No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only.
Here is Mark Bowman’s ranking of the top 5 right fielders in Braves history.
1. Hank Aaron, 1954-74
Key Fact: Aaron’s 136.3 fWAR (FanGraphs’ WAR Model) ranks fifth among all outfielders in MLB history. The only outfielders with a higher fWAR are Babe Ruth (168.4), Barry Bonds (164.4), Willie Mays (149.9) and Ty Cobb (149.3).
Aaron was a left fielder during a majority of his rookie season, and he would play center field, second base and first base over the two decades that followed. But the iconic Hall of Famer spent most of his career as the Braves' right fielder. He holds the franchise record with 2,134 starts in right field. That’s 32 fewer starts than the club’s next three highest totals combined -- Tommy Holmes (728), David Justice (728) and Nick Markakis (710).
You’ve likely seen that if you subtract each of Aaron’s 755 home runs, he’d still have more than 3,000 hits. Well according to Baseball Reference’s Play Index, "The Hammer" tallied 520 of those home runs as a right fielder. If you only accounted for that portion of his total, he’d have still ranked ninth on the game’s all-time list when he retired.
Looking only at home runs hit while in a game as a right fielder for the Braves, you’d have to sum the totals of Justice (150), Dale Murphy (105), Jason Heyward (81), Jeff Francoeur (79), Brian Jordan (66) and Claudell Washington (65) to surpass Aaron’s total of 520. And if you did so, you’d find these seven guys combined for just 26 more homers than Aaron as a Braves right fielder.
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., 2018-present
Key Fact: Only player in MLB history to steal 70-plus bases and hit 40-plus homers in the same season.
Acuña’s greatness was displayed during the historic 2023 season that netted him the NL MVP Award. Considered the most talented player to ever wear a Braves uniform, this dynamic outfielder’s production has been slowed by two major knee injuries. Still, his powerful bat and arm have helped him produce a 30.6 bWAR, third-best among all Braves right fielders.
3. David Justice, 1989-96
Key Fact: The 19.1 fWAR Justice produced from 1991-95 ranked second among NL right fielders, trumped only by Hall of Famer Larry Walker’s 22.7.
Justice split time between first base and right field during his 1990 NL Rookie of the Year season, and a dislocated right shoulder limited him to 40 games during his final year (1996) in Atlanta. But in between, he did much more than just hit the home run that gave the city of Atlanta its first World Series title.
Justice belted a career-best 40 homers while helping the 1993 Braves complete their comeback.
Justice constructed a 133 OPS+ from 1990-96, and the 150 homers he hit as a Braves right fielder rank second in franchise history.
4. Jason Heyward, 2010-14
Key Fact: The 19.5 fWAR Heyward produced during his five seasons with the Braves ranked second among NL right fielders, trailing only Giancarlo Stanton’s 21.7.
Looking back on Heyward’s tenure, I’ll always wonder how different things might have been had he not been hit in the face by Jon Niese’s pitch on Aug. 21, 2013. Heyward had hit a career-high 27 homers in 2012, and he seemed to finding a groove during the second half of '13. He produced a 1.033 OPS over the 22 games played before he went on the injured list. But he just never seemingly got back to that level from an offensive perspective.
Still, Heyward left a strong mark while helping the Braves reach the postseason during three of his five years with the club. He won a Gold Glove during two of his final three seasons in Atlanta, and other than Aaron, he is the only right fielder in franchise history to produce a 5.0 bWAR (Baseball Reference’s WAR Model) or higher at least three times.
5. Gary Sheffield, 2002-03
Key Fact: Led all MLB right fielders with the 12.1 fWAR produced during his two seasons with Atlanta.
Sheffield’s candidacy for this list was weakened by the fact he spent just two seasons with the club. But the success he had during those two years can’t be overlooked. After tallying 25 homers with a 138 OPS+ in 2002, he smacked 39 homers and constructed a 151 OPS+ in '03.