30 Teams in 30 Posts: #22

The countdown is at lucky number 22, and that means it is time for the former America's Team, the Atlanta Braves. Let me first begin by stating that by merely looking at the images in this post, it should be clear that I really have no Atlanta cards of note to trade. I was pretty much left with picking up what scraps were left on the floor and/or accidentally didn't make it into a trading pile. They may not be America's Team anymore, but they are still popular among a certain group.

There's really only one reason I dislike the Braves and rank them so low. It's the whole nickname thing and that Tomahawk Chop. I realize they have a rich tradition and all that, but it's too difficult for me to get past in order to root for them. (To this day, our state's newspaper has a policy that in effect means they do not ever print the nickname of the "Atlanta baseball team" or the "Washington football team".) That being said, they have a talented young core that I haven't quite gotten around to hating yet, and Chipper Jones (aka Derek Jeter of the South) has one foot in the grave retirement, so I suppose they aren't as low as they could be.

Favorite current Braves player: Brian McCann. I'm not a fan of McCann per se, but I always end up with him on one or more of my fantasy teams, so I may as well root for him.

Least favorite current Braves player: Chipper Jones. Let's just call it a lifetime achievement award?

Favorite Braves player of all-time: Dale Murphy. Murph is from Portland, has an extremely long neck and once was very good at baseball. Sadly, I must have traded away my last 1979 Topps Murphy card as I couldn't find one for this post.

Least favorite Braves player of all-time: Bob Horner. There are so many players to choose from here. Like Horner, Andres Galarraga played for the Braves for a spell but was completely dreadful in a Cards uni. Terry Pendleton had the nerve to put up an .880 OPS in his first year with Atlanta, more than 100 points higher than any year he had with St. Louis. But Horner... I don't know, there was some sort of irrational early childhood dislike for him that continued over to his dreadful return to MLB after a year in Japan as he tried to make his comeback with the Cards. The return to the majors after playing overseas rarely works out unless your last name is Fielder.

The Atlanta Baseball Team enters the charts at #22 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.