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.

We return to the potent Milwaukee Braves team of the 1950’s, where we have Joe Adcock, a slugger who went yard for the franchise 239 times, including a 38 dinger season in 1956. 

Adcock arrived in Milwaukee in a complex four-team trade, which he benefited from, as he was not playing at his natural First Base position, as Cincinnati had Ted Kluszewski.  Adcock’s power always seemed to come at unique times.  He had a four Home Run game in 1954, and it was Adcock who hit a Home Run (which he didn’t get credit for due to Hank Aaron’s baserunning error, but there was a runner ahead who scored) to end Harvey Haddix’s legendary game where he pitched 12 perfect innings.  Adcock would thrice finish the season with MVP votes, and he had 1,206 Hits with a .285 Batting Average.  He was also instrumental in the 1957 World Series Championship.  It is also worth noting that Adcock didn’t want to play at First Base because he preferred it, he was also really good at it.  He would finish first in Range Factor per Game and Fielding Percentage three and four times, respectively, as a Brave among all National League First Basemen.

In 1914, the Boston Braves would win their first World Series Championship.  Dick Rudolph went 2-0 in that series with a 0.50 ERA over 18 Innings.  Safe to say if there was a World Series MVP, he would have won it, right?

Prior to joining the Braves, Rudolph had a cup of coffee with the New York Giants, and after plying his trade in the minors, he received another opportunity with the Boston Braves.  In his first season in Boston, he went 14-13, and he fit in like a glove.  The following year was the season of his postseason triumph, during which he went 26-10 in the regular season and finished 7^th in MVP voting.  He would win 22 and 19 Games in the two years that followed, but his efficiency would decline in the years after, and he would be officially released in 1927 after years of playing.

His overall career with the Braves would see him go 121-108 with five top ten finishes in bWAR for Pitchers.