Sports Page Atlanta

Brian McCann had 3 more hits yesterday and now is batting .303 this season. He also has a .298 career batting average. That average is the highest batting average by an Atlanta Braves catcher ever by players with at least 1,000 career at-bats in an Atlanta uniform.

Here are the top 4

1. Brian McCann: .298
2. Joe Torre: .290
3. Javy Lopez: .287
4. Biff Pocoroba: .257

By the way, McCann only trails Javy Lopez and Earl Williams for the most home runs by an Atlanta Braves catcher (but he will need a lot more homers… McCann has 67 and Lopez had 214).

One of the feel good stories of the spring for the Atlanta Braves was the return of Javy Lopez. The 37 year old catcher was attempting a comeback with the team where he spent many good seasons. However, after hitting .188 in 32 spring at-bats, Lopez was informed that he would not be carried by the Braves on their 40 man roster. In lieu of being cut and reassigned to AAA Richmond, Lopez announced that he would retire.

“He told me he really wants to retire as a Brave, said he thinks of himself as a Brave after spending the bulk of his career here. And that’s how we think of him, too.”

The 37-year-old slugger has a .287 career average with 260 home runs and 864 RBIs, including 214 home runs and 694 RBIs in 12 seasons with the Braves through 2003.

photo credit: gaytlsports