Atlanta Braves Baseball

The Story of the Atlanta Braves (The Story of the...)

by: Michael E. Goodman

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After the Cincinnati Red Stockings disbanded in 1869, their player-manager, Harry Wright, joined with the owner of the Boston Red Stockings to form a better, new team. One of the major players on this revived team was pitcher Al Spalding, who later went on to establish Spalding sporting goods. The revitalized Boston Red Stockings became a successful team in the National Association of Professional Base Ball PLayers, winning four out of five league championships. In 1876, when the National League was established, the team's name was changed to the Boston Red Caps, a name that lasted only six years.

The Boston Red Caps began a winning streak in 1877 when they won the National League pennant. They won it again in 1878 and then in 1883, after changing the team's name to the Boston Beaneaters. The Boston Beaneaters won a total of six National League pennants from 1883 until 1898. The team's success, however, came to an end at the start of the 20th century with the establishment of the American League's Boston Red Sox. The owners of the team lured away the best players from the Beaneaters and the team went from a winning team to a losing one. Even changing the team's name three more times did not help. The Beaneaters became the Boston Doves (1907), then the Boston Rustlers (1911) and, finally, the Boston Braves in 1912. [read more...]

2007 Topps #256 Bobby Cox Atlanta Braves Baseball Card - Mint Condition - Shipped in Protective Display Case!

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Bobby Cox, the long time and successful manager of the Atlanta Braves, has been involved in major league baseball management since 1978. He began his baseball career as a player, but this lasted for a very short time. He played for the New York Yankees for the 1968 and 1969 seasons and then ended his playing career. [read more...]

Chipper Jones #10 Atlanta Braves Grey Gray Uniform Chase Alternate Variant McFarlane MLB Series 3 Action figure

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Chipper Jones, the switch-hitting powerhouse third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, began his professional major league baseball career in 1993 with the Braves. Three years earlier, he had been drafted by the Braves and he played in their minor league teams before being called up to the majors at the end of 1993. [read more...]

Brian Mccann Atlanta Braves Name and Number T-Shirt (Medium)

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Brian McCann, Atlanta's reliable catcher for the last four years, will be returning to that position this season. In the short time McCann has played for Atlanta, he's racked up impressive statistics, with an overall batting average of .297 and 70 home runs. McCann is one of the most popular players on the Braves team, and he was selected by fans to be an All-Star the last three seasons. [read more...]

2008 Upper Deck # 410 Kelly Johnson - Braves - MLB Baseball Trading Card

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Kelly Johnson, a good steady, but sometimes underrated player, was drafted by Atlanta in 2000 and joined the Braves in 2005. He played in the outfield that first year, replacing injured regulars in the line-up. Johnson ended his first season with the Braves with a batting average of .241 with 9 home runs in 290 at bats.

Johnson's second season in the majors, 2006, was spent on the disabled list, recovering from an elbow injury and Tommy John surgery. Johnson returned in 2007 as the Braves leadoff hitter and regular second baseman. After a slow start, Johnson was replaced as the leadoff hitter and shared second base defensive duties with Yunel Escobar. Johnson ended the 2007 season with a .276 batting average with 16 home runs and 26 doubles. [read more...]

Baseball for Everybody: Tom Glavine's Guide to America's Game

by: Tom Glavine

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Tom Glavine, destined for the Hall of Fame, began his major league career with the Atlanta Braves in 1987. He pitched for 15 full seasons and 1 partial season with the Braves. His start was shaky, losing more games than he won in 1987 and 1988, but he turned that around in 1989 with a 14-8 record and a 3.68 ERA with 90 strikeouts.

In 2003, Glavine left the Atlanta Braves for a long-term, lucrative contract with the New York Mets. Although Glavine did not pitch as well with the Mets as he did with the Braves, he still had an above average record. [read more...]

Jeff Francoeur 2008 Batting Action , 8x10

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Jeff Francoeur, drafted by the Braves in 2002, first wore a Braves uniform on July 7, 2005. He started his career in his first game with his first major league hit, a three-run home run. Francoeur continued swinging his bat and hitting the mark in his first season, ending with a .300 batting average, 14 home runs and 44 RBIs.

In 2006, Francoeur's batting average dropped to .260, but he hit 29 home runs and drove in 103 runs. He also excelled in defense and stamina, playing in all 162 Braves games of the season. [read more...]

