Who is your favorite Braves player of all time?

Last Wednesday, I was so close to going to my first-ever Braves baseball game in Atlanta. I had a couple of tickets saved on my wallet app on my cell phone. I mentioned it, too, to a couple friends of mine.

I was ready! I had the car all filled up with gas, too.

Then, the big talk heated up on social media and in Easley of Hurricane Helene, bringing “significant impacts” to the area with heavy rain through Friday morning.

So, I had to cancel out of the Braves-Mets game.

It hurt!

I quickly shifted gears, locally, and tried to find the most die-hard fans of the Atlanta Braves. My question to them: Who is your favorite Braves baseball player (or coach) of all time and why?

Growing up, I collected baseball cards and had boxes of them sorted with rubber bands (not the best for them).

But two of my all-time favorites were Braves legends Dale Murphy and Greg Maddux. I’d have to say, for me, it is a tie between Murphy and Maddux as my all-time Braves favorites.

The Braves were always on television when I was a kid, with Murphy hitting those bombs at the plate and Maddux (“The Professor) striking out batters with a fastball barely over 80 miles per hour.

To me, it’s still unbelievable to hear how Maddux called his own pitches with his own signals.

Billy Banks (2002 Pickens HS grad): “John Smoltz. He was a great pitcher whether it be a starter or a closer. He was an all-around tough pitcher.”

Rep. Neil Collins (2000 Easley HS grad): “The first Braves game I ever attended, June 27, 1998, (Greg) Maddux pitched an astonishingly swift 1:46 complete game shutout versus the Blue Jays.”

Randy Everette (from Bowling Springs): “Bobby Cox, coach of the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s with World Series win. H could find players in the minors and turn them into stars that would play on for years.”

Brian Swords (Easley Chamber): “Greg Maddux was, by far, my favorite Braves players – he played with them for 10 or 11 seasons. He was one of the most gifted pitchers I ever saw play the game- he relied on control and command of the baseball, and didn’t ever try to overpower you. He basically outsmarted you! He took the Braves to the next level – he was a key component of their 1995 win over the Indians for the World Series. And he was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, if I’m not mistaken, 4 times! During those seasons he won the Cy Young Awards, he held a consecutive sub 2.0 ERA the entire time. He’s also one of the winningest pitchers in MLB history. With all of those accolades, he always remained humble and gave the credit to his team!”