in 1991, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs, one earned in his only NLCS start. He did struggle in his two appearances against the Twins in the World Series that year, a pattern that would repeat in 1992, excelling in his time in the NLCS but struggling in the World Series.

The Atlanta Braves traded Leibrandt before the 1993 season to the Texas Rangers before signing Greg Maddux. Over three seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Charlie Leibrandt went 39-31, tossing 585 innings with a 3.35 ERA.