Rico Carty may have been popular, but he was not necessarily lucky.  While a member of the Atlanta Braves, Carty would miss two complete seasons, 1968 due to tuberculosis and 1971 due to a severe knee injury.  In that time frame, Carty put forth an incredible 1970 season, leading the National League in Batting Average (.366) and On Base Percentage (.454), and posting career power highs of 25 Home Runs and 101 Runs Batted In.  Carty was so good that he was voted an All-Star that year, despite having to be a write-in candidate, making him the first to accomplish that!  Carty’s overall numbers as a Brave would see him play 828 Games with a Slash Line of .317/.388/.496.

Billy Nash was with the Boston Beaneaters for ten of his fifteen seasons over two five-year stints (1885-89 & 1891-95), and the Third Baseman proved to be a dependable player in both runs.  Nash was a better-than-average defensive player at the hot corner, and he was decent with his offense.  Six times, he had 140 or more Hits (though he never hit 150) and produced well in the clutch with five years of at least 90 Runs Batted In, and he was in the top seven in that statistic six times.  Nash’s career with the Beaneaters would see him accumulate 1,285 Hits with a Slash Line of .281/.368/389.

The starting Catcher for the Atlanta Braves for nine seasons, Javy Lopez was considered one of the better Catchers in the National League during most of that time.  Early in his career, Lopez helped Atlanta win the 1995 World Series, and the following season, he was the NLCS MVP, though the Braves did not win the Fall Classic that year.  The Puerto Rican would be a three-time All-Star and was a good-hitting Catcher who would have five 20 Home Run seasons, the best of which is his last campaign in Atlanta (2003), where he blasted 43 Home Runs with a .328 Batting Average.  He would be a fifth-place finisher in MVP voting that year.  Lopez would accumulate 1,148 Hits with 214 Home Runs and a .287 Batting Average as an Atlanta Brave.

The Braves chose Lopez for their Hall of Fame in 2014.

Billy Hamilton arrived in Boston at age 30, and although his best years were behind him, he was still a very good, fast player who changed games with his speed.  In the six years he was with the Beaneaters, he hit the 100 Runs Scored mark in four of them, with two of them exceeding 150.  In 1897, his 152 Runs were enough to lead the National League.  In the past, Hamilton led the NL in Stolen Bases four times (plus one in the AA).  He didn’t have the same speed with Boston, but he still swiped bases 274 times.  His batting eye was still excellent as he led the NL in Walks his first two seasons as a Beaneater, and he had two OBP titles.  His Boston numbers would see him collect 885 Hits with a .339 Batting Average and an incredible On Base Percentage of .456.

Hamilton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961 by the Veterans Committee.