July 24- Atlanta Braves

I realize that this is a bit late, but according to my post date, July 24^th, it’s right on time. Happy birthday to my friend and fellow MLB Fan Cave Dweller Shaun Kippins!

Of all the caps the Atlanta Braves currently have in their wardrobe, this one has to be my favorite. I realize that there is a great deal of kinship that follows the classic red-billed caps the Braves have been rocking since 1987; however, very few newer Braves fans are aware of the fact that this all-navy blue cap is a throwback to the old days when the Braves were still getting their footing in Atlanta. While the Braves’ first season in Atlanta took place in 1966, the team first introduced the well-known red-billed cap through the end of the 1967 season. That season proved to be their first losing season since 1952. Like a lot of teams, even simple uniform changes can prove to be a morale booster. It sounds weird, but it has been a successful transition multiple times in the past. The best, most recent example of this came in 2008 when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays dropped the “Devil” and changed their team colors to become the Rays. They ended up making it to the World Series, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. From 1968 through the end of the 1971 season the Braves fared decent success, only having one sub-.500 season in 1970 and one incredible season in 1969 where they went 93-69 in which they lost to the New York “Miracle” Mets in the National League Championship Series under then-manager Lum Harris. The current Braves organization brought it back in 2009 to serve as the team’s road cap and it too has brought moderate success in the form of two postseason appearances, but two first round exists under both Bobby Cox and Fredi Gonzalez.

This is one of the many caps I ended up picking up at the New Era Flagship Store that sat across the street from the MLB Fan Cave, but not necessarily because I needed it for my collection. From day one when I started this blog I’ve talked about my personal experiences with these caps and the impact that the history behind them has had on me. Only once have I strayed off course to talk about two people who have had a profound impact on me, and coincidentally it came with another Braves post on June 26th. This is another one of those posts about fellow Fan Cave Dweller Shaun Kippins (@Skippins).

SK- I first found out about Shaun during the Top-50 campaign for the Fan Cave when I watched his audition video on the Fan Cave Web site. I needed to get a better understanding of who my competition was going to be so I figured, “What the hell?” The thing I liked most about Shaun’s video is that it was a lot like mine, straight to the point. He talked about himself, the history of the game and the impact it had on him, most specifically about Hank Aaron and the Braves. Shaun grew up in upstate New York and began his fellowship with the Braves organization the same way a lot of kids did back in the day, on TBS: The Superstation. Shaun could have gone with his home state heroes, the New York Yankees and Mets, but the glory years of Javy Lopez, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Sid Bream, Otis Nixon, David Justice and Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff were too much to resist. I didn’t hear much of Shaun during the publicity portion of the Top-50 push, but I was happy to see him in Phoenix, Arizona as we had both moved on to the Top-30.

The one thing I can say about the competition, let alone people running the show, is that it wasn’t diversely strong. Yah there were a few female competitors and employees, but only three African-Americans (one employee), two Mexican and one Asian contestant. The other black competitor was my friend Nick Hamilton, the Los Angeles Dodgers representative. Out of the entire whole of people present, I felt this to be a bit weird, but tried not to think about it too much. Shaun and I met around the pool in the mid afternoon when everyone was still getting settled. He struck me as a shy at first, but as I got to know him a bit more throughout the auditions, I was dead wrong.

Shaun attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York along with 2012 Top-30 hopeful/2013 Cave Dweller Travis Miller, although the two didn’t know each other during their time there. Most of the time that I was around Shaun came at the hotel when we had breaks as we were always in separate groups during the challenges. The only time we ever competed against one another was during the “MLB IQ” challenge hosted by Matt Vasgersian and Eric Byrnes. And if you want to see how it all went down, here’s the video. Shaun was on Team Triple Threat and I was on the aptly named Uni-Lovers as Vasgersian had called me Unabomber numerous times. Due to the fact that we had three members on our teams each, our teams were the last to go against one another in the first round. While the video is cut up in kind of a weird way the one thing I can say is that it was pretty much a dog fight between Shaun and Jay Tuohey (@TheRoar_24) versus Dave Barclay (@DaveBarc) and myself. The question about how many postseason games took place in 2011 was literally the last question asked and served as the tiebreaker. We had guessed 37 while Team Triple Threat had guessed 36. Not exactly the way I wanted to win the first round, but we pulled it off and ended up winning the whole thing. The one thing I did learn from that experience is that Shaun’s knowledge was much deeper than most had originally given him credit for.

In the two days that we were in Arizona I only saw Shaun without this Braves cap once, but it wasn’t at any point when I was around. I only found out about it a few days after I had gotten back home to Eugene, Oregon. Most of you who are reading this may or may not remember who Shaun is; however, you will after you see this video. Shaun was the "unlucky" person selected to be the prank victim of Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in probably one of the most simplistic, yet clever pranks I’ve seen pulled in quite some time. Everyone played their parts to perfection, especially Shaun who was the unfortunate victim.

When the time came to head to New York I was pleased with most of the selections they made for the Top-nine, and Shaun’s name definitely came up on the good list. The only part that I was a bit confused about was why they had chosen two Braves fans in the top-nine, but after having gotten to know both Shaun and Ricky Mast (@RickyMast) in Arizona it totally made sense. Unfortunately for some of the other Top-50, Top-30 and random followers, they didn’t agree. I’m not going to call out names, but one of the biggest reasons why I disassociated myself with a lot of people before and after the Fan Cave was because of their feelings on Shaun and his skin color. A lot felt that his presence was based on the executives trying to find a cultural balance, a point that I didn’t agree with at all nor did I even want to hear coming out of the mouths of people who I called “friends.” Back on April 13^th I had written about my views on skin color during Hank Aaron’s early years in baseball, and if there’s one thing I hate seeing or hearing about it's racism... unless it's a really good joke, I'll be honest about that, but it's still wrong.

Shaun and I shared an apartment together along with Phillies Cave Dweller Gordon Mack, but none of it came down to our choice. By this I mean that all of the apartments available were first come first serve and the three of us were the odd ones out as the other six had chosen to take the solo apartments and pair the three of us up. It was kind of a dick move, but I got over it in about 15 seconds. Every morning Shaun and I alternated on waking the other person up as we were always staying up late and needed to get up early in order to give ourselves enough time to shower and head down to the Fan Cave for filming. We had cable in the apartment so Shaun and I would occasionally watch “Mad Men” and “Shameless” as they were both shows that he enjoyed but I had never watched. We talked about the journalism industry a lot as we were both seeking work within our respective fields; him on the production, video side and me on the written side. Shaun also had a bevvy of hats with him, almost all of which were Braves, but most of the time he rocked this cap.

