The Best Brave to Wear #30

#30 hasn’t had a star-studded history with the Braves. Two great pitchers wore it as they concluded careers which were better elsewhere – Denny McLain and Wes Ferrell, and the tradition of handing #30 to guys past their prime continued into the 2000s, when it was worn by former Nasty Boy Norm Charlton and former Brewers ace Ben Sheets. In recent years, it has also seen a revolving door of AAAA types like Matt Tuiasosopo and Ryan Lavarnway. Right-hander Kyle Wright is a young Brave with a solid chance of having a long run with the number, so check back here in a few years.

The best #30 in Braves history is a player, naturally, better known for his time with another team. After 1968, Atlanta traded star Joe Torre to St. Louis in order to get one of the best players in baseball over the past decade, a 30 year old with a career .303/.353/.512 line and 284 career HR, a 7 time All-Star and former NL MVP. They acquired the best Brave to ever wear #30, the Baby Bull himself – Orlando Cepeda.

Cha Cha had a solid first year in Atlanta (.257/.325/.428, 22 HR, and a 36th place MVP finish, for whatever that’s worth), but it had to be a bit underwhelming considering his reputation. Still, he helped the team win the first ever NL West division championship, and fans couldn’t blame him for the NLCS loss to the Mets – he hit .455/.538/.909 with 2 doubles and a homer.

Cepeda had his best Braves season in 1970 (.305/.365/.543, 34 HR), driving in 111 runs. He started strong in 1971 as well, but suffered a knee injury at home and had to take a lot of time off, leading to a disappointing season (.276/.330/.492, 14 HR). After playing well through pain to start 1972 (.298/.352/.476, 4 HR in 28 games), Atlanta traded the ailing Cepeda to Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s (for the aforementioned McLain).

The Bull would rediscover his health in 1973 with the Red Sox, where he hit 20 HR and finished 15th in the AL MVP. With the Royals for 1974, the wear and tear became too much, and Cepeda retired after a disappointing season.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999.

Honorable Mentions:

Ken Johnson (1965-1969) went 45-34, 3.22 and was one of the team’s more reliable starters after the move to Atlanta.
Paul Assenmacher wore #30 from 1986-1989, making 226 relief appearances at a 3.46 ERA, picking up 14 saves.
Ervin Santana spent only one season in Atlanta, but it was a solid one. Santana went 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA and 179 K’s.
Mike Stanton was a serviceable lefty for Atlanta from 1989-1995. He picked up 55 saves in his Braves career, finished 8th in the 1991 NL ROY race, and would ultimately finish his career with 1178 appearances on the mound, the 2nd most in MLB history, and pitched in 6 World Series.

Who Was The Best #30 Ever?

Like we did with #34, let’s take a moment to first recognize that Nolan Ryan was an excellent pitcher, and his best years came as #30. Ryan’s 1973 (21-16, 2.87, 383 K’s) got him the closest to a CYA he’d ever come, finishing 2nd.