In the history of the Atlanta Braves franchise, spanning over a century and a half, there have no doubt been some great mustaches. With so many years of history, we wanted to rank the Braves mustaches that have paired with the Braves uniform.
We found 23 Braves players whose mustaches are worth ranking.
Here is the definitive list of the best mustaches to ever grace the face of a Braves player in franchise history
23. Bryce Elder
Every season, there's a player who seems to spawn a mustache out of nowhere, shows it off for a few days, and then disappears. This year, that player was Bryce Elder. The mustache didn't stay on for long, as he never made an appearance on the mound after shaving it, but it did make for an intruging look for the hot-and-cold starting pitcher.
22. Doyle Alexander
Doyle Alexander is a name that will live on in Braves history, with his performance on the mound having very little to do with why Braves fans know his name, nearly 40 years after he was traded. At the time of the trade however, the Braves may have evaluated John Smoltz's mustache with a higher grade.
Still, we give Alexander's mustache a solid overall grade.
21. John Smoltz
Although Smoltz became more of a beard and goatee guy later in his career, the early half of his career did feature a mustache. Although it wasn't very loud, it did add to the righty flame-thrower's charactter
20. Josh Tomlin
Josh Tomlin usually rocked the beard during his tenure with the Braves, but every now and then would bust out a mustache that significantly altered the composition of his face. When Tomlin shaved down to a mustache, he went all in.
19. Brian Snitker
Had Brian Snitker continued to rock a mustache when he took over as skipper in 2016, he would likely be towards the top of the list. Unfortunately, Snitker rarely had facial hair during his 10-season tenure as Braves manager, which is a real shame.
18. The 1890s
In the 1890s, having a mustache may as well been a part of the uniform. John Clarkson, Tommy Tucker, Charlie Bennett, Pop Smith, Bobby Lowe, Kid Nichols, and Chippy McGarr all featured hefty stashes, and this just the 1890 Boston team.
17. Jerry Royster
Royster has the dishonorable distinction for the lowest bWAR in a single season, as the infielder somehow managed to accumulate -4.0 bWAR in 1977 for the Braves. Although the performance was absymal, he did manage to take the field everyday in style with a simple but well-fitting stash.
16. Chris Chambliss
Chambliss rocked a hefty stache during his tenure with the Braves, but the first baseman loses points for not keeping the semi-miutton chops he had while he was with the Yankees.
15. Rafael Belliard
If xSTASH was a stat, Belliard would be one of the few players who would have a higher xSTASH than any hitting stat. The all-glove shortstop opted for the thin stash, and honestly, we think it paired perfectly with his archetype.
14. Pablo Torrealba
Torrealba threw 59.2 innings for the Braves between 1975 and 1976. Although his tenure itself was unremarkable, as he had a 3.32 ERA all in relief, his mustache was rather impressive.
13. Marty Clary
Marty Clarly joins the list as another Braves pitcher who played in the 1970s or 1980s. Clarly joined the party late, and didn't wear his stache for the entirety his three seasons, but it was an impressive, well-split mustach
12. Craig McMurtry
Another 1980s pitcher, McMurty gets poiints for his bold pairing of thick mustache with thick glasses. Batters who faced the righty only saw lenses and mustache when he was on the mound.
11. Rick Matula
Pitcher? Check. Played in the 1970s and/or 1980s? Check. Unremarkable career? Check. Rick Matula's MLB career consisted of 66 games with the Braves from 1979 to 1981, and while his stats were unimpressive, his mustashe certainly was (at least while it was around).
10. Carl Morton
Morton threw 949 innings for the Braves over four seasons from 1973 to 1976. During that time, he sported a few variations of red mustaches. Our favorite might be the 1974 walrus stache.
9. Bob Horner
The late Bob Horner wasn't a full-time mustache-wearer, which puts him lower in the rankings than he otherwise would be. However, when the slugging third baseman had one, it perfected his hefty sluggler persona.
8. Mike Yastzemski
Yastrzemski is one of the few recent Braves players to rock a stache. After struggling in his first month with the Braves, Yastrzemski started out May with a mustache and crushed the ball, all for a good cause. Unfortunately he opted not to keep it around for a full season, but it certainly did seem to possess some magic powers.
7. Lonnie Smith
Out of every single Braves position player to put on the uniform in franchise history, only three can say they had a better season by bWAR than Lonnie Smith. In 1989, Smith accumulated 8.8 bWAR, a mark that had only been reached by Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans, and Rogers Hornsby. It hasn't been done since by a Braves player.
Perhaps Smith's simple stache possessed magical powers that season.
6. Eddie Mathews
Eddie Mathews, the player, never rocked a mustache as far as we could tell. However, Eddie Mathews, once he became the manager of the Braves, must have felt like he needed to overhaul his appearance to fit that of a skipper. With that overhaul came a very bold mustache, which we kind of wish made its on-field debut during his playing career.
5. Sid Bream
An iconic mustache to complement an iconic slide. What more could you ask for?
4. Sal Fasano
The longtime Braves coach seldom went without a mustache while he was employed with the Braves. On the occasion he didn't have one, it was incredibly unsettling. Unfortunately, since Fasano never played for the Braves, he gets points knocked off from having the best stache in Braves history.
3. Danny Frisella
Frisella only threw 86.2 innings for the Braves, and is yet another entry from the 70s or 80s, a period where everyone seemed to have one. However, Frisella's is the only one of these entries to have a stache rival that of Rollie Fingers. For that, he gets the third-place slot.
2. Al Hrabosky
The Mad Hungarian's mustache asks the question, "where does mustache end and goatee begin?" and we're not quite sure what the answer is. For this exercise, however, we'll call it a mustache, and the second-best in Braves history.
1. Spencer Strider
Before Spencer Strider debuted his famous mustache in 2022 (the righty rocked a beard in his cameo in 2021, believe it or not), a Braves mustache had never been quite as sensational. When Strider broke out during his rookie season, his mustache became a phenomenon. While it might not be quite as loud or bold as some of the others on the list, it's hard to argue that there's been a more recognizable mustache in Braves history, which gives it the top spot.
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