The Best Brave to Wear #20

The best Brave to wear #20 was an unlikely star in the 1991 World Series. He hit just .234/.305/.312 during the regular season. He provided reliable defense, but he was possibly Atlanta’s worst regular on the worst-to-first team. He got an extra base hit once every 20.3 plate appearances. Against Minnesota in the ’91 Series, Mark Lemke had 4 extra base hits in 26 plate appearances, including a record-tying (for a 7 game series) 3 triples. He collected 10 WS hits in total against Minnesota, none bigger than the one that brought the city of Atlanta its first World Series game victory:

Lemmer went 7-21 in the 1992 LCS, but other than that, didn’t contribute a whole hell of a lot to the first two Braves playoff teams. His better years actually were after the team added more stars. 1993-1995 marked his offensive peak, hitting .264/.340/.352 with 15 HR across those 3 seasons. In 1996-1997, as his offensive skills declined, he was a defensive stalwart. Lemke played 31 games with Boston in 1998, and despite later attempting to re-invent himself as a knuckleball pitcher, never played again.

Bobby Cox called the guy “Dirt”, which pretty much sums up his playing style.

Honorable Mention: The first player to ever earn the title of “Brent’s Favorite Brave”, Bruce Benedict was an NL All-Star in 1981 and 1983. I just liked the way the PA guy said his name.

Who is the best ever to wear #20?

This is a real clash of the titans, but with apologies to Frank Robinson, I’ll take the greatest third baseman of all time, Mike Schmidt.