TOT - Ben Sheets Joins the Braves

Former Brewer Great Gives Baseball One Last Chance

Transaction of Today...July 1, 2012 - The Atlanta Braves sign Ben Sheets.

It was in the year of 2004 that Ben Sheets truly entered Braves fans’ headspace. On May 11, the Braves visited Milwaukee trying to complete a three-game sweep of the Brew Crew. They sent Jaret Wright, already showing signs that he would be one of 2004's biggest surprises. The Brewers had Sheets on the mound.

Over nine innings, Sheets dazzled the Braves. He allowed three hits, including a solo homerun by Andruw Jones for the Braves' only run. Sheets also walked just one compared to EIGHTEEN strikeouts. Six different Braves struck out two or more times with J.D. Drew, Johnny Estrada, and Wilson Betemit all getting the hat trick.

For his part, Wright was solid, producing a quality start and striking out seven over six frames. But he wasn't on the same level of Sheets that day.

Sheets' accomplishment would be a little overshadowed when the Braves returned home the next day only to watch Randy Johnson throw a Perfect Game against them. Over an eighteen-inning run, the Braves managed four baserunners, a run, and struck out 31 times.

The Brewers' ace would have his best season in 2004. He struck out 264 hitters with a 2.70 ERA. He tossed a career-high 237 innings, the third consecutive year he crossed the 200-inning plateau. Shockingly, he only finished 8th in the Cy Young vote with just one vote. Writers back then surely scoffed at his 12-14 record as opposed to eventual winner, Roger Clemens, who finished 18-4 despite much less impressive totals than Sheets.

Sadly, for Sheets, 2004 was the pinnacle of his promising career. He'd be solid over the next three years, posting a 3.63 ERA and 3.36 FIP. But he'd also average just 21 starts and 135 innings over those three years. He'd rebound some in '08, starting 31 games and throwing 3 shutouts to go with a 3.09 ERA. He finished just short of 200 innings, the closest he’d ever get to a total that seemed routine before the injuries started.

A free agent after 2008, teams had interest in Sheets, but were more-than-a-little worried about his injured past. Sheets would also go under the knife one more time to repair a torn flexor tendon and teams were even less anxious to add the righty. He spent the season as a free agent, rehabbing his elbow.

Sheets returned to the mound in 2010, signing with the Oakland A's. He struggled through 20 starts, finishing with his highest ERA since his rookie season. Another torn flexor would end his season just before August. When he was operated on, the doctor said the righty’s elbow was the worse he’d ever seen and it was being held together by skin.

More rehab kept Sheets off people's radar until this day, in 2012, when the Atlanta Braves signed Sheets to a minor league contract. Prior to that, he tossed a simulated game against Georgia Tech with much of the Braves’ front office in attendance. In his Age-33 season, Sheets would have yet another opportunity to put the injuries behind him and turn his career around.

Adding an arm like Sheets was highly important for the Braves, who had just lost sensational Brandon Beachy and were seeing uneven performances with youngsters like Mike Minor, Tommy Hanson, and Randall Delgado. In addition, Jair Jurrjens had missed much of the first three months of the season. Sheets represented a low-cost, high-reward option in their quest to find more depth behind Tim Hudson.

Sheets would appear twice for the Mississippi Braves after signing and while he got dinged up for 12 hits and six earned runs in 10.2 innings, he also struck out 10. On July 15, Sheets got the call to face the New York Mets at Turner Field. He would dominate the NL East rivals, scattering just two hits and a walk over six frames as the Braves cruised to a 6-1 win. His next two starts were nearly as good, shutting the Nationals out over six innings and allowing just a run to the Phillies.

Over 18 innings, Sheets had allowed just a run. While he wasn't striking out batters like his best days as a Brewer, he was still doing a great job and looking like he was a big pick-up for the Braves.

But his next five starts would not shine as bright. There was a good one mixed in when he allowed just a run over 7.1 innings, but even with that brilliant start, Sheets had a 5.34 ERA over five August starts. Hitters had a .931 OPS in those five starts, made worse by a four-homer outburst by the Dodgers. Even worse, his shoulder was barking at him again and after just 4.1 innings on August 24, Sheets was back on the IL.

He'd miss more than a month of action before returning to start the final game of the season. Prior to making the start, Sheets announced that this would be his final major league game. Even though the Braves were postseason-bound and would play in the infamous Wild Card Game, Sheets would not be a part of that game nor was in the plans for any postseason series that ultimately wouldn't follow. Instead, he'd get an opportunity to pitch one final time.

Sheets wouldn't pitch long - just one inning. He struck out Starling Marte looking before Alex Presley hit a weak grounder. Andrew McCutchen stepped in. A year later, he would be the MVP. But Sheets carved up the 25-year-old, getting him to swing through a third strike.

With tears in his eyes, Sheets hugged everyone in the dugout as his career had officially came to a close. Luis Avilan would take the ball in the second inning.

In his career, Sheets won a gold medal with the 2000 USA team, went to four All-Star Games, threw an immaculate inning, an 18-strikeout game, and once held the Brewers franchise record for strikeouts while having the second-highest bWAR in Milwaukee's history. Injuries would ultimately keep Sheets from having an even bigger career, but he still struck out 1,325 batters, threw four shutouts, and had a 3.78 ERA. Bad Brewers teams forced him to finish with a losing record in his career. Nevertheless, for a few years, Sheets was one of the best pitchers in the game.