Who are the greatest Atlanta Braves of all time?
By James Kunkle
6. Eddie Mathews
Of course, the lone player to play in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta will be on this list. Of course, it does not hurt that Eddie Mathews was an extraordinary baseball player as well. A WAR of just under 100 and over 500 career home runs is just proof of that.
Mathews is the reason that no other player in Atlanta Braves history will wear 41 as his number is retired.
To much surprise, Mathews never really won any awards other than being a twelve time all star and he did earn two world series championships (Milwaukee in 1957; Detroit in 1968).
Of course with numbers like that mentioned earlier, it is easy to see why he was elected into the Hall of Fame. As for now, Mathews will sit sixth on the all time list for the Atlanta Braves.
5. Tom Glavine
If he never did anything else, Tom Glavine almost earned this spot on the list based solely on his pitching during the 1995 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. As we all know though, he did much, much more during his illustrious career.
A 305 game winner (254 with the Atlanta Braves) and a two time Cy Young winner, Tom Glavine was able to make a career off of living just on the outside edge of the plate. None of this even mentions the fact he may very well be one of the best hitting pitchers of all time. And remember, “chicks dig the long ball“.