When we had our first day meeting at the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball I did my best to make him laugh as there was a photographer trying to catch candid shots of us smiling and Shaun was having a difficult time of making it “look real,” That into itself made me crack up, but the best way I knew to make Shaun laugh was to call him a “broke ass Juan Pierre-looking motherf---er.” Everyone within in earshot of that comment had dying and Shaun was doing his best to hold his head up straight as he was about to fall over with laughter. It sounds gay, but I wish I had a copy of that photo. It was an awesome moment, especially after we hugged it out. Yah, kind of gay.

Other moments came and went, but we always did our best to make the other person laugh. One moment in particular came when we had been driven home after a late night and I was left in the front seat to sign for the voucher. Our driver had a thick mustache and Shaun, as he exited the car, made sure to say, “Thanks for the lift Mr. Belvedere,” which sent me into a fit of hysterics as I tried to sign my name. That’s still one of the funniest things anyone has ever done. Shaun, the person who I thought was extremely polite and shy was pulling a rouse on all of us, in a good way.

During the first week of the 2012 regular season I found myself at a going away party for one of the graphic artists of the Fan Cave as I was invited by her and later forced to go by one of the security guards after the first big party the Fan Cave had hosted. What I wasn’t expecting when I got there were three of the top level executives to be there as well. I think I touched on all of this is an earlier post, can’t remember which one though. Anyway, they were all a bit sauced but happy to see me and bought me a few rounds. Throughout the night they asked me questions about each of the other Cave Dwellers. When it came to Shaun they seemed to listen a bit more intently, as if I had some deep insight to him. All I said is that he is “purposefully” quiet, and by far the funniest person in the group. Nothing more really needed to be said beyond that. Shaun, as I learned, will open himself up when he needs to, something I found out in the weirdest ways a few weeks before I got eliminated.

One thing that only a select group of people were fortunate enough to witness came when Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy visited the Fan Cave. The sketch that we ended up filming was a form of speed dating in which we quickly jumped in, asked Lucroy a question and then bolted. This concept has been since used multiple times without much success. The sad part of this experience is that Shaun's an my portions ended up on the cutting room floor as they didn't air it until we had both been eliminated. I won't go into detail about my run until a later post, but what Shaun did halted production for a solid three minutes afterward. I don't remember what Shaun's question was going to be, but we he had cooked up in his head was that he was going to knock over the Lucroy bobblehead sitting in front of him and ask the question police interrogation -style. When Shaun stepped up to the table he stared Lucroy down and knocked it over. When Shaun had intended was that the bobblehead would just tip over; instead, the bobblehead took a tumble off the table and down to the floor, breaking the right hand off. Shaun then went into panic mode, picked up the bobblehead, took a step to leave, forgot that he left the hand, picked that up, placed it on the table next to the bobblehead and split. Three minutes of laughter erupted throughout the basement where we were filming. It was like watching a live action cartoon, and Shaun played it out to perfection. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to.

I didn’t sleep much while I was in New York, but every few days or so I dedicated my time to trying to get a full nights rest, even for just one night. This night in particular happened to be when a few of the others decided to go out and close a few of the bars down. At some point somebody had texted me, but I slept right through it. Some time a little after four in the morning I heard the front door open, foot steps, my light switch turn on and then I received a flying elbow drop from Shaun to really wake me up. I’m not one to get upset about these sorts of things, and in this case I was startled and laughing at the same time. Shaun kept going over and over about how I should have gone out with everyone and that they had “the best time.” I couldn’t muddle any words out, I couldn’t stop laughing. I don’t remember how we transitioned but it soon became “drunken confession” time. Nothing bad came out, but hearing Shaun tell me how good of a friend I’ve been, how I’ve always supported him and his work really clung to my heart. He then said he might barf, but I made sure to help him get into bed to prevent it. I slept pretty well the rest of the night. The next day though, Shaun was still in a bit of a haze, but at least we had a long break in between games so he good take a nap.

My version of the “drunken confession” came with the same consequences of elbow drops and late night wakeups, but the message was the same. I never forged a stronger bond with anyone in New York other than Shaun. He was and still is the only person who has been straight with me, has had my back and never judged me when things got crazy after my exile. I let him borrow my Jeff Francoeur Braves jersey when he came to the Fan Cave

and he was always the one who would crank his ITunes up when we got home, blasting some Talking Heads, Grateful Dead, Phish or The Band. It was Shaun who inspired me to get this cap. I wish I had more friends like him in my life.

#12- Most people know Dusty Baker because of his managerial stints with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, but few remember how accomplished he was as a player from 1968-1986. Baker was drafted in the 26^th round of the 1967 draft by the Braves out of American River College in Sacramento, California and made his MLB debut on September 7, 1968. From then until the end of the 1971 season Baker bounced back and forth from the Majors to the minors with the AAA Richmond Braves. In 1972 he received his first full-time spot in the lineup playing centerfield where he went on to hit .321 with 17 home runs and 76 RBI, good enough for a 22^nd place finish for the NL MVP. Baker played with the Braves until the end of the 1975 season, batting .278 with 77 home runs and 324 RBI during his tenure before being traded to the Dodgers at the end of the season.

In LA Baker continued to play stellar defense and he received the name “Bakersfield” after the oil town which say 95 miles north and is also the place I spent most of my childhood. From 1976-1983 Baker made two All-Star Game appearances (1981 and 1982), won a Gold Glove in 1981, won two Silver Slugger Awards (1980 and 1981), finished in the top-seven twice for the NL MVP (1980 and 1981) and won one World Series title in 1981.

In 1984 he was signed by the Giants and played with them for one season before getting traded to the Oakland Athletics for his final two seasons as a player. For his career Baker hit .278, hit 242 home runs and knocked in 1013 RBI. His first year as a manager in the Majors came in 1993 after then-Giants manager Roger Craig (not the football player) stepped down. Baker has only been to the World Series once as a manager in 2002 with the Giants, losing to the Los Angeles Angels in seven games. As of now he has a career 840-715 record. 

#35- Signed by scout Bill Maughn in 1958 for a mere $250, Phil Niekro pitched for 20 seasons (1964-1983 and 1987) for the Braves (two of those seasons when the team was still in Milwaukee). He was popular in the city of Atlanta for remaining loyal to a team that often had a losing record, as well as for his contributions to Atlanta charities. On August 5, 1973, Niekro threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres; the no-hitter was the first for the Braves after moving to Atlanta. He was often the only star on the Braves teams. In 1979, for example, Niekro tied his brother for the league lead with 21 wins while playing for a team that only won 66. During his tenure in Atlanta, Niekro was selected for five All-Star Teams (1969, 1975, 1978, 1982 and 1984 with the Yankees), won five Gold Gloves (1978-1980 and 1982-1983), led the league in victories twice (1974 and 1979) and ERA once (1967 with a 1.87) despite being a knuckleballer.

Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before 1991. In 1969, he had a 23–13 season with a 2.56 ERA and finished second in Cy Young balloting to Mets sensation Tom Seaver. In the final days of the season, Niekro started three of seven games, going 3-0 as the Braves won the division. He lost his only appearance in the NLCS, as Atlanta was swept by the Mets. In 1982, at the age of 43, Niekro led the Braves' pitching staff with a 17–4 season. On October 1st, with the Braves clinging to a one-game lead over the Dodgers, Niekro beat the Padres almost single-handedly by throwing a complete game shutout and hitting a two run home run. Niekro started Game One of the subsequent NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched well, but the game was called on account of rain just before it became official. He pitched six innings of Game Two and left with a 3–2 lead. However, the Cardinals scored 2 late runs after Niekro left the game and would eventually sweep the series.

The Braves released Niekro after the 1983 season and he signed with the Yankees and went on to win 16 games and make the last of his five All-Star appearances. It was while pitching for the Yankees that Niekro gained entry into the 300 win club with a shutout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on October 6, 1985. At 46 years, 188 days, Niekro became the oldest pitcher to pitch a shutout in the major leagues; this record stood for nearly 25 years before Jamie Moyer (47 years, 170 days) bested the feat in May 2010; for Niekro, this complete-game shutout would be his 300th win. He did not throw his trademark knuckleball until the final hitter, former American League MVP Jeff Burroughs. Prior to facing Burroughs, Niekro's teammate and brother Joe visited the mound in the role of "substitute pitching coach" and jokingly suggested that an intentional walk was in order. Instead, Niekro struck Burroughs out to end the game.

After two seasons in New York, Niekro pitched for the Cleveland Indians and the Blue Jays in 1986 and 1987. The Blue Jays released him after he pitched ineffectively, and the Braves brought him back for one last start to wrap up his career late in the 1987 season. At the age of 48, Niekro was the oldest player in major league history to play regularly until Julio Franco, and his 24 seasons in the major leagues without a World Series appearance is a major league record. His total of 5,404⅓ innings pitched is the most by any pitcher in the post-1920 live-ball era. He only appeared in the postseason twice, making a playoff start in 1969 and again in 1982, both for Braves teams that would go on to lose the series.

In 1997 the Baseball Writers Association of America Niekro into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with a 80.34% vote on his fifth ballot. In 1984, when Niekro’s first stint with the Braves came to an end, they retired his #35, which of course was worn again when he returned during the 1987 season. Niekro is also the 1979 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award recipient as well as the 1980 Roberto Clemente Award winner, both of which were for philanthropic work on and off the baseball field.

June 26- Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves

Despite the fact that I bought this hat while in Buffalo just the day before, it’s one of the few hats that I have that carry a lot of personal meaning. If you’ve actively followed these posts, or at least gone back and read a few from my archives, the logo on the front may seem familiar as I write about a similar cap back on March 5^th. Of all the logos in Major League Baseball it really comes as no surprise that the two I have a kinship with most also happen to be the most controversial: Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and this one, Chief Noc-a-Homa of the Atlanta Braves.

I honestly can’t explain why I’m so drawn to it, perhaps a little of it does stem from the backlash it has received over the years; however, I don’t make it a point to be offensive on any level about it. To me, it’s just a symbol of the past which has been misconstrued over the decades when it was first introduced during the Milwaukee years in 1954. I bring all of this up because as much as it has pitted baseball fans or political pundits against one another for so many years, to me, it’s a symbol of bonding that will always remind me of the greatest year of my life with two people who have shown me a lighter side of “The Chop.”

Since this is a custom cap that I’ve already dwelled upon there really isn’t much of a reason to re-hash on old material. If you are interested about the history of the symbol, I highly recommend clicking on the link from my original post above. The one thing I can give you about this one is that it was cleverly done in the original Milwaukee styling. While the red bill and the navy blue panels were both shared by the Braves of Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Noc-a-Homa head in a flesh-colored tone was shown more prevalently in the early years between 1957-1966 up north; however, there was a five-year time frame in with the same color pattern was used in Atlanta (1967-1971), but with a much more detailed face.

Milwaukee

Atlanta

 This particular hat, or the Diamond Era cap featuring this logo that was originally supposed to be released this season, was a hot topic of conversation amongst the other eight #CrewEra13 invitees and myself. All of us had in some form or another agreed that the original batting practice cap was one of the Holy Grail pieces we wanted to add to our collection. At one point we (more I) thought that there was some sort of box of Diamond Era Braves caps somewhere within the confines of New Era’s headquarters, much like what happened with the Ark of the Covenant at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Some of our top men are on it.

Nonetheless, this cap was still available for purchase, which made all of us happy. In some weird way this logo became the unofficial symbol of our trip to Buffalo as most of us all ready had some variation of the Noc-a-Homa logo on a cap, but more important, we all have some kind of a fascination with it.

Due to the fact that this is not a game style cap I have a lot more freedom in how I marked this bad boy up. Rather than take a historical route like my other posts, I decided to go with something more important to me.

R/R: Of all the Braves fans I’ve met throughout my 30 years of existence, there are two that have made a significantly profound impact on my life at two very important moments, and; coincidentally, they both happened to be named Ricky: Ricky Mast and Ricky Ruby.

Ricky Ruby (@RickyRuby) and I met in the lobby of the Lafayette Hotel in downtown Buffalo, New York two days ago when we both were invited to the Fan Appreciation event held by New Era on June 23^rd and 24^th. Ruby hails from Atlanta and is one of the bigger pro-Atlanta fans I’ve ever met; however, it’s not for this that I’ll continue to remember him. One of the things that the other eight of us quickly picked up about Ruby is that he’s a big video game and comic book connoisseur. It was first brought to our attention at Niagara Falls when we hiked to the south side of the mouth and Ruby text message tone went off. His tone: the “Go-Go Power Rangers” chime that the red ranger received when ZORG was trying to get a hold of them. Needless to say, the 11-year-old versions of us quickly came out of hiding upon hearing it.

I found this on his Facebook page. Sorry for stealing it.

