MLB 9s: Atlanta Braves—Chipper Jones and Hank Aaron In Dream Lineup

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One question, hundreds of answers. Which Brave had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Major League baseball has been asking fans this same question in an effort to choose each team's best ever collection of stars. They are calling it MLB 9s.

Here I have separated the contenders from the pretenders in an effort to pick my dream Atlanta Braves lineup. Have your say by commenting below or by voting on the MLB site here .

To view my archive page with the rest of the teams' All-Time 9s, click here .

Catcher: Javier Lopez (2003)

Javy Lopez wins the battle for the best offensive year by a Braves’ catcher hands-down. 2003 marked his first All Star appearance since the back-to-back nominations in 1997-98 and it was statistically the greatest single season of his career.

He hit 43 home runs, drove in 109 batters and scored 89 runs, all against a backdrop of a .328 batting average. His .687 slugging percentage was second in the National League only to Barry Bonds, while he was only four home runs behind leaders Jim Thome and Alex Rodriguez. He also led all catchers in total bases, extra base hits and RBI.

Highlight Game: June 21, 2003 vs Baltimore. Lopez drove in six runs in a two-homer night, going 2-for-4 and helping the Braves to a comfortable 10-2 victory.

Competition: Joe Torre sure came close to taking this battle, belting 36 home runs and driving in 101 with a .315 batting average in 1966. Lopez’s numbers are just that much better across the board.

First Base: Andres Galarraga (1998)

Galarraga made a splash in his first season with the Braves, launching 44 home runs and driving in 121 men. The 37-year-old scored 103 runs and ended the season with a .305 batting average, finishing sixth in the MVP voting.

Galarraga had eight multi-home run games (tied for first all-time with Javy Lopez in 2003) as well as a franchise-high 28 on the road which is yet to be beaten. The first baseman is also the Brave most-hit by a pitch in a season with 25.

Highlight Game: July 15, 1998 @ New York Mets. Galarraga went 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI, three runs, a steal, and a hit by pitch as the Braves dismantled the Mets at Shea Stadium 12-1.

Competition: This is just a straight battle of power bat versus power bat. No finesse, no speed, just raw boom. Fred McGriff (1994), Joe Adcock (1956) and Orlando Cepeda (1970) all had at least 34 homers, 94 RBI and a .291 average, but Galarrage put up 44-121-.305.

Second Base: Rogers Hornsby (1928)

Considered by many Braves’ fans as the best offensive showing from one of their second basemen, Hornsby’s 1928 season with the Boston Braves was stunning.

He hit .387 and had an on base percentage of .498. Hornsby hit 21 home runs and seven triples, driving in 94 runs and coming around to score 99 times. The batting champ also led the league in walks with 107 and stole five bases. Hornsby would win his second MVP award the following year with the Chicago Cubs.

Highlight Game: August 18, 1928 @ Cincinnati. Hornsby took the Reds’ Dolf Lugue deep twice, once in the fourth inning and then again in the ninth, for his 234^th and 235^th home runs of his career.

Competition: I was torn between Hornsby and the 1973 season of Davey Johnson. How can you root against a guy with 43 dingers? The answer is with a .387 batting average, even if he did finish 13^th in the MVP race that year. Fun fact: Johnson also finished 13^th in the NL MVP race of ’73.

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