Top 106 Baseball Players: #9 - Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron was the all-time MLB home run king for 33 years, and still is the all-time home run leader among those who have not been credibly accused of steroid use.

Aaron reached the major leagues with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954, after short stints in the minor leagues and the Negro Leagues. By the time he retired, he would be the final former Negro League player in pro baseball. In his third season, he won the batting title with a .328 average.

Aaron won his only MVP award in 1957, when he led the league in runs, home runs, and RBI, and fell just short of the Triple Crown, finishing third in batting average. That was also the first of 4 seasons in which he would hit exactly 44 home runs, which also happened to be his uniform number. He also led the Braves to the World Series that year, where they upset the defending champion Yankees in 7 games behind Aaron's .393 average, 3 homers, and 7 RBI.

The next season ended in disappointment when his .333 average wasn't enough for a repeat title, as the Yankees won the rematch in 7 games. In 1959, he had his only career 3-homer game, each one good for 2 runs, and he set career highs in hits and batting average, with 223 and .355 respectively, both best in the league, but he finished only third in the MVP voting.

He had another close brush with a Triple Crown in 1963, when he again led the league in runs, homers, and RBI, but came in third in batting. That was also his second time with 44 home runs, and his 4th time finishing 3rd in the MVP race, though it should have been his 4th MVP by that time.

The Braves moved to Atlanta after the 1965 season, and in his first season there, he hit 44 home runs again, his third time leading the league with that exact total. In 1968 he hit his 500th home run, the second-youngest at the time to reach that milestone, behind only Jimmie Foxx, and the next year moved into third place on the all-time list behind Ruth and Mays.

In 1969 he hit 44 home runs in a season again, though this time is was not enough to lead the league, but it was enough to get the Braves into the playoffs for the first time in Atlanta. During the NLCS, he hit .357 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI, but the Braves were swept by the Mets despite his best efforts.

In 1970, he reached the 3000 hit plateau, then broke the NL record with his 12th season of at least 30 home runs, a record he would extend to 15 seasons by 1973. In 1971 he reached 600 home runs, and set the NL record for most seasons with 40 home runs, when he did it for the 7th time with a career high of 47. He would add another 40-homer season later as well.

In 1972, he passed Willie Mays to take over 2nd place on the all-time home runs list, reached 2000 RBI's, and became the all-time leader in total bases, a record he still holds today. The spotlight was on him throughout the 1973 season, as he approached Babe Ruth's all-time home run mark, and he ended up finishing the year one short of Ruth's record.

He said that his greatest fear was that he wouldn't live to see the 1974 season, as he received numerous death threats for his pursuit of the record, many of them racially motivated. He hit the record-tying home run on his very first swing of the season, then broke the record in the first home game of the season. The record would eventually reach 755, and would stand until 2007, when Barry Bonds surpassed him.

After the season he did not want to retire, so the Braves traded him to the Brewers, where he broke Ruth's all-time RBI record the following year, another record which is still his. He also holds the record for most consecutive seasons of 100 runs scored, with 13 from 1955 to 1967.

In addition to his all-time records for RBI's and total bases, he is #3 on the all-time hit list, #4 in runs scored, and #2 in home runs. He won an MVP early in his career, but should have won 6 others. He did finish #3 in the MVP voting 6 times, and in addition to being a great ballplayer, was also a great person, never causing any controversy and always being graceful in breaking records and in relinquishing them when they were surpassed. There is no way that a list of the very best players of all time can't include Hank Aaron.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #17 - John Smoltz

John Smoltz

John Smoltz was the anchor of the Braves pitching staff for two decades, and though he wasn't usually the biggest star on the staff, he was a great pitcher and nearly always pitched his best in the postseason.

Smoltz first arrived in Atlanta in 1988 and made his first All-Star team in 1989, but his coming-out show was the 1991 playoffs. In the NLCS, he won both of his starts, including a complete game shutout in Game 7 to send the Braves to their first World Series in Atlanta, and he struck out 15 batters in his 15 innings of work. His ERA in the World Series was 1.26, but the Braves lost 1-0 in Game 7 after he was pulled in the 8th inning of a scoreless game.

His success continued into the next season, when he led the league in strikeouts for the first time, then performed even better in the postseason. Smoltz was named the NLCS MVP after winning two of his 3 starts and striking out 19 Pirates over 20 innings of work, with an ERA of 2.66. He also pitched well in his two World Series starts, helping the Braves fend off elimination in Game 5 before they fell to Toronto in the next game.

