#63 AL HRABOSKY

FAVORITE BRAVES PLAYERS OF THE 1980'S

#64 AL HRABOSKY

ATLANTA BRAVES 1980-1982

During the Braves late 80's doldrums, the team actually put together a fairly productive bench of reserve players. These players were dubbed "The Bomb Squad" by former all-star Ted Simmons and charter member of the "BS." For my version of the Bomb Squad, I use the phrase in more general terms for eighteen players the Braves got at the wrong end of their career during that decade.

Al Hrabosky 1981

AND ON THE LIST WITHIN A LIST...

COMING IN AT #8 ON THE LIST-

"THE BOMB SQUAD: 1980'S FORMERLY PRODUCTIVE 

MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS THE BRAVES ACQUIRED

NEAR THE END OF THEIR CAREER"-Al Hrabosky

Career: Al Hrabosky had a fine career as a reliever with the Cardinals and the Royals during the 70's. He led the NL in saves and winning percentage in 1975. He is best remembered for psyching himself out behind the pitchers mound before slamming the ball into his glove and going to work on the batter with a good fastball and an even better fu manchu moustache.

The Bomb squad: I was happy when the Braves got the colorful reliever when the Braves signed Al as a free agent before the 1980 season.  In Al's first game as a Brave, he came in the bottom of the ninth against the Reds on April 12, 1980 to preserve a one-run lead. It was great to see Al go through all his eccentric machinations in a Brave uniform and then strikeout the first batter! After giving up a hit, he got out Ken Griffey before facing the next batter. But then, Dave Conepcion hits a game winning two-run homer and all of a sudden Al's eccentricities suddenly seemed kind of embarrassing. . 

He did okay overall during his his first two seasons with Atlanta, even posting a 1.07 ERA in 24 games in 1981. But by 1982, his fastball was gone and his ERA ballooned to 5.54. He was released after the end of that season.

It's a shame thing didn't work out for Al as a Brave. I always liked him.

Al Hrabosky 1977