The Best Brave to Wear #23

The best Brave to wear #23 was, for about a 24 hour period, the most hated man in Atlanta.

Why were Braves fans so angry with star right fielder David Justice?

He was the 1990 NL Rookie of the Year (.282/.373/.535, 28 HR, 11 SB), even finishing 24th in the MVP race while on a terrible team. Justice was the offensive face of the worst-to-first team. Terry Pendleton may have been the MVP, but this was Justice’s team. He finished 12th in the 1991 MVP race (.275/.377/.503, 21 HR). After a slightly off-year in 1992 (.256/.359/.446, 21 HR), Justice made his first All-Star team in 1993, hit .270/.357/.515 with 40 HR and 120 RBI, won a Silver Slugger, and finished 3rd in the MVP vote.

He was on track to have his best season yet in the 1994 strike season (.313/.427/.531, 19 HR, another All-Star nod), but in 1995 had, for him, an off year (.253/.365/.479, 24 HR). Justice had been terrible in the ’92 World Series and terrible in the 1993 NLCS. Through Game 5 of the 1995 World Series, he was batting .214 for the 1995 postseason, with zero extra base hits.

On a travel day, with a 3-2 lead, Braves fans woke up to the following headline:

“Justice Takes a Rip at Braves Fans”

Justice told reporters that Braves fans didn’t show up as strong or excited in Games 1-2 as he had seen in 1991. Fans didn’t take kindly to hearing that from a player whose last good playoff series was against Pittsburgh more than 3 years earlier. Braves fans showed up to Game 6, and they booed him in the introductions. In the 6th inning, Braves fans forgave their beleaguered star.

It was the run that brought a championship to this city. For that, David Justice is the greatest Brave to wear #23.

Justice was inducted in the Braves Hall of Fame in 2007.

Honorable Mention:

Johnny Logan accrued more total WAR than Justice, but he was worse on a per-year basis (and didn’t have a World Series moment), so he didn’t get the nod. But he easily could have. Logan was a member of the 1957 World Champion Braves. In his 11 years with the Braves, he hit .270/.330/.384, averaging 26 doubles and 12 homers per 162 games. Logan led the league with 37 doubles in 1955, received MVP votes every year from 1952-1957, and was a 4-time All-Star.
Johnny Estrada in 2004 was an NL All-Star, 18th place in the NL MVP race, and won the Silver Slugger at C while slashing .314/.378/.450.
Denny Lemaster wore #23 in Milwaukee/Atlanta from 1962-1967. He was a 17-game winner in 1964, and he made the 1967 NL All-Star team during a 9-9, 3.34, 215.1 inning season.
Del Crandall only wore #23 in 1949-1950, before his good years, but in 1949, despite hitting .263/.291/.368 with 4 homers, he somehow finished 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year race.

Who was the best ever to wear #23?

It’s the 1984 NL MVP, 2B Ryne Sandberg.