Throughout the rest of the trip Ruby delighted us with his cavalcade of custom comic book and video game caps that he purchased from shops in Japan which featured Batman, Mario from Super Mario Bros. and Iron Man. But the one topic of discussion that he and I kept bringing up was the matter of the Noc-a-Homa Diamond Era cap. We both had different motives as far as why we want the hat (I suppose), in that he wants it for his Braves/Atlanta collection, where as I want it for my ownership of all the Diamond Era/Braves history collection. In the grand scheme of things one could easily say that both falls within the same boundaries, which I would not dispute as we’re both avid collectors of all hats Braves.

When I got back to Portland I made sure to give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter. Due to the fact that I had been having issues with my phone throughout the trip to Buffalo I wasn’t able to do it then. Once I got back and we started tweeting back and forth with one another I got to see how big of a deal Ruby is within the Atlanta/Braves community. I’ve always been a fan of interacting with supporters of other teams besides my Oakland Athletics as well all have that common ground of fan hood, we all share the same kinship for baseball. One thing that I am looking forward to is the opportunity to get to a game at Turner Field with Ruby for two reasons:

1. Because I’ll have someone awesome to shoot the breeze with at the game.

2. Turner Field is one of the three Major League Baseball parks I have yet to visit. I couldn’t think of anyone better to check that off of my list with.

Ricky Mast (@RickyMast) and I started talking back in February of 2012 when we were both in the running for the MLB Fan Cave this last year. On a nearly routine basis he, a lot of the other prospective Cave Dwellers and I gabbed on Tiny Chat. Despite the fact that we were in competition with one another, all of us hit off fast for the same reason I mentioned above, we’re all baseball fans. No matter what the team or rivalry is one can always seek solace in the common ground and develop a kinship. Such was our case.

Ricky pulling off a low-key mohawk shark in the background.

Ricky being Ricky.

 

 Mast and I first met in person in Phoenix, Arizona as our planes landed around the same time along with Megan Washington (@teammegan) as the two of them had arrived on the same flight. Naturally, we all hit it off immediately as we swept through the terminals to try and find where we had to meet the shuttle to get to the hotel.

For those of you who are NASCAR fans Mast is the son of Rick Mast, a veteran driver who drove during the Winston Cup days from 1988-2002. What’s most interesting about this is that despite the fact that I don’t closely follow NASCAR I knew who Ricky’s dad was when I lived in Bakersfield, California as two acquaintances both had posters of Rick and his HOOTERS-sponsored car in their garages: Mark, a neighbor down the street whose daughter and I were friends, and Rick Mears, the Hall of Fame four-time Indianapolis 500 champion who lived a few blocks away whose son was friends with my brother Adam.

Ricky and I hit it off pretty well from the start, but we hardly ever saw each other from what I recall in Arizona. He and I were pitted in different groups and went to interview different teams/players as part of our final day’s worth of challenges. In the end though, he and I were both chosen to represent our teams as part of the final nine for the Fan Cave in New York City.

As much as I can recall about conversations and moments that we shared in the Fan Cave, there are only a few moments that I think back on regularly that always put a smile on my face. One of the features that we had on the walls was a radio that worked based on Bluetooth functions. Anytime the late games started up we (all nine of us) would use it to our advantage and play a continuous amount of sound bites and songs to help keep us entertained as the night wore on. Nothing against watching baseball for 12-16 hours a day, but sometimes there can be a few boring moments and breaking the monotony is necessary. One of the cards ( six of spades) that Ricky had in his pocket was the theme song to the TV show “Night Court,” a favorite show for both of us as we were growing up. TV theme songs and movie quotes became a regular line of conversation between the two of us. One particular moment in which it was caught on film was when we were filming the opening scene to the “Miggy Poco” telenovela sketch with Miguel Cabrera and Jon Glazer of “Cheap Seats” and Conan O’Brien fame. If you go back and watch the sketch you can see Ricky and me in the background talking; however, you can’t hear what we are saying. In a nut shell, Ricky and I were reciting the first interview between Will Ferrel and O’Brien when Ferrel came out in character as Robert Goulet. A few highlights include, “Dyan Cannon, she’s got a shape to her,” “Hello Johnny!” "Oh I’ve just been driving a lot,” and “Robert Goulet ate too many cherry Pop-Tarts backstage.” Ricky was as big, if not bigger, fan of ridiculous comedic quotes and standup routines as I am. There was seldom a time when he and I wouldn’t try to make the other person laugh from the moment we woke up to when we went back to our apartments to get some sleep. Our dueling Harry Caray’s became quite the treat, as did the occasional Ric Flair-style “Wooooooooo!!!” No matter what we said or how we said it, every bit was a gem, and I can’t recall laughing harder around anyone I’ve ever met.

Ricky is also quite the accomplished musician, no matter how much he may try to downplay it. Put an acoustic guitar in his hand and he’ll crank out some country gold. Since I was only in the Fan Cave for the first two-and-a-half months I didn’t become familiar with his Braves tribute to “No Diggity” by Blackstreet with his version titled “Go Yickity,” which was accompanied by a wonderful popsicle stick puppet show music video. However, I was fortunate to witness three moments of his brilliance at the tail end of April and the first few weeks of May. The first is something that very few remember, but I tweeted about as it was going on. I’ve always been a huge fan of the “Star-Spangled Banner’ when it’s performed via guitar. I don’t remember the exact date but games were just about to get underway when Ricky sat behind the couch and gently strummed away at the acoustic playing our national anthem. The other seven Cave Dwellers were going about their business, typing things up, talking, etc., but I completely tuned everything out to listen to Ricky play. It was one of the most endearing moments I recall from my experience.

The second moment came on May 3rd when Patrick Corbin and JJ Putz of the Arizona Diamondbacks stopped by for a visit before the opening game of their weekend series versus the New York Mets. A few days prior we had been sat down by the executives to talk about how we were doing after the first month of being there. I won’t go into too much detail now as I’m saving the whole discussion for a later post, but from what I recall from what Ricky had told me, they had said that he needs to produce more original material. I was shocked by that comment, but Ricky, being the loyal and diligent guy that he is, ducked into the corner and immediately got to work. What he came up with is a version of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Hold My Hand” but sung as a tribute to Braves’ catcher Brian McCann. 

For the time it took him to put it together and the balls he had to play it front of everyone, including Corbin and Putz, it was astonishing. Putz ended up getting it on video as he and McCann were good friends, but I’m not sure if Ricky ever got any feedback on it. But that’s not the end of this. I’m still not sure if Ricky knew this in advance or if I just didn’t check the schedule of upcoming visitors, but Darius Rucker, Hootie himself, paid a visit to the Fan Cave shortly after Putz and Corbin left. As it turns out Rucker is a big Cincinnati Reds fan, and of course I was coaxed into showing off my Reds tattoo to Rucker, at which he was pleasantly surprised by the detail (thank God). At the same time Ricky was asked to play his version of “Hold My Hand” for Rucker, which Ricky, once again, knocked right out of the park. I’d say as far as creativity goes, Ricky definitely grabbed the bull by the horns. Literally.

