The best Brave to wear #36 is the outfielder affectionately known as Sarge. Wearing #36 from 1977-1980, it’s Gary Matthews.
A 1968 first round pick by the Giants, Matthews rose quickly through the ranks and forced his way into the majors in 1972 after blistering the PCL, hitting .313 with 21 HR and 108 RBI for Phoenix at age 21. ’73 would be his first MLB season, and he was immediately a star, slashing .300/.367/.444 as he hit double digits in triples, homers, and stolen bases. Matthews was named the 1973 National League Rookie of the Year. Matthews didn’t really improve or decline, so he remained a solid, 2-3 win player for several years. After 1976, he was declared a free agent.
In pursuing Matthews, Ted Turner violated some league rules, telling Matthews the Braves would top any offer the Giants made (this was early on in free agency, so the word “free” was something of a misnomer, clearly). Turner admitted it openly:
“I ran into him at a cocktail party the night the World Series game was rained out,” Turner has explained. “I had had about six vodka and tonics and I was feeling no pain. It was all in fun. I didn’t mean that I was going to do it.”
Turner was banned from baseball for a year, though that was eventually lifted (Turner infamously even managed in ’77). The Braves were stripped of their 3rd overall pick in the 1977 draft – that too was eventually scaled back, and the Braves wound up drafting 4th overall, though Milwaukee took Paul Molitor 3rd.
Matthews signed a 5 year, $1,875,000 deal with the Braves, and unlike many of Atlanta’s free agent splurges in the 70’s, Matthews was worth every penny. In his Atlanta years, Sarge slashed .288/.354/.456, averaging 20 HR and 15 SB per year. In 1979, he set numerous career highs: .304 BA, .502 SLG, 192 hits, 34 doubles, 27 homers, and 90 RBI. Matthews was selected to his first All-Star team that summer and finished 26th in the NL MVP vote. After 1980, Atlanta traded Matthews to the Phillies for Bob Walk.
In Philadelphia, Matthews twice got MVP votes (’82-’83) and won the 1983 NLCS MVP before he was traded to the Cubs. In 1984 with the Cubs, he led the NL in OBP (the real batting title) and finished 5th in the MVP race.
In 3 postseasons, Matthews batted .323/.413/.677 with 7 HR in 75 plate appearances. I couldn’t find video of his Braves days, but here he is with the Phils in the 1983 NLCS:
Honorable Mentions
- Max Surkont wore it from 1950-1953, going 40-36 with a 3.90 ERA in the span.
- Mike Minor pitched 4 seasons in #36, the best of which being 2013, when he topped 200 innings, went 13-9, struck out 181, and had a 3.21 ERA.
- Chris Hammond pitched only one year as #36, but what a year 2002 was: 7-2 with a 0.95 ERA in 76 innings
Who is the best ever to wear #36?
Robin Roberts will have to settle for runner-up, mostly since he wore #38 in his Oriole and Astro days, so the honor instead goes to Gaylord Perry.
314 wins, 3534 K’s, 2 CY Awards. He still ranks 17th in wins, 6th in innings (5350), 8th in K’s, 9th in starts (690), and 16th in shutouts (53). Perry is probably one of the 25 best starters in history. Enjoy some highlights.
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