ATLANTA — Do you know that Freddie Freeman is sporting Hank Aaron’s first quantity and that Brian McCann wore the quantity first assigned to each Chipper Jones and Warren Spahn?
These are simply a few details discovered whereas trying to find out which Braves participant was the perfect to put on every quantity.
Type your personal opinions and create some pleasant debate after reviewing this checklist.
1 — Rafael FurcalWe’ll acknowledge Furcal for now, with the understanding this spot will quickly belong to Ozzie Albies.
2 — Rafael BelliardAfter serving as Atlanta’s beginning shortstop in 1991 and ’92, the light-hitting Belliard was primarily a backup. However the protection he supplied rather than an injured Jeff Blauser in the course of the ’95 World Collection was sufficient to warrant him this spot.
3 — Dale MurphyLong earlier than Murphy turned an icon sporting this quantity it belonged to Babe Ruth, who performed the final 28 video games of his profession for the 1935 Braves. Ruth wasn’t the one former Yankees legend to put on No. 3 for the Braves. Billy Martin wore it throughout a six-game stint with the membership in ’61.
4 — Jeff BlauserBlauser supplied the best worth whereas serving because the Braves’ beginning shortstop all through many of the Nineteen Nineties. However the perfect participant to ever put on No. 4 for the group was Pink Schoendienst, who was acquired from the Cardinals halfway by way of the Braves’ ’57 World Collection-winning season. Sadly, the Corridor of Famer developed tuberculosis the next 12 months and was by no means the identical.
5 — Freddie FreemanEven earlier than profitable the 2020 Nationwide League MVP Award, Freeman might have already secured his place as the perfect Braves participant to ever put on this quantity. However Ron Gant, who had consecutive 30-30 seasons, and Bob Horner additionally created some good reminiscences for Braves followers whereas sporting this quantity. And if you would like good trivia, see if your folks know Hank Aaron wore No. 5 throughout his 1954 rookie season.
6 — Bobby CoxBefore Cox wore this quantity whereas setting up his Corridor of Fame managerial profession, it was worn by a pair guys who would additionally grow to be World Collection-winning managers. Davey Johnson wore No. 6 for the Braves from 1973-75 and Tony La Russa had this quantity whereas enjoying 9 video games for Atlanta in ’71.
7 — Dansby SwansonStrong consideration was given to Jeff Francoeur and Jeff Burroughs. However by way of his first 4 full seasons, Swanson had already produced a better bWAR than each of these guys did throughout their days with the Braves.
8 — Javy LopezThe in style catcher helped the Braves attain the World Collection 3 times and ended his 12-season stint with Atlanta by hitting 43 homers in 2003. David Ross wore No. 8 earlier than he was on Dancing With the Stars and Bob Uecker wore this jersey lengthy earlier than he turned a beloved broadcaster and beer pitchman.
9 — Terry PendletonPendleton turned one of the influential figures in Braves historical past when he got here to Atlanta and earned the NL MVP Award in the course of the worst-to-first 1991 season. After he spent 4 seasons in Atlanta, the jersey was given to Marquis Grissom, who had the respect of catching the ultimate out of the ’95 World Collection for his hometown workforce. However whereas these is perhaps probably the most recognizable guys to put on No. 9, the best may need been Joe Adcock, who hit 239 homers for the Braves from ’53-62.
10 — Chipper JonesAs Jones constructed his Corridor of Fame profession, he turned the final Courageous to ever put on No. 10. What’s attention-grabbing is, the 2 guys who wore this jersey instantly earlier than him had been Gregg Olson the pitcher (1994) and Greg Olson the catcher (’90-93).
11 — Gary SheffieldDarrell Evans had an incredible 41-homer season in 1973 and Ender Inciarte gained three Gold Glove Awards whereas sporting this jersey. However the perfect participant to ever put on No. 11 for the Braves was Sheffield, who produced a 151 OPS+ throughout his two-season stint (2002-03) with Atlanta.
12 — Dusty BakerEddie Perez was the 1999 NL Championship Collection MVP Award winner and Sid (Bream) slid sporting this quantity. However the perfect Braves participant to put on No. 12 was Dusty Baker, who tallied 77 of his 242 profession homers with Atlanta.
13 — Ronald Acuña Jr.If a larger variety of Corridor of Fame voters additional recognize Billy Wagner’s greatness and if Acuña lives as much as expectations, there’s an opportunity the Braves’ No. 13 jersey could have been worn by two Corridor of Famers.
