House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves greatest all-time home run hitters

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 31: A jersey recognizing career home run 715 of Hank Aaron is shown in the Monument Grove area of SunTrust Park before the game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees on March 31, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 31: A jersey recognizing career home run 715 of Hank Aaron is shown in the Monument Grove area of SunTrust Park before the game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees on March 31, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 20
Next
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ryan Klesko hits a home run in a Division series game vs. Houston. (Photo credit STEVE SCHAEFER/AFP via Getty Images)
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ryan Klesko hits a home run vs. Houston. (Photo credit STEVE SCHAEFER/AFP via Getty Images) /

player. 17. . . . Ryan Klesko. 16

Braves all-time home run hitters – No. 16: Ryan Klesko

139 HR

1995 World Series, Game 5.  In Cleveland.  9th inning.  Jose Mesa is on to close out the game with a 5-2 lead with the home-standing Indians trying to claw back to a 3-2 deficit in the series.  This was essentially a lock, for Mesa led all of baseball with 46 saves in 1995.  No one else had more than 38 that year.

But this was a case of the ‘”game within the game”.  Already, Fred McGriff (of course) had touched up Mesa for a double and was now standing on third with 2 outs.

So Mesa only needs to get 24-year-old Ryan Klesko, and despite how hot Klesko was (he hit .313 in the series with a 1.296 OPS to lead all Braves), there was truly nothing Klesko could do that would hurt the Indians.  Even a homer would only bring Atlanta up to a 4-5 deficit.

You could see it in their eyes and the cameras showed it well.  Mesa wanted to find out what this 24-year-old kid had.  He was simply going to challenge Klesko.  Klesko knew it too.

Two pitches.  Two strikes.  As pointed out on the MLB.com video of this AB, Mesa hadn’t allowed a homer to a left-handed batter that entire year.

At least… not until that third pitch.  Outer half and up, but somehow Klesko got the bat up and around on the fastball and forced it into the rightfield seats.  It was indeed 5-4 Cleveland.

Alas, that was the final score as Mark Lemke was over-matched by Mesa, but it’s still a story that illustrates just how good Ryan Klesko could be when he was focused during a hot streak.

Ryan Klesko was a home-grown Brave, drafted in 1989’s 5th round out of a southern California high school.  He debuted in the majors just three seasons later as a September call-up in 1992.

By the end of the 1990s, Bobby Cox needed something else: a hitter who played better defense, a hitter that wasn’t streaky, and a hitter who didn’t have to be substituted for when a tough lefty was on the mound.

Klesko really didn’t have a natural position on the field and generally would have been better suited in the American League as a DH, but his fate was as a National Leaguer with the Braves and Padres, plus a cameo appearance with the Giants in 2006.

For today:  he remains our 16th-most prolific homer hitter with 139 of his lifetime 278 homers – exactly half – coming as a Brave.

Home/Atlanta Braves All-Time Lists