Rowland's Office

In compiling our list of the greatest seasons by an Atlanta Brave at each position, some were easy. Choosing three seasons by outfielders is not. Consider some of the superb seasons that will not make the top 3.

Ralph Garr, ‘71: .343, 219 H, 30 SB; and ‘74: league-best .353, 214H, 26 SB

Henry Louis Aaron, ‘67: 113R, .307, 39 HR, 109 RBI, 17 SB; and ‘69: 100R, .300, 44, 97, 1.003 OPS; and ‘73: .301, 40, 96, 1.045 OPS (best in Atlanta history) in 392 AB\

Murph in ‘87: 115 R, .295, 44, 105, 16 SB; and his ‘82 MVP year

Andruw’s ‘05: 51 HR, 128 RBI; and ‘00: .303, 36 HR, 104 RBI, 21 SB

Gant’s 30-30. Otis’s 72 steals. Justice’s 40-120 season. Grissom’s 1996: 207 H, 23 HR, 74 RBI, 28 steals.

Not to mention the Lilburn Flash’s back-to-back 100 RBI years, outstanding seasons by Dusty Baker, Ryan Klesko and Jeff Burroughs. Even, ahem, Just Disabled Drew had a fine year.

So if those don’t make the cut, which three do? Surprisingly, none by the Greatest Brave of Them All, Henry Louis Aaron. He was included, you’ll recall, at first base as he played the majority of his games there in his sublime 1971 campaign.

No, the three best single seasons by Atlanta Braves outfielders belong to Rico Carty (1970), Murph (1983) and Gary Sheffield (2003).

I don’t really remember seeing him play, as I was 6, but Carty won the 1970 NL batting title at .366, the highest batting average ever by an Atlanta Brave. His .454 on base percentage is also unsurpassed in A-Town. (Chipper’s .441 in 1999 is second.) He smacked 25 homers and knocked in 101 runs, when those power numbers meant something. His OPS was 1.038, 5th best figure in Atlanta history.

However, I rank Sheff’s ‘03 season even better. The surly right fielder, who was a choir boy in his two seasons here, scored 126 runs, hit .330 with 39 homers, drove in an Atlanta-best 132 runs and stole 18 bases. His OPS was 1.023. And his defense was surprisingly sound.

By a razor-thin margin, we are going with Murph’s second MVP season as the best ever by an Atlanta Braves outfielder. In ‘83, No. 3 scored an Atlanta-record 131 runs. He hit a career best .302, drilled 36 dingers, knocked in 121 and stole 30 bags. He led the league in RBI, slugging percentage and OPS, was second in home runs, total bases and runs. Oh yeah, he played 162 games and won a Gold Glove.

These were the toughest calls among the top seasons. Feel free to disagree, even to rant.

–CD