ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Baseball Hall of Fame is the game’s highest honor, and the game’s oldest continuously operated franchise is also one of its most represented.
The Braves have 16 people in the Hall of Fame representing the team, with a further 39 playing for the team at some point. From Babe Ruth and Cy Young in its first class to Billy Wagner in its latest, the Braves have been a constant presence in Cooperstown.
Six former Braves, from franchise icons to a player who only played for the Braves once, could be headed to Cooperstown in the Class of 2026. They just need 75% of the vote.
Andruw Jones
Atlanta Braves’ Andruw Jones follows through with a home run swing during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Wednesday, April 11, 2007 in Atlanta.(AP Photo/John Bazemore)(John Bazemore | ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Jones, a member of the team’s Hall of Fame, was a staple in center field for 12 seasons. He was arguably the best defensive centerfielder in baseball during that time, if not the history of baseball. He won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves while locking down Turner Field and his 24.4 defensive WAR is the most by any outfielder ever.
He was not nearly as known for his bat and his numbers fell off after he left Atlanta in 2007, but he’ll always have one swing: Jones is still the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason.
Of the six Braves up for induction, Jones is the most likely candidate to receive the call. He received 66.2% of the vote last year and there are few obvious candidates ahead of him on the BBWAA ballot. Those numbers are a far cry from the 7.3% of he received in his first year on the ballot, but his defensive skill has begun to weigh more heavily in voters’ mind than his bat.
Dale Murphy
Former Major League Baseball player Dale Murphy waves to spectators before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)(Ashley Landis | AP)
Murphy is arguably one of the most perplexing cases for induction this year. He is one of three men to ever win multiple MVP awards and not be elected to the Hall of Fame. Another one of those men, Barry Bonds, is also on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot this year.
However, Murphy would also be one of only four Hall of Fame outfielders after 1950 to hit fewer than 400 home runs and have an OPS below .815.
This is Murphy’s fourth time on a Veterans Committee ballot after falling short of induction in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Murphy’s case is that of his dominance all throughout the 1980s. Not only was he a back-to-back MVP winner (1982-83), Murphy finished top 10 in voting for four consecutive seasons from 1982 to 1985. He earned five Gold Gloves, four Silver Slugger awards and averaged 20.5 stolen bases per year during that stretch.
Nick Markakis
Atlanta Braves’ Nick Markakis watches his double during the second inning of the team’s baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, in Baltimore, in this Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, file photo. Markakis has retired after a 15-year career spent with the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles. The 37-year-old Markakis, who was a free agent, told The Athletic in a story published Friday, March 12, 2021, that he was done playing after accumulating 2,388 hits, earning his lone All-Star bid in 2018 and coming within one win of reaching the World Series in his final season.(AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
Nick Markakis is better known for his years with the Baltimore Orioles, but the Woodstock native also spent six years with the Braves between 2015 and 2020.
His time in Atlanta never quite reached the statistical heights of his time in Baltimore, but he finally received accolades that eluded him as an Oriole. He won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 2018 and had his only career All-Star appearance.
Markakis’ 33.7 bWAR is fourth among players who played 75% of their games in right field during his career. His 32.8 offensive WAR is second, only behind Giancarlo Stanton.
He might not have the counting stats with just 189 home runs and 2388 hits, but the underlying numbers strengthen his case.
Gary Sheffield
Atlanta Braves’ Gary Sheffield watches his first-inning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, July 21, 2002 in Philadelphia. The Braves won 2-1. (AP Photo/Miles Kennedy)(MILES KENNEDY | ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Gary Sheffield is most known for his time with the Florida Marlins, but Sheffield spent two years in Atlanta, slashing .319/.412/.562 with an All-Star appearance in 2003.
Sheffield’s 509 career home runs are ninth among players not in the Hall of Fame. Two of the players ahead of him, Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, are not yet eligible for induction.
Each of the other six had ties to the steroid scandal. Sheffield was also named in the Mitchell Report, alongside 88 other players. He claimed that he was unaware that the cream given to him by Barry Bonds in a 2001 workout contained steroids. The Mitchell Report cited a FedEx receipt to BALCO dated to February 2003.
The voting groups’ attitude toward steroid users has softened over the years, especially once commissioner Bud Selig was elected in 2017. Alex Rodriguez, who was suspended for a season because of PED use, could get more than 50% of the baseball writers’ vote this year.
Sheffield’s fate is in the hand of the Contemporary Baseball Era committee. The group might look at his 509 home runs, 292/.393/.514 slash line and only 1,171 strikeouts — he had more walks than strikeouts — and decide it is finally time for Sheffield to get the call.
He would likely be the first player to go into the Hall of Fame as a Marlin.
Matt Kemp
Atlanta Braves’ Matt Kemp (27) throws his bat after hitting a fly ball for an out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)(Matt Marton | AP)
Kemp was a bright spot in a dark time during his season-and-a-half in Atlanta. He came to Atlanta in a midseason trade in 2016 and slashed .278/.324/.482, the second-best numbers of his career.
He is far better known for his 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he became a familiar face in the late 2000s. He was a three-time All-Star in two stints with the Dodgers, including a close second-place finish in the 2011 NL MVP race.
Kemp is making his debut on the ballot alongside former Braves Markakis and Cole Hamels.
His 21.6 bWAR doesn’t jump off the page, but it could be enough to garner enough votes to keep him on the ballot.
Cole Hamels
FILE – Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Cole Hamels throws a pitch to the Baltimore Orioles during the second inning of a baseball game, Sept. 16, 2020, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)(Julio Cortez | AP)
Hamels barely makes this list: he pitched one game for the Braves at the end of his career in 2020. It was his last game as a major leaguer.
The first-round pick is more notable for his time with the Philadelphia Phillies. Hamels was the anchor of a pitching rotation that led the Phillies to five straight playoff appearances between 2007 and 2011. The Phillies made back-to-back World Series appearances in 2008 and 2009, winning the 2008 series. Hamels was named both the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP.
He later threw a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs in 2015.
Hamels was one of the most dependable starts in baseball in his prime. He pitched for 200 innings in seven straight seasons and had an ERA over 3.50 in just one of those seasons.
He imploded later in his career, but is still one of 50 players to notch 2,500 strikeouts. If he doesn’t make the Hall, his 2,560 strikeouts would be the sixth-most among eligible players.