Atlanta Braves: Top 5 Greatest Sluggers in Franchise History
Today, we take a look at the top five greatest slugging seasons in the history of the Atlanta Braves.
Good day, Atlanta Braves fans. I know it has been difficult to navigate our mundane, everyday lives without the hope of watching the Braves play each evening, but we’ve had some fun. It has allowed us time to remember some great moments from franchise history. The recent replays of the 1995 World Series have been a wonderful trip down memory lane for some and an opportunity to experience the joy of the championship for others.
We’ve taken this time to look at the current roster, guess what will happen in 2020, and review interesting statistics and stories from yesteryear.
Today, we continue with the days of yore. The stat of the day is slugging percentage. It’s a great tool to give credit to all-around power hitters who do more than just hit homers when they connect.
Slugging Percentage
Slugging percentage takes batting average to a powerful new level. Instead of merely measuring how often a player gets a hit it measures the quality or power of the hit.
The calculation looks like this: Total Bases/At-Bats. Simple.
It’s pretty straight forward. A homer is worth four bases. If you hit a home run in one at bat then you have 4/1 = 4.000 SLG.
Good enough? There is no be-all-end-all stat to measure the greatest hitter, but there are several different ways of looking at it in baseball. So utilizing only slugging percentage we take a look at the five greatest sluggers in Braves history.
Some of the names you will expect, and depending on your knowledge of Braves history, some you may not. I hope you enjoy this little trip into the past. For the complete list, you can go to MLB.com or visit the link here.
You may proceed to the next page to review the fifth-best slugging season in Braves’ history.
5. Rogers Hornsby (1928)
The great Rogers Hornsby played just one season for the Boston Braves in 1928 and he made the most of his time. The Baseball Hall of Fame refers to Rogers Hornsby as the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. Baseball legend John McGraw claimed Hornsby was a better batter than the Babe. Off the field, he was the polar opposite of the Great Bambino as he did not drink or smoke and wouldn’t even go to a movie for fear of straining his eyes.
Before getting to his short stint with the Braves that still sits among the greatest in the history of the franchise, I have to share another amazing story from the Hall of Fame.
The minor leagues or the “farm system” was still in the beginning stages in 1915 when he was a rookie. At just 5-11, 135 pounds, Hornsby looked like a boy among men in stature and in statistics. He hit .246 that season before Manager Miller Huggins informed him that he should be “farmed out.”
In what I assume was a combination of self-consciousness about his size and no clue what Huggins actually meant, Hornsby naturally concluded that his manager was telling him he needed to go to work on a farm to gain some size. After living amongst the livestock for a winter he returned to camp with 20 pounds extra pounds and incessant and uncontrollable dreams of milking cattle.
He went on to hit .400 three different times, including a .424 in 1924 which is still the Major League record for the 21st Century. The following season he slugged an astounding .756 which still stands as the ninth-highest single-season mark in Major League history.
He was the National League batting champ from 1920 to 1925, and again in 1928. That’s seven batting titles with the final one coming as a member of our beloved franchise.
Did you know he played for the Braves? I certainly had no clue until fellow Tomahawk-Taker Jake Mastroianni wrote the following piece (linked below) covering the greatest oWAR season in Braves history, credited to none other than Rogers Hornsby.
Hornsby’s magical 1928 season is the fifth-best in franchise history, finishing with a .632 slugging percentage. Mr. Rogers hit 21 homers, seven triples, and 42 doubles while walking 107 times compared to just 41 strikeouts. Hornsby currently holds the 11th-highest slugging percentage in the history of the game.
4. Chipper Jones (1999)
Chipper Jones’ MVP season of 1999 placed him as the third-highest player on the list but was good for the fourth-best season, as two Hank Aaron’s stand in front of him in line. Chipper had a pinnacle season, smashing 45 homers, 41 doubles, 110 RBI, and drawing 126 walks. On top of that, he managed to swipe 25 bags while only getting caught three times. In the end, he hit .319 with a .441 OBP, and a .633 slugging percentage.
Interestingly enough, this MVP season of 1999 was not one of the seven campaigns in which Chipper represented the Braves in the All-Star game. The National League’s starting third basemen was Matt Williams of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Chipper currently holds three of the top-12 slugging seasons in Braves’ history. In 2001 he slugged .605 in 159 games and in 2007 he slugged .604 in 134 games. Those seasons still stand as the 11th and 12th best slugging seasons in the Braves’ record books.
