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Guessing Obscure Atlanta Braves from the Past: This One is a Beast

Play along with our daily Braves trivia! Use five hints to guess this player!

By Austin Owens |
New York Yankees v Atlanta Braves
New York Yankees v Atlanta Braves / Todd Kirkland/GettyImages
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The daily trivia game ‘Immaculate Grid’ has been a fun and exciting challenge for baseball fans. We wanted to create something similar related to the Atlanta Braves. Welcome to House That Hank Built’s new series: Guessing Obscure Braves Players From the Past!

We will give you five hints at a random player who donned an Atlanta Braves jersey and see if you can guess from there! Have fun and no cheating! This one is a beast. 

The Braves went through a period of rebuilding seasons from 2014-2017. During this time, player turnover was very high. Let’s see if you can guess this former Braves player from these hints. 

Hint #1 (Career and Teams): This player had a 15-year MLB career. The majority of his time in the majors was spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers (10 years). He was with the San Diego Padres for 2 seasons, the Atlanta Braves for 2 seasons then the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds for 1 season each.

Hint #2 (Accomplishments and Awards): This player was a 3X All-Star (all with the Dodgers). He finished 10th in Most Valuable Player voting in 2009 and 2nd in 2011. He has two Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards. 

Any clue who this might be? Click next for more hints!

Atlanta Braves v New York Mets
Atlanta Braves v New York Mets / Patrick Duffy/Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

Hint #3 (Career Stats): Over his 15 seasons, this player was a career .284 hitter. He has 287 career home runs to go along with 1,031 RBIs. He has 1,808 career hits with 338 doubles and 37 triples. 

Hint #4: (Nickname): During the stretch of this player’s career, he was selected for many endorsements. These came in the time frame of 2009-2012. His mentality and work ethic was referred to as “Beast Mode”. Similar to the “Mamba Mentality” this was just a philosophy to encourage people to buy into keeping a good work ethic to be successful. 

Hint #5 (Numbers Worn): For someone who played for five different teams, this player did something impressive besides just putting up great numbers. He also wore the same number on the back of his jersey, regardless of what was on the front. He wore #27 all 15 years of his MLB career. 

Do you know who this is yet? The answer is just a click away!

Answer: Matt Kemp

Texas Rangers v Atlanta Braves - Game One
Texas Rangers v Atlanta Braves - Game One / Scott Cunningham/GettyImages

Matt Kemp made his MLB debut on May 28th, 2006 at the age of 21. He was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 6th round of the 2003 draft. His last game came on September 25, 2020. 

Matt was traded to the Braves during the 2016 season for the disaster that was Hector Olivera. Still unsure how that trade was agreed to but it helped out the Braves in the end. Olivera was designated for assignment by the Padres upon completion of the trade. Kemp provided Atlanta with a power bat and the Padres sent $10-$12 million to offset his salary as well.

Kemp was a player who provided a bright spot for the Atlanta Braves during the time of the rebuild. Players like Kemp are often underappreciated and overlooked. No, the Braves did not make the playoffs or see much success during his time in Atlanta, but he brought experience and wisdom he was able to pass along to younger players who have made major impacts on the Braves' current six-season streak of NL East titles. 

Join us again tomorrow for a new edition of guessing obscure Braves players!

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