The third moment came on May 22^nd when Billy Butler, Aaron Crow, Bruce Chen, Brayan Pena and Jeff Francoeur of the Kansas City Royals paid us a visit. Most of this day I paid tribute to on May 23^rd in one of my Oakland Athletics posts, but there was one major detail that I had left out. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Ricky had written a song about Francoeur as he is still a huge hit with the Braves’ fan base. 

I’m pretty sure it’s still available on the Fan Cave Web site, so do yourself a service and check it out. This particular song was a Ricky Mast original and became a huge hit with Francoeur and the gang. The thing that I found most shocking in the end was that it almost didn’t air because of Ricky’s last line in the song, “He’s a badass in the USA.” Due to the word “badass” being used it was almost scrapped. I guess the word on the street is that it took 10 emails back and forth with the head office to approve of it, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about showbiz AND the word on the street, it’s usually pretty reliable. Either way, the important thing is that it was approved.

On of the last little anecdotes I have from our time in the Fan Cave has to do with one of the lesser-known rules in which Ricky had to abide by. By now, most of you have become fully aware of the fact that I had to, and still do, bark like a dog anytime anyone, including myself, says the name Jayson Werth (WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!) It became a bigger hit than I expected, especially with kids who came to take a tour. Now, one of the rules of the house that followed was that I had one for Ricky. Anytime I said Chief Noc-a-Homa Ricky had to reply with, “I love Ted Turner!” Probably the best/worst moment of this came on New Year’s Eve of this last year when I was in Ft. Lauderdale with my girlfriend Angie (@sconnieangie). It was a little after midnight EST and the bar we were at, America’s Backyard) started playing the Florida State/Atlanta Braves chant song. You know, the one they do as everyone does The Chop? Anyway, I was pretty drunk when it came on and I decided to text Ricky about it, at which I also mentioned Chief Noc-a-Homa. Within a matter of seconds I got a sold, “I love Ted Turner” in response. I don’t remember much of the night after that, but seeing that text again in the morning put a solid smile on my face as I was more than likely barfing.

After I was eliminated from the Fan Cave at the end of May I did my best to keep in contact with Ricky and few o the others guys. One moment in particular that I’ll never forget is how I almost caused an accident in Los Angeles in an attempt to take a photo of a Ralph’s grocery store. As weird as that sounds there is a very good reason for doing so. Of all the movie quotes that Ricky and I bounced off of one another, there’s a line from “The Big Lebowski” that came up the most. The scene in which it takes place is after Donny, played by Steve Buscemi, has a fatal heart attack and Walter (John Goodman) and Jeff aka The Dude (Jeff Bridges) are sitting at the desk of the head of the mortuary to negotiate (shout about) the price of the urn in which Donny’s ashes are placed. After not coming to an agreement in regard to a portable receptacle, Walter shouts, “God damn it!!!” followed by, “Is there a Ralph’s around here?” It became our bread and butter play. Anytime I shouted, “God damn it!!!” Ricky would always follow up with, “Is there a Ralph’s nearby?” Seeing how I was in LA, where the film took place, and there was an actual Ralph’s “around here,” I had to do it. From what I recall, Ricky was most pleased.

In the months to follow Ricky and I spoke less and less, which was mostly fueled by something stupid I said during the 2012 MLB All-Star game, which I’ll get into detail about when I reach that post. After Ricky was eliminated I pondered for a good few hours before sending my apology. I was happy that he responded, but was really upset that he was let go. Of the nine of us, I am confident to say that he was the second-most interactive with fans, but truly the most talented of the group.

Months would go by before we spoke again, which came on a really weird night. Back in December of 2012 I was one of thousands of victims involved in a shooting that took place at the Clackamas Town Center Mall in which I worked. Once again, I’ll go into more detail later in the year, but of all the people to hit me up in the wake of the aftermath, the one that meant the most was Ricky. It’s one thing for people that I regularly talk with to know what was going on and check up on me, it’s another thing for someone to be genuinely interested in my well-being after months of silence.

Not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I said, to cause the shift, but I’m glad that steps have been taken and we’re talking again, even if through the occasional jokes on Twitter. It’s only fitting I suppose. That was pretty much what our relationship was based on from the start. And I’m certainly not complaining about a good laugh in my life.

June 21- Milwaukee Brewers

Well, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. On a grand-scale plane I’ve been quite happy with every single New Era Cap I’ve collected over the last 15 years or so… except two of them. I picked this Milwaukee Brewers cap on May 19, 2012 along with a Seattle Mariners hat that I will be writing about in the next few days. Right now you’re probably think, “How the hell does he remember the exact date of when he bought those two hats?” Excellent question; there are two reasons why I know this:

1. This was the last order I did with Lids before I get the axe from the MLB Fan Cave. I tend to not forget a little thing like that.

2. It was an on-line order so I had the luxury of going through my order history and pinpointing the exact date. Ha!

While neither of those points explains why I don’t like this hat, I know refer you to clicking on the link for the Milwaukee Braves cap I wrote about on April 13^th. Notice anything peculiar? If it’s not registering, it’s ok. What you’re not seeing, if you can’t tell, is that it’s pretty much the same cap, but with a different color scheme. Now, I love the Braves cap. I think because of its color scheme and plainness it gives it a classic, sophisticated look. Not to mention the fact that Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Hank Aaron were pretty much badasses when they popped this lid on. As for anyone on the Brewers… does it really matter?

To be fair, I really don’t have any personal beef with the Brewers players; however, my entire issues stem from 1970 (well before I was born), the inaugural year of the Brewers franchise. For those of you who don’t know the story… In an effort to prevent the relocation of the Braves to a larger television market, Braves minority owner Bud Selig, a Milwaukee-area car dealer, formed an organization named "Teams Inc." devoted to local control of the club. He successfully prevented the majority owners of the Braves from moving the club in 1964 but was unable to do more than delay the inevitable. The Braves relocated to Atlanta after the 1965 season, and Teams Inc. turned its focus to returning Major League Baseball to Milwaukee.

Selig doggedly pursued this goal, attending owners meetings in the hopes of securing an expansion franchise. Selig changed the name of his group to "Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club Inc.". The "Brewers" name, honoring Milwaukee's beer-brewing tradition, also was traditional for Milwaukee baseball teams going back into the 19th century. The city had hosted a major league team by that name in 1901, which relocated at the end of that season to become the St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles). From 1902 through 1952, a minor league Milwaukee Brewers club in the American Association had been so successful that it lured the Braves from Boston. Selig himself had grown up watching that minor league team at Borchert Field and intended his new franchise to follow in that tradition.

