First Base: A Revolving Door pt. 1
During the summer of 1993 Atlanta acquired a premiere first baseman, his name was Fred McGriff. McGriff was stellar at first and provided another element to a talented Braves team. McGriff held the position through the 1997 season. I'll begin a series of posts on each postion and the players that played them over the last few years, a retrospective of sorts. I start with first base because the faces have changed a bit in the last 9 years. Atlanta really hasn't had a solid player at the position for a while. Adam LaRoche is slowy becoming that guy and hopefully will be soon. After McGriff's departure in '97 who would take over? The answer couldn't have been any better.
1998-Andres Galaragga
Galaragga signed as a free agent with the Braves in the winter '97. This was huge! The Big Cat was almost making double of what he made the previous year with the Rockies. In 1998 he earned every bit of it. Galaragga went on that year to lead the Braves in HR, RBI, SLUG%, and OPS. Unfortunately like most Braves, he struggled in the playoffs that year as Atlanta went on to lost in the NLCS to the Padres.
1999-Randall Simon/Brian Hunter (part deux)/Ryan Klesko
During Spring Training of '99 Galaragga had suffered from some back trouble and treatments were not corresponding. After seeing a oncologist Galaragga was diagnosed with lypmphatic cancer and took the season off to undergo chemotherapy. This was sad news for not just the Braves but the entire baseball world. 1999 provided our first platoon of many to come. An old face reappeared for his second tour of duty. Brian Hunter who was with the team in the early 90's returned for the '99 season. Hunter would split time with an up and coming rookie named Randall Simon. The results were not too good. Hunter and Simon combined for 11 HR 55 RBI 114/399 hit season. I almost forgot to mention, Ryan Klesko also saw time at first. Klesko produced better numbers than Hunter/Simon but had a double shift in the OF. What would the new century hold for the Braves...
2000-Big Cat Returns
Galaragga returned for the 2000 season and knocked in the game winning run with a blast on Opening Day. Galaragga would continue with a successfull season, but not quite what he reached in '98. Wally Joyner provided the backup duties as he was brought over from a winter trade with the Padres. The trade sent Reggie Sanders/Quilvio Veras/Wally Joyner to Atlanta for Boone/Klesko/Shiell. At the end of 2000 both Galaragga and Joyner would be granted free agency. So, once again Atlanta had another position to fill.
2001-Rico Brogna/Ken Caminiti/Wes Helms/Julio Franco/Dave Martinez
This was a makeshift year for the Braves at first. Atlanta dipped into the free agent pool and picked up a plethra of players and tried them all out at first. Helms saw most of the playing time followed by Brogna, Caminiti, Franco, Martinez. Martinez only played 10 games at first; he was used primarily as Atlanta's fourth outfielder. The numbers were not what Braves fans had become accustomed to.
Brogna: .248/.297/.335 3HR 21RBI 67G
Helms: .222/.293/.435 10HR 35RBI 77G
Caminiti: .222/.306/.380 6HR 16RBI 33G
Franco: .300/.376/.444 3HR 11RBI 23G
At the end of 2001, Caminiti and Brogna would retire from baseball. What would Atlanta do for 2002?
1998-Andres Galaragga
Galaragga signed as a free agent with the Braves in the winter '97. This was huge! The Big Cat was almost making double of what he made the previous year with the Rockies. In 1998 he earned every bit of it. Galaragga went on that year to lead the Braves in HR, RBI, SLUG%, and OPS. Unfortunately like most Braves, he struggled in the playoffs that year as Atlanta went on to lost in the NLCS to the Padres.
1999-Randall Simon/Brian Hunter (part deux)/Ryan Klesko
During Spring Training of '99 Galaragga had suffered from some back trouble and treatments were not corresponding. After seeing a oncologist Galaragga was diagnosed with lypmphatic cancer and took the season off to undergo chemotherapy. This was sad news for not just the Braves but the entire baseball world. 1999 provided our first platoon of many to come. An old face reappeared for his second tour of duty. Brian Hunter who was with the team in the early 90's returned for the '99 season. Hunter would split time with an up and coming rookie named Randall Simon. The results were not too good. Hunter and Simon combined for 11 HR 55 RBI 114/399 hit season. I almost forgot to mention, Ryan Klesko also saw time at first. Klesko produced better numbers than Hunter/Simon but had a double shift in the OF. What would the new century hold for the Braves...
2000-Big Cat Returns
Galaragga returned for the 2000 season and knocked in the game winning run with a blast on Opening Day. Galaragga would continue with a successfull season, but not quite what he reached in '98. Wally Joyner provided the backup duties as he was brought over from a winter trade with the Padres. The trade sent Reggie Sanders/Quilvio Veras/Wally Joyner to Atlanta for Boone/Klesko/Shiell. At the end of 2000 both Galaragga and Joyner would be granted free agency. So, once again Atlanta had another position to fill.
2001-Rico Brogna/Ken Caminiti/Wes Helms/Julio Franco/Dave Martinez
This was a makeshift year for the Braves at first. Atlanta dipped into the free agent pool and picked up a plethra of players and tried them all out at first. Helms saw most of the playing time followed by Brogna, Caminiti, Franco, Martinez. Martinez only played 10 games at first; he was used primarily as Atlanta's fourth outfielder. The numbers were not what Braves fans had become accustomed to.
Brogna: .248/.297/.335 3HR 21RBI 67G
Helms: .222/.293/.435 10HR 35RBI 77G
Caminiti: .222/.306/.380 6HR 16RBI 33G
Franco: .300/.376/.444 3HR 11RBI 23G
At the end of 2001, Caminiti and Brogna would retire from baseball. What would Atlanta do for 2002?
posted by Adam at
12:11 PM
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