The Time the Braves Nearly Added Sweet Lou

Just prior to making their biggest free agent signing of all time, the Braves were "very close" another big one

The story about how the Braves nearly acquired Barry Bonds before the 1992 season is probably well-known by this point. The Pirates weren’t going to be able to retain him, a deal was in place, and then Jim Leyland blew a gasket, and the deal was ultimately scrapped. But the Braves were hardly done in going after Hall of Fame-quality talent.

When we talk about second baseman Lou Whitaker today, it’s often in regards to whether or not he should be in the Hall of Fame. Let me be pretty clear when I say that he definitely should be.

But I’m not going to talk much about that. Instead, I want to talk about something that I don't believe is too well-known. And since this is a Braves blog, you might even know that I'm going to connect Whitaker to the Braves in some way. It's not going to be hard. After all, he nearly was a Brave.

It was the winter of 1992. The Braves were fresh off a second consecutive NL Championship before a heartbreaking performance in the World Series. The Braves had scored the third-most runs in the NL the previous season but were seeking more improvement from an offense that averaged just over three runs a game against the Blue Jays.

John Schuerholz and his team, which included former Tigers general manager Bill Lajoie, started to put together a list of potential targets for the offseason. High on that list was Greg Maddux, who Atlanta would convince to come south rather than join the Yankees. Atlanta would also add veterans Steve Bedrosian and Jay Howell to bolster a young bullpen. But offensively, they still needed a spark.

That spark was supposed to be Whitaker. A veteran of two postseasons, including a ring from the 1984 World Series, Whitaker was already 35, but he wasn't slowing down by any means. In the year before free agency, he battered the AL to the tune of a .278/.386/.461 triple slash with 19 dingers. The 1978 Rookie of the Year hadn't made an All-Star roster since '87, when he also picked up the last of his four Silver Sluggers in five years, but he entered free agency with a three-year OPS of .824 and averaging 20 homers.

Things were a bit weird in Detroit at the time. A lot of the familiar faces were still around. Though the Tigers were committed to seeing if Travis Fryman could unseat long-time Whitaker double-play partner, Alan Trammell, the old shortstop was still around and would play a bit of a utility role in 1993 before resuming his role as primary shortstop the following year. Mickey Tettleton and Cecil Fielder were still bashing homers and Mike Henneman anchored the ninth. Hell, Sparky Anderson was still at the helm.

But change was coming. In addition to Fryman, the Tigers hoped Scott Livingstone and Milt Cuyler would play roles moving forward. Detroit was also ready for a youth movement in the rotation where Frank Tanana and Bill Gullickson were free agents. Somewhat surprisingly, the Tigers did retain Gullickson and even added a 30-year-old David Wells, but they knew they needed to get younger and couldn't rely on yesterday's stars to shoulder the load.

Whitaker was hardly done, though. And besides, he was beloved in Detroit and an establishment. The double-play combo of Whitaker and Trammell was legendary. Surely, they would do all they could to bring back Sweet Lou.

The Braves saw value in Whitaker as well. Mark Lemke had emerged as the primary second-baseman for the Braves in 1992, but he hit just .227 while doing it. The 1991 World Series hero hit well in the NLCS against the Pirates, but struggled to find any more magic in the World Series against the Jays. And while we remember Lemke for his postseason exploits, outside of the '91 Fall Classic, '92 NLCS, and '96 NLCS, he hit like you might think a guy with a regular season OPS of .641 might hit.

Replacing Lemke was not a priority, though. He, too, was well-liked and a steady hand at second base where shortstop seemed to be a mix of the defensively-talented Rafael Belliard and the inconsistent Jeff Blauser. But in terms of finding a spot on the diamond where the Braves could inject some offense - especially considering the availability of Whitaker - it seemed like a natural fit.

Beyond that, Whitaker seemed like a perfect addition of another World Champion on a team hoping to win its first.

