Top Five Braves Left Fielders

Mark Bowman's top five Braves left fielders.

 

1. Rico Carty 1963-1972 highest fWAR 25.1 and bWAR 23.2. Only trailed Yaz during that time period. Finished second for 1964 ROY. 1970 batting champ with .366 average.

 

2. Sid Gordon 1950-1953 ranked second with 18.2 fWAR and 19.3 bWAR. OPS = .886.

3. Ron Gant 1987-1993 went 30 HR 30 SB in 1990 and 1991, in 1993 fell four SB short. But Gant only played LF for two seasons: 1992 and 1993.  

 

4. Ryan Klesko 1992-1999 has highest AB/HR ratio among Braves LF – 16.89. Most HR as a LF – 139. Only Carty has more starts.

 

5. Lonnie Smith 1988-1992 ranked second in MLB with 8.1 fWAR in 1989. Helped boost Braves to World Series in 1991. .948 OPS in 1988. Ranks fourth in franchise history with 14.9 fWAR.

 

HM: Ralph Garr led NL in triples and hits in 1974.

 

HM: Hank Aaron & Chipper topped the charts at RF and 3B.

 

HM Justin Upton 2013-2014 only played two years in Atlanta. Ranked fourth in MLB with 7.2 fWAR.

 

NR: Ronald Acuna has only played 147 games in left.

Sleep: my watch wasn't charged last night, so it didn't monitor my sleep. Sorry, no stats today. Haven't been wearing a watch during the day because I have a sore spot on my wrist, right where the watch is.

 

Not much else. Monday meals: breakfast eggyboy, lunch quesadillas, grilled chicken breast for supper. Also ice and tossed salad. Tuesday breakfast is oatmeal. TV last night was The Voice while I played on my laptop.

Sunday evening when I was talking to my mom, she told me that later that night she was being moved from Milledgeville to Coliseum Hospital in Macon. My mom said my sister would be calling me with the details.

 

JIM RICE  [SABR Bio] was the last twentieth-century player to hit fifteen triples in consecutive seasons - 15 3B in 1977 & 15 in 1978. No one has ever grounded into more major league double plays in a season - 36 GIDP in 1984. He is the only player since Willie Mays to lead the majors in home runs and triples in the same season. Rice hit 15 3B & 47 HR in 1978. Mays in 1955: (13 3B & 51 HR). In fact, the only other player ever to do it was Harry Stovey in 1880 for the Worcester Ruby Legs: (14 3B & 6 HR). That same year he also had more at bats, more hits, more RBI, more total bases and a higher slugging percentage than anyone else in the majors. In '78 Rice had 677 AB, 213 H, 139 RBI, 406 TB and a .600 SLG %. Rice's dominant offensive exploits earned him the AL's MVP by an overwhelming vote despite being substantially out-WARed (9.6 to 7.6) by Ron Guidry (25-3, 1.74 ERA). He attended T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. Their mascot is the Yellowjacket.