In the 1993 NLCS, he received his first postseason loss, despite not giving up an earned run, then had his only poor postseason run in 1995, the year that the Braves finally broke through and won the championship behind the great pitching of Greg Maddux. He would bounce back with his best season in 1996.

That year he won the Cy Young, breaking Maddux's streak at 4, leading the league with 24 wins and 276 strikeouts. He also set a franchise record with 14 straight wins during the season, then pitched even better in the playoffs, recording 33 strikeouts in 38 innings, while posting an ERA below 1.20 in all 3 playoff series, but they Braves fell to the Yankees in the title round.

He pitched well again in 1997, and was effective in 1998 and 1999 when he pitched, but he missed about a quarter of his starts to injury, and it culminated in him missing the entire 2000 season following Tommy John surgery. When he returned in 2001, he was ineffective as a starter, so he was installed as the team's closer.

In his first full season as the closer, he set the NL record for saves in a season with 55, and he spent the next 2 seasons as one of the best closers in the game. He also joined Dennis Eckersley as only the second pitcher ever to have a 20-win season and a 50-save season. After the 2004 season, he was put back into the starting rotation.

Smoltz recorded his 200th win in 2007, and his 3000th strikeout in 2008, both of which were notable. His 200th win came against Tom Glavine, his former teammate, and made him the only pitcher in history with 200 wins and 150 saves. The 3000th strikeout made him the 4th pitcher ever to reach that milestone with one team, joining Steve Carlton, Walter Johnson, and Bob Gibson.

When he retired, he had the most postseason wins of any pitcher in history, but he has since been passed by Andy Pettitte, so he now stands in 2nd place, just ahead of Greg Maddux. He was the only player who was with the Braves through all 14 of their record consecutive division titles, and pitched better in the postseason every season, with the exception of his championship season. Add it all together, and you have one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #34 - Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones was one of the greatest switch-hitters in history, and was the best offensive player on the Braves teams that dominated their division through the 1990's with their pitching.

Jones was the #1 overall pick in 1990, and was called up to the Braves late in the 1993 season, going 2-3 in a brief stint with the team. Jones was expected to become a starter for the Braves in 1994 after an injury to Ron Gant, but he tore his ACL in Spring Training and missed the entire season.

After rehabbing, he became the starting third baseman in 1995 and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year. He was a big contributor to Atlanta's World Series title that season, batting .364 during their postseason run with 10 runs scored, 9 walks, and 8 RBI in what would be his only championship season.

The next season was one of 6 in a row with at least 100 runs scored and 100 RBI, and he also hit over .300 with 30 home runs in 5 of those seasons. The Braves returned to the World Series that year, and Jones had nearly identical stats to the previous postseason, but this time they fell to the Yankees in 6 games.

In 1999 he won his only MVP award after batting .319 with 116 runs, 110 RBI, and career highs with 45 home runs and 126 walks while leading the Braves to another division title. They returned to the World Series that year, but Jones was not up to his previous postseason standards, and they were swept by the Yankees.

Jones continued his strong play for Atlanta for over a decade, and he had two of his best seasons in his mid-30's. He set a new career high in 2007 with a .337 average, then bested that average the next season, when he led the league with a .364 average, the second-highest ever for a switch-hitter.

He finished his career with a .303 average, and hit above .300 from each side of the plate for his career, one of only 2 players ever to accomplish that. Only Eddie Murray had more RBI's as a switch-hitter, and he is the only switch-hitter with a .300 average and at least 400 homers. Jones is among the Braves' all-time leaders in most offensive categories, and did it equally well from each side of the plate, and he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #46 - Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux was one of the most dominant pitchers in recent memory, and his run of Cy Youngs in the 1990's was one of the most amazing runs in baseball history.

Maddux reached the Majors in 1986 with the Cubs, and in his final start of the season had the rare opportunity of pitching against his brother Mike, who was also a rookie pitching for the Phillies. Younger brother Greg won the matchup, earning his second career win.

He posted a losing record in 1987, his first full season, but he would not have another losing record for 18 years. He improved steadily over the next several seasons, culminating in his first Cy Young season in 1992, when he recorded a 2.18 ERA and led the league in wins, starts, and innings pitched.

