Atlanta Braves Fans’ Curiosity Survey: The Results
Several days ago, we posted a survey called the 2014 Atlanta Braves Fans, Curiosity Survey. It was intended to be a simple mix of both fun and serious questions, so we asked some silly ones, such as whether or not Andrelton Simmons is from this planet, and whether Kris Medlen is a total goofball or not. Of course we also asked some serious questions, and kept the survey short – asking fans who is your favorite pitcher, favorite infielder, and who you think will have the hottest bat in 2014. The results were interesting to say the least, and we also got a few comments added, some of which I’ll share in this update.
Who Is Your Favorite Pitcher?
We stopped tracking survey submissions after a random 32 entries. A great deal more read the post, but not all decided to participate. Of those 32 submissions, here are the numbers, from greatest to least favorite, and note that we only gave the projected starting five as options:
- Kris Medlen: 11 votes
- Mike Minor: 8 votes
- Julio Teheran: 8 votes
- Alex Wood: 3 votes
- Brandon Beachy: 2 votes
Personally, the only thing I find surprising about the totals is that Brandon Beachy only got 2 votes. I often hear girls call Brandon “dreamy” or a “hunk” or a “hottie”. I have to conclude not many women took the survey, and I should add that no, I realize not ALL women who follow baseball do so just because of dreamy players. That would be sexist to imply, and I’m anything but. Still, Brandon being last in votes is a touch surprising. I’m also not surprised that Medlen got the most votes, but I am a touch surprised that Minor and Teheran tied, because in my opinion Minor is the superior pitcher of the two. Bear in mind though, that this was a “who is your favorite” question, and not a “who is the best” question. Take that for what it’s worth.
Who Is Your Favorite Infielder?
We gave four options with this, and even though technically an infielder position, we left the catcher position off. I did that mainly because I think of that position as a category all its own, and certainly we may include it in a future survey (which I plan to do). Here are the results from those 32 submissions:
- Freddie Freeman: 21 votes
- Andrelton Simmons: 11 votes
That’s it! Just two of the four were voted on, with no votes for Chris Johnson or Dan Uggla. That’s not much of a surprise, because first of all Dan Uggla is far from having secured the starting role at 2B, and Chris Johnson, despite all his offensive talent showed in 2013, is far from superior at the hot corner. What DID surprise me, as I’m sure will surprise most of our avid readers, is Freddie almost doubling Simba on favorite infielder votes. We all know, and it has been widely written about – that few shortstops have ever shown the wizardry that Andrelton shows. As with pitchers though, it was about favorite instead of best. Let the reader interpret!
Who Will Have The Hottest Bat in 2014?
This was an important question, and maybe more so with huge questions now surrounding the starting rotation. We know that B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla have struggled mightily, and while the Braves need them to come around, winning 96 games again won’t be easy unless there are as many hot bats as possible. Here’s the 32 hot bat votes, all tallied:
- Freddie Freeman: 20 votes
- Jason Heyward: 9 votes
- Chris Johnson: 1 vote
- Evan Gattis: 1 vote
- B.J. Upton: 1 vote
While Freddie getting the most votes as a favorite infielder surprised me, I’m not at all surprised he would get the nod for hottest bat in 2014. With a huge new contract, the Braves certainly have confidence in him, and many feel that Freddie is poised to win a batting title soon. Who knows? It could be 2014! Perhaps someone was joking with the B.J. Upton vote, but then again there are a few who do feel that B.J. Upton can turn things around and be stellar for the club. Okay. I’m also a touch surprised that Gattis didn’t get more votes. He may still be a sort of rookie to the pros, but if he can play every day, which he mostly will, he has the chops with the bat to do amazing things. With his popularity alone, I’m shocked he only got 1 vote. Oh well.
Fun Questions
We asked a couple of fun questions to keep things light, such as whether or not Andrelton Simmons is an extra-terrestrial, and whether Kris Medlen is a few lacings short of an intact glove. The overwhelming majority thought that indeed, Andrelton is not of this world, and that Medlen is a total goofball. We agree!
Any Further Thoughts?
We put up a final field in the survey, asking whether those participating in the survey had any further thoughts they wanted to share. We’ll keep their full names anonymous, but I wanted to share a few of the comments I found interesting…
"Atlanta has the second easiest schedule in baseball this year, according to Fangraphs. The only team with an easier schedule: the Nats. ~ SethExcited and nervous as always for another year of Braves Baseball! I like what the team did this off-season with the extensions and stadium planning. I have my reservations that players like Johnson, Pena, and Schafer will all take steps back but with bounce back years from Uggla and B.J. we should be in good shape offensively. Go Braves!! ~ ZachWatching from the UK for the first time last season (since watching the full season that ended in WS loss to the blue jays when I was a kid) there’s just something special about this guy… You feel he’s capable of magic. Kind of like what Thierry Henry (ex arsenal football club… Now NY Red Bulls) used to exude. Anyhow, thanks for providing the best analysis and dialogue on all things Braves. I’ve followed every day through last season and the long winter (getting to grips with the nuances of the hot stove et al). Keep up the good work! ~ Phil from the UKDo odds makers have any lines for the date that bj and ugly first get benched? ~ Justin"
Final Take
Thanks to all the fans for taking our survey. We’ll have many more of these as the season progresses, because at Tomahawk Take, we always want to hear from you, know what your thoughts are, and engage our audience as much as we can. Go Braves!