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There is probably no better debate in sports than a Hall of Fame debate. That gets ratcheted up a notch when you consider all sports in a hypothetical city’s Hall of Fame like Atlanta. That is the topic that The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz tackled Tuesday with a hypothetical and inaugural Atlanta Hall of Fame. By Schultz’s own admission, the candidates from the Braves alone made him alter his format. In the end, he came up five members who would be in the VIP room with 20 other honorees.
No surprise but Hank Aaron tops the list and is followed by Herschel Walker, Bobby Jones, Dominique Wilkins and Chipper Jones at the VIP level. I have no real qualms with any of the suggestions but I would have elevated Chipper ahead of Dominique had it been my list.
Greg Maddux, Bobby Cox, Phil Niekro, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine were all within the first 12 selections. Deion Sanders, Dale Murphy and Andruw Jones also made the cut along with Skip Coray and Pete Van Wieren.
Overall, it is a fun list on a not so easy topic.
More Braves News
Keeping with the same theme, MLB.com writers are busy assembling the top five players at each position for their respective clubs. Mark Bowman unveiled a Twitter poll last week asking for fans’ input for the Braves catcher position. However, when Bowman made ultimately made his pick he went against the voting results listing Brian McCann over Javy Lopez. While it is a good debate, Bowman I think Bowman makes the right call with McCann holding the sixth best fWAR total in franchise history. Lopez was great in his own right and there probably isn’t a “wrong” answer to this question. Joe Torre finished third with Del Crandall and Eddie Perez rounding out the Top 5.
Our own Demetrius Bell took a historical look back at a pair games including one of the Braves’ final visits to Montreal where Paul Byrd threw a gem of a performance.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden listed five teams who are best positioned for a shortened 2020 season. The Braves came in second behind the Yankees with Bowden pointing to their youthful rotation as a prime reason.
MLB News
In talks with how to proceed with the 2020 season, Major League Baseball recently asked the MLB Players Association for the right to cancel or modify the draft according to a report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark. There are varying opinions on both sides with one executive stating that the league needs to continue influx of talent and some on the player’s side suggesting that both the draft and the international signing period could be reworked. While there doesn’t appear to be a clear resolution at this stage, this is one of the bigger details that will have to be worked out at some point before baseball resumes.
The New York Mets were dealt a blow Tuesday when it was announced that right-hander Noah Syndergaard will undergo Tommy John surgery due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. Syndergaard had experienced discomfort in his elbow before spring training was suspended. Follow up exams revealed the ligament tear. He will be out until at least next April with a mid-summer return in 2021 more likely.