Our next entry in the MLB Radial Axis Series features the Braves, including their Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta years. In total, we’re talking about 125 seasons from 1901 through 2025. We’re going to walk through some highlights from the network, and then provide the link so you can explore it in detail. For some background on how the network graphs work, select this link – Anatomy of MLB radial axis graphs.
The Braves Network
The Braves radial axis network reflects the connections among all players who spent time with the franchise from 1901 to 2025. The 1901 season is found at the bottom center of the graph. Subsequent seasons are arranged clockwise, eventually returning to the bottom center with the 2025 season. Player nodes are sized by the number of seasons spent with the team, and the gray lines between nodes reflect connections to other players. The interactive version of the network is here – Braves Network.
Top 10 by Seasons Played (Size)
The Braves have a rather impressive tenure list, with four players spending at least 20 seasons with the franchise, and one more with 19 years. Phil Niekro (1964-83, 1987) and Hank Aaron (1954-74) led the way with 21 seasons apiece wearing a Braves uniform. Warren Spahn (1942, 1946-64) checks in with 20 seasons for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, despite missing three years for military service. John Smoltz (1988-99, 2001-08) also played 20 seasons, all in Atlanta. Finally, Chipper Jones spent his entire career (1993, 1995-2012) with the Braves.
Top 10 by Degree (the number of connections)
John Smoltz and Chipper Jones are the runaway degree leaders, each having played with more than 370 teammates. Tom Glavine, Phil Niekro, and Freddie Freeman also top the 300 mark, while Warren Spahn and Hank Aaron played in eras with less roster turnover, resulting in fewer teammates.
Top 10 by Harmonic Closeness Centrality
With Harmonic Closeness Centrality, we measure how closely an individual player is related to all other players in the network. The top five stand out in this ranking, with no surprises until we go further down the list. Eight of the top 10 are synonymous with the Braves uniform, with Peter Moylan and Johnny Cooney being the lesser-known pair in this group. Cooney had two stints with the Boston Braves (1921-30, 1938-42), giving him two separate groups of teammates. Moylan (2006-12, 2015, 2018) also had multiple Braves stints, placing him closer to multiple groups of teammates.
Top 10 by Betweenness Centrality
Betweenness Centrality measures which players rank highest in terms of their ability to connect to all other players. In simple terms, which player provides the most efficient path through the network? The top three here are no surprise – Niekro, Spahn, and Glavine are each well-positioned within the network. Connecting through any of them provides connectivity to large portions of the Braves’ history. Johnny Cooney appears again; his two distinct stints with the team place him in a unique position within the network.
Summary
That’s it for our overview of the Braves network. Be sure to visit the interactive graph to discover additional insights about the Braves players over the last 125 seasons. We’ll be back shortly with our next franchise entry. Thanks for reading!