When the Atlanta Braves announced new additions to their coaching staff, some fans had to do a double take when they saw the name of the new bullpen coach. While the name J.P. Martinez may seem familiar to some fans, Atlanta new coach is not the same person as the outfielder who played seven games for the club in 2024, but rather the former pitching coach of the San Francisco Giants.
Shared names is not a new thing to the Braves franchise. While the team has not been fortunate enough to have players with the same name be on the team at the same time, like the Nationals had with two Luis Garcias last season, there have been at least four players with shared names throughout the franchise's history.
Here are the Braves players we could find who shared a name
Honorable mention: Brandon White
Back in 2016, the Braves used their 12th-round pick to select Brandon White out of Lander University. Not satisfied with selecting just one Brandon White, the team opted to use their 13th-round pick to select Brandon White out of Davenport University.
While neither Brandon White made it to the big leagues, the 12th-rounder was able to make it all the way to AA Mississippi. Shockingly, they were never teammates.
Billy Hamilton
When the Braves claimed speedster Billy Hamilton off of waivers in August of 2019, he became the first Billy Hamilton to play for the franchise in 118 years.
Billy Hamilton, the 19th-century Hall-of-Famer played for the Boston Beaneaters from 1896 until 1901, compiling over 23 bWAR and collecting 885 hits.
The 21st-century Hamilton's stint with the Braves was far less successful, as he played in 26 games, slashing .268/.375/.317 and swipiung four bases in five attempts.
David Carpenter
From 2013 until 2015, the Braves had a right-handed reliever named David Carpenter on their roster. However, this was not a three year stint by one reliever, but rather a two-year stint by a David Carpenter born in 1985, followed by a four-game stint by by a David Carpenter born in 1987.
The former Carpenter is the more well-known to Braves fans, as he appeared in 121 games during two years in Atlanta and had a 2.63 ERA.
The latter Carpenter appeared in four games in July of 2015. While he had three scoreless outings in his first appearances, he allowed three runs in final appearance in 1.1 innings and never pitched another MLB inning.
Greg(g) Olson
Like the Carpenters, there was a Braves player with the last name Olson who's first name began with Greg from 1990 to 1994.
The first Greg Olson was a catcher who played for Atlanta from 1990 until 1993. He was the player wearing #10 when Chipper Jones first came up, causing the future face of the franchise to wear #16 in 1993.
Olson the catcher departed the club in 1993, but the Braves signed reliever Gregg Olson (spelled with two Gs) in 1994. The reliever did not have a success tenure with the team, as he allowed 15 runs in 14.2 innings.He signed with the Indians in 1995, ending the Braves five-seasons with a Greg(g) Olson.
Roberto Hernandez
The first Roberto Hernandez pitched for Atlanta in 2003, appearing in 66 games with a 4.35 ERA. For this Hernandez, it was just one of 10 teams he'd play for throughout his 17-year career.
13 years later, Roberto Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, joined the Braves two make two starts for a very bad team. He sweated profusely in his first start, allowing three runs, and allowed five runs in his following start, which ended up being career game.