Braves' Backstops (Joe Torre/Del Crandall)

Delmar Wesley “Del” Crandall (March 5, 1930-) is a retired Major League Baseball catcher who was considered one of the best players of the late 1950s and early 1960s, most memorably as a member of the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. Crandall signed with the Braves as an amateur free agent in 1948 and debuted with the club the following year. He spent two seasons (1949-1950) with the team in Boston, playing in 148 games, before serving two years in the military. Upon his discharge, Crandall returned to baseball and the Braves, now in Milwaukee (1953-1963), where he established himself as the team’s starting catcher. He led the National League in assists six times, in fielding percentage four times, and in putouts three times. He also made an astonishing 11 All-Star Game appearances, four Gold Glove Awards, and was a member of the 1957 World Series championship team. One of his best seasons came in 1954, as he had 79 assists, 664 putouts, and 64 RBI. By 1960, he had 158 hits, 81 runs, 77 RBI, 70 assists, and 764 putouts. After being replaced by Joe Torre as the Braves starting catcher, he was relegated to a supporting role with the San Francisco Giants (1964), Pittsburgh Pirates (1965), and Cleveland Indians (1966). In 1,573 games over 16 seasons, he finished with a batting average of .254 batting average, 179 home runs, and 657 RBI. He later served as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers (1972-1975) and Seattle Mariners (1983-1984), but never enjoyed a winning campaign with either team and finished with a managing record of 364-469.

Joseph Paul Torre (July 18, 1940-) hit the first home run in the history of Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium on April 12, 1966 after the Braves relocated from Milwaukee to Hotlanta. Milwaukee signed Joe as a free agent in 1960 to backup catcher Del Crandall. After a brief stint in the minors, Torre was called up after Crandall suffered an arm injury. Joe never returned to the minors and enjoyed an 18-year career at catcher, third base and first for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1960-1965/1966-1968), the St. Louis Cardinals (1969-1974) and the New York Mets (1975-1977). Torre had five seasons batting over .330 with his best year coming in 1971 when he led the league in hits (230), RBI (137) and batting average (.363) en route to the 1971 National League Most Valuable Player Award. Joe was a nine-time NL All-Star and won the 1965 NL Gold Glove at catcher. He played ten seasons at catcher posting a .990 fielding percentage with a 41% caught stealing percentage. His combined career fielding percentage at catcher, first base and third base was .987 over 18 years. Torre enjoyed success at the plate as well as he batted .297 with 2,342 hits including 344 doubles and 252 home runs, scored 996 times and drove in 1,185 in 2,209 games. Following his playing days, Joe managed each of the teams for which played as well as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He managed the Mets (1977-1981), the Braves (1982-1984), the Cardinals (1990-1995), the Yankees (1996-2007) and the Dodgers (2008-2010). Over the course of 29 years at the helm of five Major League teams, Joe Torre has compiled a 2,326-1,997 record. Most notably, Torre led the Yankees to six American League pennants and four World Series championships (1996, 1998-2000) and he stands second only to Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy (1,460) in franchise history in wins with 1,173. Joe ranks fifth on the all-time managerial list for wins by a manager behind Hall of Famers Connie Mack, John McGraw, Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox. The National Baseball Hall of Fame unanimously selected Torre for induction in 2014 along with fellow managers LaRussa and Cox.