14 — Andres GalarragaBraves followers cherished Martín Prado and Julio Franco, who counted No. 14 as one of many three numbers he wore for the Braves. However the perfect participant to put on this quantity for the Braves was Galarraga, who totaled 72 homers throughout his two cancer-free seasons with Atlanta.
15 — Tim Hudson and Joe TorreHudson is already within the workforce Corridor of Fame and Torre will seemingly quickly draw this honor in recognition of his days as a precious catcher and the supervisor of the memorable 1982 Atlanta membership.
16 — Brian McCannMcCann established himself as one of many recreation’s high catchers whereas sporting this quantity, which additionally occurred to be the primary one Jones was given when he debuted in 1993.
17 — Felix MillanMillan, who earned three straight All-Star picks (1969-71), and Glenn Hubbard had profitable stints with the Braves. However the perfect story about Atlanta’s No. 17 is that it was as soon as assigned to Andy Messersmith in an effort to advertise former proprietor Ted Turner’s Channel 17, which finally turned TBS.
18 — Ryan KleskoKlesko’s 3:4 postseason-at-bats-per-home-run ratio is the second-best mark produced by any Braves participant who has totaled a minimum of 5 homers within the playoffs.
19 — Andrelton SimmonsAdam LaRoche’s candy swing was not almost as memorable because the numerous jaw-dropping defensive gems Simmons produced whereas turning into one of the thrilling defensive gamers in baseball historical past.
20 — Marcell OzunaThe slugger has posted 79 dwelling runs and 204 RBIs over the previous two seasons alone whereas additionally boasting an OPS+ or a minimum of 140 each years. He additionally led the league in homers and RBIs in 2020.
21 — Warren SpahnSpahn wore this quantity for every of the 19 seasons he performed for the Braves after serving in World Warfare II. However when he debuted in 1942, he was given No. 16 which, as beforehand talked about, additionally served as fellow Corridor of Famer Jones’ first quantity.
22 — Jason HeywardNick Markakis performed a key function in a profitable rebuild, however from the time Heyward homered on the primary swing of his profession, he has been probably the most recognizable and profitable Braves participant to put on No. 22.
23 — David JusticeAfter Ted Simmons ended his Corridor of Fame profession sporting this quantity, it was given to Justice, who gained the 1990 NL Rookie of the 12 months Award, earned two All-Star picks and, after all, hit probably the most memorable October dwelling run in Atlanta historical past.
24 — Mark TeixeiraYou is perhaps extra more likely to see a Braves fan sporting No. 24 to honor Evan Gattis or Deion Sanders. However the perfect participant to put on this jersey was Teixeira, who hit 37 homers whereas totaling 157 video games over two seasons for Atlanta.
25 — Andruw JonesAs you proceed to have a look at the numbers, it is no shock the Braves honored Jones in 2023 by retiring his No. 25.
26 — Gene GarberTom Home was sporting this quantity when he caught Aaron’s 715th homer whereas within the bullpen past the left-field wall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. However when Braves followers consider No. 26, they’re probably reminiscing about Garber, whose franchise-record 557 profession aid appearances would possibly by no means be damaged.
27 — Fred McGriffMcGriff earned an All-Star choice throughout every of his first three full seasons in Atlanta, and his acquisition halfway by way of the 1993 season stays one of the precious trades in franchise historical past.
28 — Mike LumUnless you are keen to go together with Gerald Perry, to discover a productive participant who wore this quantity for the Braves it’s important to go all the way in which again to Lum, who was primarily a backup throughout his stints (1967-75 and ’79-81) with Atlanta.
29 — John SmoltzBefore Smoltz constructed his Corridor of Fame profession with this quantity, it was worn by Felipe Alou, who turned the primary batter in Atlanta Braves historical past lengthy earlier than he was a profitable massive league supervisor.
30 — Orlando CepedaTwo years after profitable the 1967 NL MVP Award with the Cardinals, Cepeda started a four-season stint with the Braves, who gained the NL West along with his assist in ’69.
31 — Greg MadduxMaddux wasn’t the one Corridor of Famer to put on this quantity for the Braves. It was additionally worn by Paul Waner, who frolicked with the Braves in 1941 and ’42.
32 — Ernie JohnsonBefore he turned a beloved broadcaster, Johnson was a precious reliever for the Milwaukee Braves. However his wage was by no means akin to these drawn by Derek Lowe and Mike Hampton, who wore No. 32 lengthy after he did.
33 — Steve AveryBrian Jordan was a key cog within the Braves’ lineup, however the nod goes to Avery, who stole the eye of the baseball world as a baby-faced pitcher who made nice postseason reminiscences in the course of the early Nineteen Nineties.