To demonstrate there still was support for big-league ball in Milwaukee, Selig's group contracted with Chicago White Sox owner Arthur Allyn to host nine White Sox home games at Milwaukee County Stadium in 1968. A 1967 exhibition game between the White Sox and Minnesota Twins had attracted more than 51,000 spectators, and Selig was convinced the strong Milwaukee fan base would demonstrate the city would provide a good home for a new club.

The experiment was staggeringly successful - those nine games drew 264,297 fans. In Chicago that season, the Sox drew 539,478 fans to their remaining 58 home games. In just a handful of games, the Milwaukee crowds accounted for nearly one-third of the total attendance at White Sox games. In light of this success, Selig and Allyn agreed County Stadium would host Sox home games again the next season.

In 1969, the Sox schedule in Milwaukee was expanded to include 11 home games (one against every other franchise in the American League at the time). Although those games were attended by slightly fewer fans (198,211 fans, for an average of 18,019) they represented a greater percentage of the total White Sox attendance than the previous year - over one-third of the fans who went to Sox home games in 1969 did so at County Stadium (in the remaining 59 home dates in Chicago, the Sox drew 391,335 for an average of 6,632 per game). Selig felt this fan support lent legitimacy to his quest for a Milwaukee franchise, and he went into the 1968 owners meetings with high hopes. Those hopes were dashed when National League franchises were awarded to San Diego (the Padres) and Montreal (the Expos), and American League franchises were awarded to Kansas City (the Royals) and Seattle (the Pilots). That last franchise, however, would figure very prominently in Selig's future.

Having failed to gain a major league franchise for Milwaukee through expansion, Selig turned his efforts to purchasing and relocating an existing club. His search began close to home, with the White Sox themselves. According to Selig, he had a handshake agreement with Allyn to purchase the Pale Hose and move them north. The American League, unwilling to surrender Chicago to the National League, vetoed the sale, and Allyn sold the franchise to his brother John. Frustrated in these efforts, Selig shifted his focus to another American League team, the expansion Seattle Pilots.

To make a long story short, and because I’ll go into more detail on this story in August, Selig purchased the Pilots after they filed for Bankruptcy after their one, and only season in 1969. The original Brewers uniforms were "hand-me-downs" from the Seattle Pilots. Since the move to Milwaukee received final approval less than a week before the start of the season, there was no time to order new uniforms. Selig had originally planned to change the Brewers' colors to navy and red in honor of the minor league Brewers, but was forced to simply remove the Seattle markings from the Pilots' blue-and-gold uniforms and sew "BREWERS" on the front. However, the outline of the Pilots' logo was clearly visible. The uniforms had unique striping on the sleeves left over from the Pilots days. The cap was an updated version of the Milwaukee Braves cap in blue and yellow. Ultimately, it was decided to keep blue and gold as the team colors, and they have remained so ever since.

The Brewers finally got their own flannel design in 1971. These were essentially the same as the 1970 uniforms but with blue and yellow piping on the sleeves and collar. In 1972, the Brewers entered the doubleknit era with uniforms based upon their flannels—all white with "BREWERS" on the front, blue and yellow trim on the sleeves, neck, waistband and down the side of the pants. This is the uniform that Hank Aaron would wear with the club in his final seasons, and that Robin Yount would wear in his first.

The main thing I wanted to point out in all of this, besides the team history, is that even when the Brewers had a chance to change things up they still decided to bite off of the old Milwaukee Braves. With this cap in particular they did it from 1970-1973 as their game cap and from 1974-1977 as only their home cap. It wouldn’t be until 1978 that a fan would design this awesome logo in a contest for the team to use. I love the colors, I love the team, but I hate it when teams rip off of others, a theme that will surely be brought up down the road. As for the marks on this bad boy…

#41- Having written about the two most popular and only Hall of Fame players in franchise history in Yount and Paul Molitor, it became surprisingly difficult to find a few names and numbers to grace my cap. It also didn’t help that I stuck with the era in which this cap was used. Sooooooo… Jim Slaton was a 15^th round draft pick by the Pilots in the 1969 amateur draft out of Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California. During the 1969 season Slaton spent the entire year in the minors, which also carried on into 1970 when he was still with the Class-A Clinton Pilots of the Midwest League. Despite the Major League franchise relocating, all the minor league affiliates stayed put and kept their original names. Weird! In 1971 Slaton pitched four games with the AAA Evansville Triplets throughout the season, going 1-0 with a 1.41 ERA; however, Slaton got his call to The Show and made his debut on April 14, 1971.

Slaton pitched in a lot of games during his tenure from 1971-1977 and then again from 1979-1983 while taking 1978 to play for the Detroit Tigers.  He is the Brewers all-time leader in Wins (117), Innings Pitched (2025.3), Games Started (268), and Shutouts (19), and he is third in Strikeouts, trailing Teddy Higuera and Ben Sheets, and Complete Games, trailing Mike Caldwell. He represented the Brewers and the American League in the 1977 All-Star game and was the winning pitcher for the Brewers in the 4th game of the 1982 World Series against St. Louis. His All-Star Game appearance in 1977 was the only one of his career.

After his playing career ended, he started coaching in the minor leagues. He coached in the Oakland Athletics organization from 1992–1994 and then became the pitching coach for the Class A Daytona Cubs (1995–1996), his hometown Lancaster Jethawks (1997–98) and the Tacoma Rainiers (1999–2003). In 2004 he was a special assignment coach for the Seattle Mariners and from 2005-2007 he was the Mariners bullpen coach. Before coaching in the minor or major leagues, Jim coached an all-star team for the Monte Vista Little League, while pitching for the Angels. He was the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s in 2008, also serving briefly as the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers when Ken Howell temporarily left the team for medical reasons. After the season, the Dodgers announced that Slaton would be the pitching coach in 2009 for their new Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, a position he held through 2010. In 2011, he was named the pitching coach at Camelback Ranch.

#48- Here’s another guy you’ve probably never heard of. After graduating from Whittier College with a degree in sociology, Jim Colborn studied for his masters’ degree at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where he also starred in basketball as well as baseball, being named all-Scotland. He was planning on becoming a sociology professor until baseball lured him away. In 1966, while in college, Colborn struck out 21 batters in a College All-Star Game in the Netherlands. In 1967, the Chicago Cubs signed Colborn as an amateur free agent. He found himself in Leo Durocher’s doghouse after struggling as a young relief pitcher for three years. At the end of the 1971 season, Colborn was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for José Cardenal.

