Atlanta Braves: Building an All-Time Braves Roster: Outfield
The offseason is a long and lonely time. In the great chasm between Winter Meetings and Spring Training fan's tend to let their imaginations run wild. Roster construction is every baseball fan's favorite pastime. We've all spent time fantasizing about adding this player or that player in a world where money doesn't matter. Trout and Ohtani to Atlanta, make it happen AA! We know it's not realistic, but it sure is fun.
What if money wasn't the only barrier we removed but also time? What would an All-Time Braves roster look like? We'll break the list down into three categories. Outfield, Infield, and Pitching. Today we take a look at the Outfield, where the Atlanta Braves have had been blessed with some amazing talent throughout the years but the choices are probably as easy as you think they are as this trio might be the best outfield a franchise could roster.
RF: Hank Aaron, 1957-1974
Let's start with the obvious choice. I mean, this is the House That Hank Built after all. The true Home Run King's statistics speak for themselves. To go along with his 755 home runs, the Hammer ranks 3rd all time in total hits (third all-time in hits (3,771) fourth in runs scored (2,174), first in total bases (6,856), first in extra-base hits (1,477), first in RBIs (2,297). He ranks 5th in all time WAR amongst position players clocking in at a career number of 143.1.
CF: Andruw Jones, 1996-2007
Although his Hall of Fame campaign fell just short this year, the Centerfielder from Curacoa greatly improved his numbers and has an excellent chance of being inducted into Cooperstown in the near future. Arguably the greatest defensive Centerfielder of all time, Jones remains one of only three players to win 10 consecutive Gold Gloves.
Known for his amazingly quick first step, and the way he seemed to smoothly glide underneath the baseball, Jones finished his career with 235 runs saved over the course of his career. That's 50 more than Willie Mays and 30 more than Roberto Clemente. Jones also developed into a prolific power hitter over the duration of his career finishing with 434 career home runs.
LF: Dale Murphy, 1976-90
Murphy was a stalwart in the Outfield for the Braves for over a decade. A converted catcher and first baseman, Murphy accumulated a 46.5 career WAR according to Baseball Reference. A seven time All-Star, Murphy remains the only Atlanta Brave to win two MVP awards to go along with his five Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. That along with his 398 career homeruns makes it a real head scratcher that Murph still hasn't made it to Cooperstown.
On top of being a great player, Murphy is widely regarded as one of the better human beings to ever play the game wining the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1985, the Roberto Clemente Award in 1988 for his acts of service in the community.