34 — Kevin MillwoodSpeaking of postseason reminiscences, Millwood’s one-hit shutout in opposition to the Astros in Recreation 2 of the 1999 NL Division Collection stays the most effective playoff begins in franchise historical past. This jersey quantity was extra not too long ago worn by Eric O’Flaherty, who produced an unbelievable 0.98 ERA over 73 2/3 innings in 2011.
35 — Phil NiekroNobody else has worn the Braves’ No. 35 since Niekro started his Corridor of Fame profession in opposition to the Giants on April 15, 1964. The quantity was retired on Aug. 6, 1984, however the knuckleballer was sporting it once more on Sept. 27, 1987, when he returned to the Braves at 48 years outdated to make one final begin.
36 — Mike MinorThe Braves took Minor with the seventh general choice within the 2009 MLB Draft. His most memorable begin for Atlanta occurred when he outdueled the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke in Recreation 2 of the ’13 NLDS.
37 — Mike RemlingerRemlinger loved an incredible four-season stint that culminated with him producing a 1.99 ERA over 68 innings for the Braves in 2002. However the biggest participant to ever put on this quantity for the Braves was Lloyd Waner, whose tenure with the membership consisted of simply 19 video games in 1941.
38 — Ron ReedReed earned an All-Star choice in 1968, which marked the beginning of a seven-season stretch inside which he posted a 3.74 ERA over 203 appearances (188 begins) for the Braves.
39 — Jonny VentersMultiple Tommy John surgical procedures derailed Venters’ profession. However many who confronted him from 2010-12 acknowledge him as one of many nastiest relievers they ever confronted.
40 — Bruce SutterMike Soroka will seemingly quickly be the proper reply. However for now, we’ll go together with the Corridor of Fame nearer regardless that he wasn’t Corridor of Fame-caliber throughout his Braves tenure (1985-88).
41 — Eddie MathewsAaron (eight) and Mathews (4) are the one gamers to ever tally greater than two 40-homer seasons with the Braves.
42 — Rick MahlerMahler made 5 Opening Day begins for the Braves in the course of the Eighties. Spahn (10), Niekro (8), Maddux (7) and Julio Teheran (6) are the one pitchers in franchise historical past to begin extra season openers.
43 — Mark WohlersBefore management points wrecked him in 1998, Wohlers was a dependable nearer who skilled the fun of recording the ultimate out of the ’95 World Collection.
44 — Hank AaronAaron hit precisely 44 dwelling runs in 4 seasons. No different participant in baseball historical past has carried out so greater than twice.
45 — Terry MulhollandMulholland will get the nod simply primarily based on the precious innings he threw down the stretch in 1999, when he was acquired to compensate for Odalis Perez needing Tommy John surgical procedure.
46 — Craig KimbrelKimbrel struck out 42 p.c of the batters he confronted over 5 seasons with Atlanta.
47 — Tom GlavineGlavine tallied 5 20-win seasons from 1991-2000. Maddux (’93), Smoltz (’96) and Denny Neagle (’97) accounted for the membership’s solely different three such seasons inside this 10-year span.
48 — Ralph GarrGarr had three 200-hit seasons from 1971-74. Grissom (’96) and Inciarte (2017) have accounted for the one two such seasons produced by a Braves participant since then.
49 — Julio TeheranTeheran by no means turned an ace, however he made six consecutive Opening Day begins and supplied precious consistency for almost all of a decade.
50 — Kent MerckerMercker has been a part of the Braves’ two most up-to-date no-hitters. He began a mixed no-hitter in opposition to the Padres on Sept. 11, 1991, and completed the job himself in opposition to the Dodgers on April 8, 1994.
51 — Pedro BorbonWill Smith would possibly quickly match this spot. However for now we’ll go together with Borbon, whose good look to finish Recreation 4 of the 1995 World Collection offers him the nod over fellow lefties Mike Gonzalez and Terry Forster.
52 – John ThomsonThomson’s 14-win season in 2004 was sufficient to trump Brad Clontz’s three-year stint (1995-97) in Atlanta’s bullpen.
53 — Jim JohnsonWhile cursing the Hector Olivera commerce that included Johnson being despatched to the Dodgers, bear in mind the Braves acquired a Draft decide that turned Joey Wentz, who was despatched to the Tigers for Shane Greene, who helped Atlanta safe NL East titles in 2019 and ’20.
54 — Kris MedlenMax Fried would possibly quickly fill this spot. However he has not but supplied as a lot worth as Medlen, who posted a 2.46 ERA over 43 begins from 2012-13 after which, sadly, noticed his profession derailed when he needed to bear a second Tommy John surgical procedure in ’14.
