The five best Braves players of the Atlanta era of all time according to WAR

Several legendary players have visited Atlanta throughout their careers. Some of them have made their mark as the best in franchise history and arguably the entire history of baseball.

Here we will list the best players in Atlanta Braves history. This is done in order of Baseball Reference WAR. No bias. There are only even numbers that determine the order.

We know that WAR is a pretty polarizing statistic, and that only makes this list more entertaining.

Most of these names shouldn’t surprise you in any way. However, the order surprised me and it will probably surprise you too.

Honorable Mention – Hank Aaron (1966 to 1974) – 54.0 WAR

If this were the entire history of the Braves, this wouldn’t even be a contest. When including his numbers from the Milwaukee era, Aaron’s WAR jumps to 142.6 during his time with the organization. He has the seventh-best career WAR of all time.

Remember, Aaron was 32 years old when the Braves arrived in Atlanta. He continued to be a great ballplayer for many years after the move, but eventually his age began to show. In his final three seasons with the Braves, his best season by WAR was 4.9. It’s still a great season, but not by his standards. His Gold Glove seasons, which were far behind him, didn’t help those numbers either.

For these reasons he falls out of the top 5. He’s actually seventh in the Atlanta era. Andruw Jones, who is not on this list, is ahead of him in sixth place. Aaron receives honorable mention ahead of Jones as the best player by WAR in overall franchise history and one of the best ballplayers of all time.

5) Tom Glavine (1987 to 2002, 2008) – 63.6 WAR

It’s no surprise that Glavine is in the top five after 17 outstanding seasons as a Brave. During his career in Atlanta, Glavine won two Cy Young Awards and was a finalist four other times. He also made eight All-Star teams, including the 2000 tournament that hosted Atlanta.

Glavine was the World Series MVP in 1995, when the Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians in six games to win their first title in Atlanta. He took the mound in the game-winning game, pitching eight straight innings and allowing just one hit.

He is second all-time in Braves history in wins (244), innings pitched (3,408) and shutouts (22) and is third in strikeouts (2,091) and seventh in ERA (3.41) among those who Have thrown at least 800 innings for the team.

4) Greg Maddux (1993 to 2003) – 67.3 WAR

The professor managed to push his teammate out of fourth place on this list in six fewer seasons with the team.

Maddux took home three Cy Young Awards, made eight All-Star appearances and won ten Gold Gloves. His 2.63 ERA is the best in the Atlanta era among those who have thrown at least 800 innings for the team. His 61 complete games are the second most in the Atlanta era.

He also had the edge on the biggest stage with a World Series ERA of 2.09

3) John Smotlz (1988 to 2008) – 69.5 WAR

Of the three Hall of Fame starters the Braves had in the 1990s, Smoltz ranks the highest. His 20 seasons in a Braves uniform are the second most in the Atlanta era.

He did everything he could to help this team. He was in the rotation for a decade. Then he left and was the Braves’ closer for four seasons before moving back into the starting lineup.

He is third all-time in wins (210), fourth in ERA (3.26) among those who have thrown at least 800 innings with the team, and is third in ERA+ (127). Smoltz was also an eight-time All-Star, 1996 NL Cy Young Award winner and 1992 NLCS MVP.

2) Chipper Jones (1993 to 2012) – 85.3 WAR

Jones is the only position player in the top five. If there was to be a single batsman on this list, he would be a pretty fitting one. Jones played for the Braves for 19 seasons.

He leads the Atlanta era in home runs (438), hits (2,726), plate appearances (10,614) and RBIs (1,623). He is the leader in batting average (.303) and second in OPS (.930) among those who have played at least 1,000 games for the franchise.

It’s hard to imagine anyone displacing him at No. 1, but one recent longtime pitcher did just that.

1) Phil Niekro (1966 to 1983, 1987) – 88.5 WAR

Niekro just edged out Chipper for the top spot on this list. Although the knuckleballer didn’t break through until he was 30, he was able to secure five All-Star appearances and five Gold Glove Awards.

He is the Atlanta era winner (266), started the most games (594), threw the most innings (4,523 1/3) and is in the top three in ERA (3.20) and strikeouts (2,855). His 21 seasons are the most in an Atlanta Braves uniform. He even appeared for the Braves at age 48.

Since the Braves arrived in Atlanta in 1966, no player has offered more value than Niekro, according to WAR. Are other players on this list potentially higher if ranked differently? I mean, yes. But Niekro is undoubtedly a top player in the team’s history, and this is a reflection of that.