In his first season with the Brewers Colborn went 7-7 with a 3.11 ERA and 97 strikeouts as he started in 12 of the 39 games he pitched in on the season. In 973 however, things took a turn for the best. That season he became the first 20-game winner in Brewers franchise history. He finished the year with a 3.18 ERA, 314 1/3 innings logged, 135 strikeouts, his first, and only All-Star Game appearance and a sixth place finish for the AL Cy Young award.

Over the next three seasons, however, Colborn posted losing records (10-13 in 1974, 11-13 in 1975 and 9-15 in 1976) before being traded, along with Darrell Porter, to the Kansas City Royals. In 1977, Colborn won 18 games for a Royal team that won the second of three consecutive AL West titles (all three times, however, the Royals lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series; Colborn did not pitch in the 1977 ALCS). On May 14 of that year, Colborn no-hit the Texas Rangers 6-0, the first no-hitter by a Royal at Royals Stadium and second overall in that park, after the first of Nolan Ryan's seven career no-hitters (1973).
For eight seasons, Colborn was on Jim Tracy's staff as a pitching coach: from 2000 to 2005, when Tracy managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, and in 2006 and 2007, when Tracy managed the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2008, Colborn became the Texas Rangers bullpen coach.
In his career, Colborn won 83 games against 88 losses, with a 3.80 ERA and 688 strikeouts in 1597⅓ innings pitched.

May 20- Atlanta Braves

Speaking of storied franchises, how about the Atlanta Braves? This hat was one of the first ones I picked up in the 2012 Stars and Stripes series at Just Sports (@JustSportsPDX) when I worked there this last holiday season. In fact, when I picked it up it was part of a two for $22 deal we ran on them for a weekend. A deal like that, you know I wasn’t just going to pass it up.

The Braves franchise has been in existence since 1870 when they resided in Boston and went through a series of name changes from then until 1912 when they landed on the Braves until 1935. But, they changed the names briefly again in 1936 to the Bees before changing it back to the Braves at the start of the 1941 season. At the end of the 1952 season the Braves moved to Milwaukee until 1965 before finally setting up shop in Atlanta where they still reside today. With 144 years to work with, I found a few solid names which I’ll go into detail about below.

For the last few years the Braves have been teaming up with Emory University in Atlanta for BraveHeart: Welcome Back Veterans Southeast Initiative, which provides veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan access to mental health and counseling services. The Braves have been one of the few teams to be at the forefront of support and personal involvement with the men and women who serve in the armed forces by doing additional relief work overseas and within the community by visiting VA hospitals, hosting parties and providing tickets to active and retired members of the military.

Since 1971 I didn’t really find any patterns on Memorial Day, but I did come across a few things that I think are interesting. Over that timeframe the Braves have gone 23-18 while only missing one date in 1985 due to traveling. In 1976 the Braves lost to the San Diego Padres; however, the bit of note I found a bit peculiar is that the Braves played a doubleheader the day before… and another one the previous week… and two more the previous week… and another the week before that… and one more the week before that. That’s right; the Braves played five doubleheaders in the month of May including a final one right before Memorial Day. I can only imagine the players from that team were a bit spent. Other than that, their best streak came from 1993-2002 when they won 10 straight games on Memorial Day, four of which came against the Chicago Cubs consecutively from 1994-1998. The Braves have gone 5-1 against the Cubs on Memorial Day, followed closely by the Montreal Expos at 3-1. A little tidbit about the Expos is that they beat the Braves on their first Memorial Day meeting in 1990 and lost the next three in 2001, 2002 and 2004, but won in 2005 when they relocated and changed their name to the Washington Nationals.

#21*363- Warren Spahn had his career interrupted by World War II. Unlike Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams, who was already famous when he was drafted, Spahn achieved notoriety after the war. Span had what ball players call “a cup of coffee” (a brief appearance in the majors) in 1942, pitching just four games before he was drafted. The lefty had a far rougher World War II experience than most big-leaguers, who spent the conflict out of harm’s way with gloves instead of guns, but before entering the fray he too got to play some ball. Pitching in the summer of 1944 for the Gruber Engineers, with Reimann as his catcher, Spahn won his first 10 games -- seven on shutouts -- and struck out 186 batters in just 80 innings. The winning streak was snapped when he uncharacteristically committed three throwing errors in a 7-1 loss to the semipro Atlas Electrics of Tulsa at Texas League Park on July 30, 1944. He may have had a lot on his mind, because Spahn was shipped to Europe aboard the Queen Mary on November 9, 1944. As a staff sergeant in the 276^th Engineer Combat Battalion, he arrived in France a few weeks later, and survived for about 10 days on peanut butter sandwiches provided by friendly British soldiers.

Spahn’s 9th Armored Division, which preceded much larger groups of Allied troops, was charged with repairing roads and bridges. Spahn fought in the snowy, frozen Battle of the Bulge, getting nicked by bullets on the abdomen and back of the head. Crossing France and Belgium, his division arrived at the Rhine River and the Ludendorff railroad bridge at Remagen on March 7, 1945. While retreating, the Nazis had destroyed every intact bridge but the one at Remagen. The demolitions were in place, but for some reason they had never pushed the plunger. The bridge’s defense was crucial to the Allies for delivering men, vehicles and equipment to the German heartland. On March 9, Sergeant Spahn and the 276^th were ordered to the bridge to remove the demolitions, repair the bridge, maintain it, and construct a second span for two-way traffic. Working furiously to maintain the girders, Spahn and Co. were bombarded by V-2 rockets while troops, tanks, and trucks crossed above them. A biographer, Al Silverman, later described the scene:

While the bridge vibrated and twanged like banjo strings, swaying precariously as marching infantrymen tramped across each catwalk, and tanks rumbled across the planked railbed, the units patched holes, bolstered the bridge with heavy supports, repaired damaged flooring and cratered approaches.”

Ten days after the first successful crossing, Spahn received an assignment at a meeting over the center of the bridge and walked off to explain to his platoon that they’d be taking over the bridge’s security at 4 p.m. At 3:56 a platoon member shouted, “Look at the back! The bridge is falling down!” Possibly overloaded, certainly bombarded, the span slipped into the river, leaving 28 soldiers dead, 93 injured, and Sergeant Spahn with shrapnel in his left foot. Having crossed the Rhine, however, the Americans were able to protect a second bridge and other smaller pontoon bridges they built. Surgeons removed Spahn’s shrapnel. On June 1, 1945, he was the only ballplayer given a battlefield promotion, from staff sergeant to second lieutenant. In all, he earned a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a battlefield promotion, and a Presidential citation. That made him the most decorated ballplayer in World War II. (Like Spahn, Hoyt Wilhelm earned a Purple Heart, but Spahn alone received the Bronze Star.)

