Sporting News recently selected who they believed to be the most beloved player ever for every MLB team. Their pick for the Braves was our Hall of Famer Dale Murphy. Their reasoning:
The choice of two-time MVP Murphy over all-time great Hank Aaron no doubt will prove controversial. Aaron is the greatest player in franchise history and is revered and respected throughout the game. But Murphy was a perennial All-Star for the Braves at a time when the team had a high national profile thanks to its games being broadcast on superstation WTBS. Combine that with Murphy's good-guy image and continued work with the team and he's our choice.
They went on to cite FOX SportsSouth's Jeff Genther as saying, "Murphy was the face of 'America's Team' in the 1980s, and one of the most preeminent players of the decade." Honorable mentions went to Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Phil Niekro.
I think I have to agree with this. I'm too young to remember seeing Dale play, but his reputation of being such a "good" guy still seems to be well known today. He was a great player, both on and off the field. Plus, those baby blue uniforms were pretty fabulous.
Did Sporting News get it right? Should they have gone with Hank? Or is someone more representative of the recent era of Braves baseball, like Chipper, a better pick?