Best Atlanta Braves Players to Never Win a World Series

There were a handful of great Atlanta Braves players who never got the chance to win a World Series during their careers

The Braves have some champion success over the years, but some greats never got a taste of it in Atlanta or anywhere else / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

A World Series champion has been crowned for 2024. Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman took home his second ring along with World Series MVP honors. 

With the 2024 season officially coming to a close and an Atlanta Braves great highlighting the latest championship, let’s look back at some of the all-time Braves greats who didn’t get to experience this.

Here are the five best Braves players to never win a championship. If they won a World Series elsewhere - as a player, coach or manager - they don’t count for this list either. This list is in alphabetical order by last name. 

Ron Gant

Gant reached the World Series twice with the Braves in 1991 and 1992 but fell short both times. The outfielder received MVP votes in three of his seven seasons with the Braves, took home a silver slugger in 1991 and made the All-Star Game in 1992. 

He made the postseason a few more times with the Reds, Cardinals and A’s, but he never made another appearance in the Fall Classic after the 1992 season. 

Gant finished his career with two all-star appearances, 321 home runs and 1,0008 RBIs. He hit 147 of his home runs and drove in 480 of those runs in a Braves uniform. 

Bob Horner

Horner might be the most underrated player on this list. He only played 10 seasons due to injuries, plus a stint in Japan due to owner’s concussions, but Horner was a solid contributor for the Braves during his nine seasons with the team.

He averaged 24 home runs and 72 RBIs a season - which over 162 games would have averaged out to 36 home runs and 110 RBIs. 

Horner was healthy during the Braves' only playoff appearances of his career. However, he was ineffective, and the Braves were swept out of the NLCS in three games by the Cardinals - it was a best of five at the time.

The 1978 NL Rookie of the Year and 1982 all-star finished his short career with a .277 average and 218 home runs. 

Andruw Jones

Jones never won a title during his career, but it wasn’t without trying. The Braves reached the Fall Classic in his rookie season in 1996 and then again in 1999. They just couldn’t topple the mighty Yankees teams led by the Core Four. 

His performance in the 1996 World Series might have earned him World Series MVP honors had they won. Jones batted .400 with a 1.250 OPS, two home runs and six RBIs. 

Jones finished his career with 10 gold gloves, five all-star appearances, 434 home runs and 1,289 RBIs. All that’s left is to get himself enshrined in Cooperstown. 

Dale Murphy 

Murphy never made his way into Cooperstown despite the back-to-back MVP seasons, but his No. 3 is retired and he’s in the team's Hall of Fame. 

Like his former teammate, Horner, he only saw postseason action once during his 18-year career and never won a game. 

Somehow, any opportunity to reach the World Series evaded Murphy toward the end of his career. He left the Braves in 1990 for the Phillies, and the Braves proceeded to win back-to-back NL Pennants. The year after he went to the Rockies in 1993, the Phillies then won the Pennant. 

Phil Niekro 

Niekro is arguably the best player on this list not to win a World Series. He’s currently the only Hall of Famer on this list and had to longest career of the bunch with 24 seasons, yet he only played in the postseason twice and never reached the World Series. 

The Braves went 0-6 in his two NLCS appearances 13 years apart. Even when he signed with the Yankees, it happened to be during their infamous playoff drought from 1982 to 1994. 

Niekro finished his career with 318 wins, 3,342 strikeouts, five all-star nods, five Gold Gloves and a career 3.35 ERA