Chipper’s career .529 slugging percentage currently stands as the 50th best of all time. He slugged over .600 in three different seasons.
- 1999: .633 (age 27)
- 2001: .604 (age 29)
- 2007: .605 (age 35)
Among switch hitters, Chipper’s 1,623 RBI are good for second-most all time, which is still 674 less than Hank Aaron’s career total. To put that in perspective, Buster Posey currently sits on 673 career RBI. So, despite having the second-most runs batted in in the history of switch hitters, Chipper is still a full Buster Posey career away from Hank Aaron’s total.
I love baseball.
3. & 2. Hank Aaron (1959 & 1971)
Hank Aaron occupies seven of the top 21 spots on the list. Hammerin’ Hank earned the second spot in 1971 and the third spot in 1959. Hank may not be the all-time home run leader anymore but he still holds the record for most runs batted in (2,297) and total bases (6,856). He played for 23 years and was an All-Star in 21 of those years and finished with 25 All-Star appearances. That’s not a typo.
Of all the greatness inside of his career .555 slugging percentage over 23 years, a part of his 155 OPS+ over 3,298 games and 13,941 plate appearances, inside of the majesty that is Henry Aaron is his 1971 season. At age 37 he played 139 games and clobbered 47 homers in just 495 at-bats. He finished the season with a .327 average, a .410 on-base percentage, and a Major League-leading .669 slugging percentage.
.669 is also good for a solid second place in franchise history. It’s a full .033 higher than his third-place season in 1959 and .036 higher than Chipper Jones’ fourth-best season in 1999 when he posted a .633 and earned an MVP.
Henry Aaron’s career .555 slugging percentage is the 20th best in the history of Major League Baseball history.
I know on the last page I compared Chipper Jones’ RBI total to Hank Aaron’s, but that wasn’t to diminish Chipper’s accomplishments but to highlight how incredible Hank Aaron’s longevity was. Only he and Babe Ruth have ever surpassed the 2,200 RBI mark. No other player has even reached 2,100.
The final and greatest slugging season of all time includes a stadium on fire and it has nothing to do with Fred McGriff.
1. Hugh Duffy (1894)
I think everybody knew this one before even opening the article. Hugh Duffy, 1894, the greatest slugging Brave of all time. Right?
The Boston Beaneaters had a very eventful season in 1894. First of all, just because the home run was not prevalent doesn’t mean the game was one pitcher’s duel after another. The Beaneaters scored over nine runs per game that season.
One beautiful afternoon on May 15, 1894, the Beaneaters were squaring off against the Baltimore Orioles, the Beans vs. the Birds.
As was apposite for a dapper gent in a public gathering involving a game of leisure and sophistication in the 1890s, a dude lit a cigar and dropped the match through a crack like a real butt-head.
The next thing you know, the wooden grandstands were aflame. Within 45 minutes, the stadium was an ash pile.
Yes, the bleachers were made of wood back then…Yes, they let you smoke stogies on the dry wood bleachers in the middle of a hot summer’s day with thousands of other people. I wish I could go back in time.
Not to worry, they found another place to play. Their star player was none other than Hugh Duffy. in 1894 he hit a whopping .440, which was nearly .100 points higher than the second-best on the team, with exception to Fred Tenney and his .395 average, as he only received 86 at-bats.
Being the number one slugger in all of Braves’ single-season history, you may be surprised by Duffy’s home run total of 18, which is not associated with top sluggers in today’s game. However, the Duffster was an absolute monster that season, putting forth his best production.
Hugh Duffy – 1894 Stats – Age 27 Season
- 125 games
- 237 hits (league leader)
- 51 doubles (league leader)
- 18 homers (league leader)
- 16 triples
- 145 runs batted in
- 48 stolen bases
- .440 batting average (league leader)
- .502 on-base percentage
- .694 slugging percentage
- 1.196 OPS (league leader)
Next. Podcast: Catching up with Chase d'Arnaud. dark
Thanks for stopping in. If you’d like to continue immersing yourself in Atlanta Braves information, take a listen to the podcast I did with former Braves’ infielder, Chase d’Arnaud by clicking the button above. He was with the Braves in 2016 and 2017, he gives us insight on some of the current players that were his teammates and what he told his brother about the organization before Travis decided to join Atlanta this past off-season.