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Guessing obscure Atlanta Braves players from the past: Catch of the Day

We wanted to create something along the lines of the popular game ‘Immaculate Grid’ related to Braves baseball only. Read the hints and see how many it takes to guess the player!

By Austin Owens |
Atlanta Braves v Miami Marlins
Atlanta Braves v Miami Marlins / Megan Briggs/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. In this series, we will post hints for a player from Braves history that you may or may not have forgotten about.

Hopefully, this will bring back mostly good memories for fans as there have been a lot of great players in this organization's history. However, there are a few who may bring out some negative emotions.

We will give you five hints at a random player who donned a Braves jersey and see if you can guess from there! Have fun and no cheating!

Are you ready to guess today's obscure player? Here we go.

Who's that Brave?

Hint #1: This former Atlanta Braves player had a long 16-year career from 1998-2014. He was also known by the nickname "Sea Bass" by his teammates.

Hint #2: This player was a one-time All-Star (1999) and won a World Series Championship with the Florida Marlins in 2003.

Do you know who it is yet? If not, click next for more hints.

Pittsburgh Pirates v Atlanta Braves
Pittsburgh Pirates v Atlanta Braves / Alex Slitz/GettyImages

Catch of the Day? Sea Bass

Hint #3: From 2010-2011, this player carried a .241 batting average, hit 21 home runs, and drove in 94 runs during his tenure with the Atlanta Braves.

Hint #4: This player was traded to the Braves during the 2010 trade deadline. He was traded in a deal in which the Atlanta Braves let go of Jo-Jo Reyes, Tim Collins, Yunel Escobar, and Tyler Pastornicky. It's said this player received a standing ovation when he arrived in the Braves clubhouse.

Hint #5: This player spent the majority of his career at the shortstop position. 

Atlanta Braves v Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves v Florida Marlins / Ronald C. Modra/GettyImages

Answer: Alex Gonzalez

Alex Gonzalez went from playing high school baseball in Venezuela to playing professionally in the MLB in the United States of America. He made his major league debut on August 25, 1998, at the young age of 21 years old.

Across his 16-season career, Gonzalez collected a total of 1,418 hits, 157 homers, and drove in 690 runs. His career batting average is .245. Gonzalez did not provide the spark Atlanta was looking for as they were eliminated in the NLDS in 2010 and did not reach the postseason in 2011. 

He was acquired via trade as Atlanta decided to cut ties with the controversial and hot-tempered Yunel Escobar. Escobar clashed with pretty much everyone in the Braves organization and wasn't having a great season at the plate, anyhow. Despite him performing well for the Blue Jays after the trade, the move was necessary for the Braves to preserve their clubhouse culture.

A-Gon had been playing decently for Toronto that season batting .259/.296/.497 with 17 home runs, and 50 RBI through 85 games. So, I think from Atlanta's perspective, adding Gonzalez was to help alleviate a problem. If he performed well, that would just be an added bonus. As mentioned in a hint earlier, he received a standing ovation when walking into the Braves clubhouse.

What an adventure that season was and the trade itself deserves its own post. HTHB published a piece a few months back chronicling a list of 6 of the most hated Braves players since 2003. Yunel Escobar certainly found himself a position on that list.

Alex Gonzalez had a short stint with the Braves but it will always be remembered because of what it represented for the organization.

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