55 — Chris MartinMartin’s tenure within the No. 55 jersey consists of the 1.00 ERA he produced over 20 appearances in 2020. However that’s sufficient to greatest the next-best candidate, Mark Grant, who was a Braves reliever earlier than he turned one of many recreation’s most entertaining broadcasters.
56 — Darren O’DayO’Day’s tenure with the Braves has been brief. However the subsequent greatest choices are Oscar Villarreal and the 2008-09 model of Blaine Boyer.
57 — Jorge CampilloCampillo ranked second on the Braves with 158 2/3 innings in 2008. The remainder of his massive league profession consisted of twenty-two innings unfold over 4 seasons.
58 — Peter MoylanFrom pharmaceutical rep to massive leaguer inside a pair months, Moylan constructed one of the unbelievable tales in baseball historical past after which continued to complement it over 12 massive league seasons.
59 — Paul AssenmacherAssenmacher wore this jersey over the primary three years (1986-88) of a 14-season massive league profession that included 884 profession appearances, all however one as a reliever.
60 — Dallas KeuchelThose three-plus months Keuchel spent within the Braves’ rotation in 2019 had been sufficient to warrant giving him this spot as an alternative of the ’08 model of Gregor Blanco.
61 — Liván HernándezFifteen years after making the most of Eric Gregg’s horizontally beneficiant strike zone in Recreation 5 of the 1997 NL Championship Collection, Hernández joined the Braves to make 18 appearances in 2012.
62 — Touki ToussaintToussaint’s profession has been crammed with inconsistency up to now, however he has fared higher than the 4 different guys who’ve worn this quantity for the Braves.
63 — Lucas HarrellThe two months Harrell spent with the Braves in 2016 had been productive sufficient for him to be shipped to the Rangers in change for Travis Demeritte, who was additionally included within the ’19 commerce that introduced Greene to Atlanta.
64 — Emilio BonifacioBonifacio wore No. 1 when he was with the Braves in 2014. However he needed to accept No. 64 when he returned in ’16 and ’17.
65 — Kyle WrightWright wore this quantity throughout his tough 2019 season. However he has nonetheless had extra general success than Patrick Weigel and Jorge Julio, who’re the one different Braves to put on this quantity.
66 — Matt MarksberryMarksberry produced a 5.01 ERA whereas making 31 appearances with this jersey quantity in 2015. However the one different Braves participant to put on this quantity was Bryse Wilson, who did so whereas producing a 7.20 ERA over six appearances in ’19.
67 — A.J. MinterMinter wore this quantity whereas putting out 43.3 p.c of the batters he confronted in the course of the first 16 appearances of his profession close to the tip of the 2017 season.
68 — Tyler MatzekMatzek posted a 2.79 ERA and struck out 35.5 p.c of the batters he confronted whereas setting up a fantastic comeback story and serving to the Braves end a win shy of the 2020 World Collection.
70 — TBDThe 2015 model of Dan Winkler, the ’19 model of Alex Jackson and the ’00 model of Ismael Villegas have accounted for the seven whole video games this quantity has been worn in Braves historical past.
71 — Jacob WebbWebb exited 2020 wanting like he has the potential to be an efficient reliever for a few years to come back.
72 — Bryse WilsonWilson wore this quantity whereas making the primary three appearances of his profession in 2018. He tossed 5 scoreless innings in opposition to the Pirates in his MLB debut.
73 — Huascar YnoaIt’s nonetheless too early to know the way efficient Ynoa is perhaps. However the one different selection is the 2018 model of Wright, who already drew a default spot at No. 65.
74 — Blake LalliLalli’s 10-game stint with Atlanta in 2016 accounts for the one time this quantity has been worn in franchise historical past.
75 — Grant DaytonDayton is the one participant in franchise historical past to put on this quantity.
77 — Luke JacksonJackson started sporting this quantity in 2019, when he recorded a career-best 18 saves.
78 — Blaine BoyerBoyer wore No. 48 throughout his 2005 rookie season. His two appearances in ’16 account for the one instances No. 78 has been worn in franchise historical past.
96 — Invoice VoiselleVoiselle is the one participant in franchise historical past to put on No. 96, and he turned the primary Main Leaguer to put on this quantity when he first donned it for the Braves in 1947.
99 — Spencer StriderThe flame-throwing right-hander was arguably the sport’s most dominate pitcher earlier than present process Tommy John surgical procedure early in 2024, main the league with 20 wins and 281 strikeouts the season prior.
