7 biggest one-hit wonders in Braves franchise history
By Eric Cole
Bill James - 1914
We have to go way back for this one. No, this isn't the same Bill James that helped pioneer baseball statistics, although that would be funny. The 1914 Boston Braves won 94 games and swept the Philadelphia Athletics in route to the World Series title. That Braves team had some all-time greats on it like Rabbit Maranville and Johnny Evers, but one of the biggest reasons they were so successful was the play of the righty starterJames.
James played a total of three full seasons in baseball along with a one game comeback attempt in 1919. His other two years were fine, but his 1914 season saw him put up a 1.90 ERA and 7.9 rWAR thanks to throwing 30 complete games and 332.1 innings that year. It was a different time and that workload probably helps explain why he didn't last that long, but James still gets the nod on this list thanks to his top 3 MVP performance in 1914.
JD Drew - 2004
Who is ready for pain, Braves fans? One of the more infamous trades in recent Braves history came before the 2004 season. Atlanta needed another bat and at the time, JD Drew was one of the best ones that could be had as he was a year away from hitting free agency. Drew had some lingering health questions, but the Braves pulled the trigger anyways and traded four players for Drew before the 2004 season.
Drew would end up only playing that one 2004 season with the Braves, but it was a doozy. In 645 plate appearances with Atlanta that year, he slashed .305/.436/.569 with 31 homers in what turned out to be the best year of his career by WAR at 8.3. Unfortunately, Drew would immediately leave and play seven more largely good seasons with the Dodgers and Red Sox while one of the guys the Braves traded away to acquire him, Adam Wainwright, would become a perennial Cy Young candidate and play 18 seasons with the Cardinals. Oof.