He was unable to negotiate a new contract with the Cubs after that season, so he signed with the Atlanta Braves, and he was even better than expected when he arrived. He led the league in ERA and complete games that season, and won his second straight Cy Young.

During the strike-shortened 1994 season, he led the league in ERA and shutouts again, along with wins and shutouts, and his ERA of 1.56 was the lowest of any pitcher since 1968. That year he finished #5 in the MVP voting and was the unanimous choice for the Cy Young award, his third in a row.

After three straight great seasons, he somehow had his best season in 1995. He finished with a 19-2 record, an ERA of 1.63, 10 complete games, and 3 shutouts, and a second straight unanimous Cy Young, and 4th in a row overall, something that had never been done before and has only been done once since.

That was also the year that Atlanta finally broke through in the playoffs. Maddux had pitched in the NLCS twice before, but 1995 was his first time in the World Series, where he gave up only 4 earned runs over 16 innings as the Braves beat the Indians to take home the championship.

In 1996 his ERA "ballooned" to 2.72, and he finished 5th in the Cy Young voting, breaking his winning streak at 4. The Braves returned to the World Series, and Maddux had his best postseason up to then, giving up only 7 runs in 37 innings, but the Braves fell to the Yankees in the championship round.

He pitched several more good seasons for Atlanta, even leading the league in ERA again in 1998, but nowhere near the level he was at during his Cy Young peak. He set a league record with 17 straight seasons of at least 15 wins, and is only of only 4 pitcher to record an ERA lower than 1.65 since 1920, and the only one to do it twice.

Maddux is #8 all-time in games won, trailing only Warren Spahn in the live-ball era, and is the only pitcher in history with more than 300 wins, 3000 strikeouts, and fewer than 1000 walks (999 to be exact). His playoff record of 11-14 was somewhat lacking, but he was great in 3 World Series seasons, and reached a level of dominance rarely seen during his Cy Young streak, and there is no doubt he belongs here among the top 50 players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #49 - Gary Sheffield

Gary Sheffield

Gary Sheffield was a great player for 8 different teams over the course of 22 seasons, and the reason for so many changes in scenery appears to have been his bad habit of bashing his management and teammates.

Sheffield first played in the Majors in 1988, when he was called up by the Milwaukee Brewers during the final month of the season. He hit a home run in his first at-bat, but overall did not play very well in his first couple seasons. His average improved to .294 in 1990, but he ended the season with a .194 average and a ticket out of town due to his claims of racism by the manager in moving him to third base.

He was traded to the Padres before the 1992 season, and contended for the Triple Crown, falling short by 2 home runs and 9 RBI, but he did win the batting title, making him the only Padre not named Tony Gwynn to achieve that. He also had the opportunity to bat against his uncle, Dwight Gooden, in a game that May, quite a rare occurrence.

He didn't start off very well the next season, and was traded to the Marlins midway through the season. He missed a lot of time over the next two seasons, but when he was healthy again in 1996, he had one of his best seasons, with 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and 142 walks. The next year, Florida advanced clear to the World Series, with Sheffield walking 20 times in 16 postseason games and knocking in 5 runs in the Marlins' championship round.

He was traded to the Dodgers early the next season because the Marlins knew they couldn't afford a contract extension. With LA, he had 3 straight very solid seasons, getting at least 100 RBI, 90 walks, and 30 runs each year while always batting over .300. After just over 3 years with the team, he began publicly criticizing the team's management, and was traded to Atlanta before the 2002 season.

In 2003 with the Braves, he had his best overall season, setting career highs with a .330 average, 126 runs, 190 hits, 37 doubles, and 132 RBI, to go along with 39 home runs. He was easily the best player in the league that year, but only came in #3 in the MVP voting, most likely because he was not well-liked.

He signed with the Yankees after that season, and had two more All-Star level seasons where he was also on the MVP radar, but a wrist injury cut his 2006 season short, and he was traded to the Tigers after the season. He would spend two seasons as the team's DH before they decided to move on. He signed with the Mets, where he was able to hit his 500th home run, and he also became the third player ever to hit a home run as a teen and a 40-year old, after Ty Cobb and Rusty Staub.

Sheffield has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 4 years, but is nowhere near the number of votes needed for election, and many feel that his personality is hurting his chances, despite his solid career numbers. He was the best player on a World Series champion, and the best player in the league one year, and hit 500 homers, which is still quite rare. Whether he makes it or not, he still definitely belongs on this list of the greatest baseball players of all time.