Hammerin’ home a point: Take only the final six years of Hank Aaron’s career, starting at age 37, and he still would have cracked the all-time outfield for the Rockies, Marlins and Diamondbacks, among others. This is one of the few formats that doesn’t work in Aaron’s favor, as his greatness came in the elite level he sustained over 20-plus years more than a dazzling six-year peak, but his 13 years with 7 or more WAR lead all players. Hot, hot corner: Not only was Eddie Matthews featured on the very first Sports Illustrated cover, he is also the Brave good enough to keep Chipper Jones off the all-time team. Jones, with 85 career WAR, is easily the third best position player in franchise history, but he’s only the second best third baseman. Pitchers aplenty: Braves’ all-time rotation would look something like this – Niekro, Maddux, Warren Spahn (7.35), Tom Glavine (5.93) and John Smoltz (5.48). Johnny Sain deserves special recognition as well, having lost three of his prime years to WWII service. He averaged 6.5 WAR from 1946-48.
Hammerin’ home a point: Take only the final six years of Hank Aaron’s career, starting at age 37, and he still would have cracked the all-time outfield for the Rockies, Marlins and Diamondbacks, among others. This is one of the few formats that doesn’t work in Aaron’s favor, as his greatness came in the elite level he sustained over 20-plus years more than a dazzling six-year peak, but his 13 years with 7 or more WAR lead all players. Hot, hot corner: Not only was Eddie Matthews featured on the very first Sports Illustrated cover, he is also the Brave good enough to keep Chipper Jones off the all-time team. Jones, with 85 career WAR, is easily the third best position player in franchise history, but he’s only the second best third baseman. Pitchers aplenty: Braves’ all-time rotation would look something like this – Niekro, Maddux, Warren Spahn (7.35), Tom Glavine (5.93) and John Smoltz (5.48). Johnny Sain deserves special recognition as well, having lost three of his prime years to WWII service. He averaged 6.5 WAR from 1946-48.Florida man: Mike Lowell (2.5) narrowly missed a spot on the team, though he is clearly the face of the franchise for many people given his consistency. He is also a true Florida man, having graduated from high school in Coral Gables and playing at Florida International University in Miami before establishing himself as a pro with the Marlins. Travelin’ man: The 13.1 WAR earned in six years with the Marlins for Gary Sheffield represent the second most for a franchise in his well-traveled career. He earned 17.0 in four years with the Dodgers, 11.2 in two years with Atlanta, 8.7 in three years with the Yankees and 5.8 in two years with San Diego. He also logged time with Detroit (2.8), Milwaukee (1.4) and the Mets (.3). Man in waiting: Jose Fernandez has made 65 starts in his career, roughly the equivalent of two full seasons, and he already has 11.8 WAR (and a nice 2.44 career ERA). He’ll be on this list soon.Terrific: Seaver’s top six seasons with the Mets produced an average Wins Above Average of 5.8. Wins Above Replacement measures the difference a player makes vs. a Triple-A-type replacement – essentially the bare minimum. Wins Above Average is compared to a typical big leaguer. That figure is astounding. Mr. Consistent: Bud Harrelson (2.72) didn’t crack the list at shortstop, but his stat line makes you take notice for its consistency. Six times he posted a WAR between 2.0 and 2.6. Perspective: Orosco won 39 games over a four-year span while operating entirely out of the bullpen. Only six Rockies pitchers in history – starters included – have won more than 39 games in a four-year stretch. Orosco’s 87 career victories all came as a reliever. No Rockies pitcher has more than 83 wins.Holy Schmidt: Schmidt amassed at least 5.0 WAR every season in which he played at least 140 games. He won his third MVP in 1986 in what was his 12th best season. Interestingly, his name was called in the second round of the 1971 draft. With the pick immediately before the Phillies’, Kansas City picked another Hall of Fame third baseman in George Brett. Did you know… Because our list counts only accomplishments after 1900, Ed Delahanty didn’t make the cut. Delahanty ranks third in franchise history with 60.9 WAR over 13 years. The Hall of Famer was still a productive player at 35 in 1903 when he died mysteriously from a fall into Niagara Falls. Space phillers: The players taken from No. 2 through No. 28 in the 2000 MLB Draft have been worth a combined 69.6 WAR – with 63.7 of that belonging to Utley, the 15th selection. … The most valuable catcher in Phillies history was actually Jack Clements, a left-handed thrower who played in the late 1800s. … Not even Steve Carlton (7.45) could break into the top two as a starting pitcher.Change is coming: Bryce Harper (3.9) is playing his fifth season, so he’ll likely join that outfield in a year or two. But then again, nothing is a given when you look at the quality in this outfield. Larry Walker (3.53) and Marquis Grissom (3.3) were left on the outside looking in as well. …which begs the question… How does this franchise have zero postseason series victories? When it was in Montreal, it enjoyed the primes of Carter, Dawson and Raines at the same time, along with a young Tim Wallach (4.53) at third base, and made the playoffs just once, and in a strike year at that. And don’t forget the pitching: From Pedro Martinez (3.35) to Jordan Zimmerman (3.4) and Javier Vazquez (3.05) to Stephen Strasburg (2.8), this franchise has truly been a gold mine of young talent for years.