Derek Lowe 2003 ALDS Game 5 Last Out , 16x20

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Derek Lowe began his major league pitching career as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners in 1997. After pitching in 12 games for the Mariners, they traded him to the Boston Red Sox. Lowe played for Boston in 9 games in 1997. Between 1998 and 2001, Lowe alternated between being a starting pitcher and a relief pitcher, with mixed results.

Lowe gained a starting position in 2002 and retained it in 2003, but moved back to the bullpen as a reliever for part of the 2004 season. [read more...]

Javier Vazquez 2008 Pitching Action , 8x10

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Vazquez was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1994 and he made his first major league appearance four years later. Vazquez pitched for the Montreal Expos for 6 years before being traded to the New York Yankees in December, 2003. Although he signed a 4-year contract with the Yankees, they traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks in January, 2005.

Responding to Vazquez's desire to be traded, the D-Backs made a deal that sent him to the Chicago White Sox for the 2006 season. [read more...]

2006 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts # 32 Kid Nichols - Boston Beaneaters - Baseball Trading Card

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Thirteen baseball players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as either Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves or Atlanta Braves players.

Boston Braves Hall of Fame Players
John Clarkson
Hugh Duffy
Billy Hamilton
Rabbit Maranville
Tommy McCarthy
Kid Nichols
Frank Selee
Vic Willis
George Wright

Milwaukee Braves
Eddie Mathews
Warren Spahn

Atlanta Braves
Hank Aaron
Phil Niekro

Hall of Fame Induction Photo Card Eddie Mathews

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Eddie Mathews played for 15 seasons with the Braves, playing on the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta teams. He began his baseball career in the Boston Braves minor league in 1949. The third baseman was called up to the majors in 1952 and, in his first year with the Braves, Mathews had a batting average of only .242 but he hit 25 home runs that season. The following year was a much better one for Mathews, with 47 home runs, 135 RBIs and a batting average of .302.

From 1953 to 1961, Mathews hit at least 30 home runs each season. His numbers fell in the succeeding years until 1965 when he hit 32 home runs. Mathews career batting average was only .271, but in his 17 year career, he hit 512 home runs and had 1,453 RBIs. [read more...]

2001 SP Legendary Cuts #9 Warren Spahn Baseball Card - Mint Condition - In Protective Display Case

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Warren Spahn had a 20-year career pitching for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves before he was sold to the New York Mets in 1965. During his time with the Braves, Spahn had 13 seasons in which he won 20 games for the team.

Spahn was first signed by the Braves in 1940 and after just two seasons in the minor leagues, he was called up to the Boston Braves at age 21. Manager Casey Stengel sent Spahn back to the minor leagues after a dispute and it cost the Braves the season and Stengel his job.

At the end of the 1942 baseball season, Spahn joined the US army and served with honor through World War II. He returned to baseball and the Braves in 1946. The next year, Spahn had his first 20 game winning season and he led the National League in ERA. [read more...]

I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story

by: Hank Aaron

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Hank Aaron, the player who broke Babe Ruth's home run record and then held the record for 33 years, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Aaron was a favorite with fans and he was selected as an All-Star in all but the first and last years that he played in the major leagues.

Aaron began playing baseball as a child and, by the time he was 15, he was trying out for a major league franchise. It took Aaron five more years to make it to the majors.

Before advancing to the Milwaukee Braves, Aaron played in the Negro League and for the Braves minor league teams. Aaron began playing as an outfielder with the Braves in April, 1954. His first year was good, but not spectacular. However, in his second year with the Braves, Aaron batted .314, with 27 home runs and 106 RBIs. The next year, 1956, Aaron's average was .328 and he won the National League batting title for that year. In 1957, Aaron received the National League MVP award for batting .322 and leading the league in home runs and RBIs. [read more...]

1981 Atlanta Braves Phil Niekro Limited Edition Baseball Card - In Protective ScrewDown Case!

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Phil Niekro, the knuckleball pitcher who spent most of his professional baseball career with the Braves, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Niekro had an unusually long major league baseball career, beginning at the age of 25 and retiring 23 years later at the age of 48.

Niekro began pitching for the Milwaukee Braves in 1964 and he stayed with the team though 1983. During his time with the Braves, Niekro earned five Gold Gloves (1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983).

In 1984, Niekro was released by the Braves and he spent the next four seasons with three different teams - New York Yankees for two seasons (1984 and 1985), two seasons with the Cleveland Indians (1986 and 1987) and his final season in 1987 with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Braves took over Niekro's contract for his last game towards the end of the 1987 season. Niekro, at age 48, ended his career as the oldest regular player in major league baseball. [read more...]