Braves Report

Not necessarily the best Brave of all-time, Jeff Blauser was at least interesting. Honestly, the reason I picked him to do this article was that someone mentioned his name in an article I read about a week ago, and it made me nostalgic for the mid-‘90’s. Known primarily for having quite a bit of power for a shortstop, Blauser was a solid contributor for the Braves for 10+ seasons.

As the fifth pick of the 1984 draft, Jeff Blauser had a lot of expectations to live up to, but there were always questions about his defense. He arrived in the major leagues in 1987, but he only a little over 70 games total over the next two seasons. Starting in 1989 at age 23, Blauser became the starting shortstop, but for the next few seasons, Blauser would often come out at the end of the games for his defensive replacements Andres Thomas and Rafael Belliard. In the expansion draft of 1992, the Braves almost left Blauser exposed, but Vinny Castilla, Armando Reynoso, and David Neid were selected instead.

Blauser would repay the Braves for their confidence in 1993 by having a career season with a .305 batting average, 15 home runs, 73 RBI’s, and 110 runs. He also played 161 games that season, and he only played over 150 games twice in his career with the other being in 1997, his other breakout season. Blauser would be selected to the All-Star Games in each of those two seasons, but during the in between seasons, he would struggle with consistency and injuries. After hitting .308 with 17 homeruns and 70 RBI’s in 1997, Blauser won the Silver Slugger Award, and the following off-season, he signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs. He did not play well for the Cubs in the next two seasons, and he would retire at the ripe old age of 33.

After retiring from playing baseball, Blauser took some time off before becoming the manager for the Mississippi Braves in 2006. The next season, Blauser became a roving instructor instead of staying in Mississippi. Again, Blauser may not have been the best player in Braves history, but anyone who made significant contributions to the Braves during the 1990’s holds a special place in my heart.

Fun Facts:

- Although on the 1995 team, Blauser did not play in the World Series due to his poor performance.

- Led the league in HBP’s in 1993 with 16 adding to his great season.

- Often teamed with Greg Maddux to pull pranks on teammates.