The Braves went after Whitaker hard. Certainly, his age was concerning, but the Braves were counting on squeezing a few more big years out of a guy who was still one of the game's premier second basemen. For his part, Whitaker was quite tempted. The Tigers had missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons and fell to 21 games out in 1992. They wouldn't make the playoffs again until 2006. Meanwhile, the Braves had emerged from their slumbers, going to back-to-back World Series with a roster filled with dynamic young players and a farm system that was about to churn out even more. They were, as the phrase goes, built to win. Whitaker could easily slide onto the roster.

And, on December 9, 1992, they landed Maddux. They wouldn’t, however, make the big offensive splash. While it's likely Whitaker heard some rumors that the Braves were hot for Maddux, he decided to re-sign with the Tigers just two days before Maddux joined the Braves.

"I was very close to going to the Braves," he told the Detroit Free Press. He added, "Very close."

Atlanta's pursuit of Whitaker was aggressive. Before Whitaker returned to the Tigers, the Braves offered him a three-year contract worth “slightly less” than $10 million. The Tigers were interested in retaining his services but had limited their offer to just two years. Atlanta's contract pushed the Tigers to up their offer to three years and $10 million. It was perhaps the commitment to three years that Whitaker required to sign a contract.

It's likely that Whitaker probably never wanted to leave Detroit. He already had a ring, was appreciated in Detroit, and was nearing the end of his career. He never played a game for another team, finishing off the three-year contract with the Tigers before entering retirement.

The Braves ultimately didn't replace Lemke and he'd remain the Braves' primary second baseman until 1998 when he joined the Red Sox. He had one decent offensive season mixed in during the Strike year of 1994, but was always a below-average but beloved member of the Braves for much of the 90s.

But had the Braves signed Whitaker, it's worth wondering if life would have turned out differently. In 1993, Lemke hit .252/.334/.341 - above-average marks for him if you can believe it. Whitaker was limited to 119 games but slashed .290/.412/.449. But more importantly, would Whitaker's $3 million salary have made a pursuit for Fred McGriff more difficult? Famously acquired in July of 1993, McGriff was making over $4 million. Would there have been enough money in the budget to go after the Crime Dog if Sweet Lou was making nearly as much? Yes, Ted Turner's wallet seemed endless, but there's always a breaking point.

Furthermore, perhaps Whitaker's bat would have made the Braves a little less likely to need to upgrade at first base. Sid Bream's bat was slipping and Brian Hunter struggled, which opened playing time for Francisco Cabrera as Bream's platoon partner. With Ryan Klesko on the way, perhaps the Braves wouldn't have felt as much pressure to add McGriff to the fold if Whitaker was contributing an OPS over .800? It's worth considering.

Nothing happens in a vacuum. Every move impacts others. Maybe the Braves still add McGriff regardless and, maybe, they beat the Phillies in '93 with Whitaker putting up better numbers than Lemke did? That's just as possible.

But what did happen is that Whitaker decided to return to Detroit and the Braves made their important trade for McGriff.

Whitaker would have a solid 1994, slashing .301/.377/.491, but injuries would limit him to just 84 games in 1995. He still OPS'd .890 as a 38-year-old. The Braves again came calling along with the Athletics, Yankees, and Red Sox, but after 2,390 games as a Tiger, Whitaker decided he played enough games.

One final idea, though.

Had Whitaker joined the Braves and had they still won the 1995 World Series, might that exposure have been enough to get Whitaker over the hump to get the Hall of Fame support he shockingly hasn't received? Maybe not. After all, he was one-and-done on the 2001 ballot, receiving just 2.9% of the vote, and has failed to garner much support from committee votes since. But another ring to cap off his career for a guy who had a better JAWS score on that '01 ballot than both Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett probably could have helped. In fact, Whitaker's 56.5 JAWS was third on the ballot to Gary Carter and Bert Blyleven, who later were given their rightful place in Cooperstown.

I said this article wouldn’t be about the Hall of Fame, but before I go, it really must be said - it’s criminal that Whitaker, who has a better JAWS than Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio, Nellie Fox, and Johnny Evers, isn’t in the Hall of Fame.