Aged rapidly by his battle experiences into a partially bald and fully-grown veteran, Spahn also built up stamina, concentration, and discipline during this period. “After what I went through overseas, I never thought of anything I was told to do in baseball as hard work,” he insisted. “You get over feeling like that when you spend days on end sleeping in frozen tank tracks in enemy-threatened territory. The Army taught me what’s important and what isn’t.”

Typically, Spahn found humor in the grimmest of situations. Because German spies would wear American uniforms, he said, “Anybody we didn’t know, we’d ask, ‘Who plays second for the Bums?’ If he didn’t answer ‘Eddie Stanky,’ he was dead.” Spahn had no use for being labeled a hero. “The guys who died over there were heroes,” he told his son, Greg. Nor did Spahn cotton to the view of baseball historians who estimated that he lost 30 or 40 wins to service time. “I matured a lot in those [war] years,” he said. “If I had not had that maturity, I wouldn’t have pitched until I was 45.” (A statement like that says much about character. By contrast, the querulous Bob Feller says that if it weren’t for his wartime service, “I’d have won more games than Warren Spahn.”)

Unaware that the war would end just two months later after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Spahn accepted the battlefield promotion, which forced him to remain in the service until the next May and miss the start of the ’46 baseball season. Instead, he became the hottest pitcher in Germany that spring; working for the 115^th Engineers Group, he allowed one run and struck out 73 batters in four games. And when he returned stateside, the Braves immediately promoted him to the majors, on June 10, 1946. “This is the first time in years I’ve reported to anybody without saluting,” he told new Boston manager Billy Southworth. - Jim Kaplan, SABR

Spahn played for 21 years in the Major Leagues, 20 of which came with the Braves while they were in Boston and Milwaukee. Following the 1964 season, after 25 years with the franchise, Spahn was sold by the Braves to the New York Mets. Braves manager Bobby Bragan predicted, "Spahnie won't win six games with the Mets." Spahn took on the dual role of pitcher and pitching coach. Spahn won four and lost 12 at which point the Mets put Spahn on waivers. He was put on waivers on July 15, 1965 and released on July 22, 1965. He immediately signed with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he finished the season. With the Mets and Giants combined, he won seven games for the season—his last in the major leagues. His number would be retired by the Braves later that year. Shame too, he was one year away from playing in all three cities the Braves had been affiliated with.

Spahn is hands down one of the Top-three greatest left-handed pitchers in the game, but for sure the winningest. His 363 wins by a lefty isn’t even close to be matched. Throughout his career he made 14 All-Star Game appearances, led the League in strikeouts four times (1949-1952), led the League in wins eight times (1949-1950, 1953 and 1957-1961), finished 23^rd or better for the National League MVP award 14 times, won the NL Cy Young award in 1957 and a World Series champion in 1957. Spahn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973 on the second ballot. No, it’s not what you think. Spahn’s first time on the ballot came in 1958 for reasons I have yet to figure out. At that time he received 0.4% of the votes; however, when elected in 1973 he received 83.2% of the vote. At the end of the 1965 season the Braves retired his number.

41- Unlike Spahn, Eddie Mathews did in fact play in all three of the cities the Braves resided. Born in Texarkana, Texas, on October 13, 1931, Mathews signed with the Boston Braves in 1949 on the night of his high school graduation in Santa Barbara, California, for $5,999. Turning down college football scholarships and more money from other big-league teams, Mathews chose to sign with the Braves after careful consideration (and advice from his father), knowing that he would soon have a job replacing the Braves' aging third baseman, Bob Elliot.

Mathews spent his first two seasons in the minors, perfecting a swing that even baseball great Ty Cobb described as "perfect." In 1950 the Korean War (1950-53) forced Mathews to leave the minors and enlist in the navy. He was soon released, however, because of his status as an only child and his father's battle with tuberculosis. Due to him being an only child he was listed as the “sole provider;” therefore, Mathews was allowed to go back to the Braves in order to make a living for he and his mother. Mathews returned late into the 1951 season and spent the rest of the season in the minors with the Atlanta Crackers (AA) and the Milwaukee Brewers (AAA). On April 15, 1952 Mathews made his MLB debut as the starting third baseman for the Braves. This would be the first of many starts for Mathews.

Mathews’ Major League career with the Braves lasted until the end of the 1966 season, their first year in Atlanta, before finishing out his last two seasons with the Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967-1968). Mathews made nine All-Star Game appearances, finished in third place for the 1952 NL Rookie of the Year award (.242/25/48), finished in second place twice for the NL MVP award in 1953 and 1959 and won a World Series ring with Spahn in 1957. Mathews hit 512 home runs for his career, the second-most by a third baseman behind Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies. It took five attempts, but Mathews was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978.

#1- If there was ever player in MLB history who looked the most like his name it has to be Rabbit Maranville. Maranville had served in the Army during World War I; however, I’m having a very difficult time finding any other specific details on his military history.

From 1912-1920, 1929-1933 and 1935 he donned a Braves jersey in Boston. At 5’5’’, Maranville was a surprisingly great baseball player. He’s one of roughly 20 players have 10,000 or more plate appearances (11,256), not to mention he held the record for most consecutive seasons played (23) which was broken in 1986 by Pete Rose. He finished in 17^th or better for the NL MVP award seven times throughout his career, the best of which was a second place finish in 1914 when he batted .246 with four home runs, 78 RBI and 28 stolen bases. His teammate Johnny Evers won with only a slightly better batting average (.276).

He retired having compiled a .258 batting average, 2,605 hits, 1,255 runs, 28 home runs, 884 RBI and 291 stolen bases. As a shortstop, he finished his career with a positional record 5,139 putouts. He won his only World Series championship in 1914 as a member of the Braves, and won his only other National League Championship in 1928 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Maranville was known as one of "baseball's most famous clowns" due to his practical jokes and lack of inhibitions. When he was appointed manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1925—one of their worst seasons ever—he did not change his behavior. One night he went through a Pullman car dumping water on sleeping players' heads, saying, "No sleeping under Maranville management, especially at night." Not long after that, he was out on the street outside Ebbets Field in Brooklyn mimicking a newsboy hawking papers. He cried out, "Read all about it! Maranville fired!" And so he was—the next day.
Maranville was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954, along with Bill Terry and Bill Dickey, in his 14th year of eligibility. His election came just months after his death at age 62.