Reaction to the death of Biff Pocoroba
The Braves had a tweet about Pocoroba's death Wednesday afternoon
Here is a tweet from Pocoroba's former teammate, Dale Murphy
And the Baseball Hall of Fame sent out condolences
Pocoroba died Sunday at the age of 66. He played for the Braves from 1975 through 1984.
There was no Baseball America back in the mid-1970s, but you'd have to think Pocoroba had to be one of the best catching prospects in the sport before he made his MLB debut in 1975.
Pocoroba had hit .311 in his second season in Double-A Savannah, along with a .424 on base percentage, nine home runs and 45 runs batted in. He was only 20 years old that season, which was likely young for the Southern League even 46 years ago.
And Pocoroba's defensive skills should not be ignored. In 1976 and 1977 with Atlanta, Pocoroba threw out 34% of his would-be baserunners. It wasn't until his shoulder issues that popped up in 1978 that really ruined his career as a solid defensive player.
Pocoroba was really relegated to pinch-hit duties after his shoulder troubles. He had a .304 batting average as a pinch-hitter in 1979 and 1980, but then in his final four years hit just .138 as a pinch-hitter from 1981-1984.
The Braves even played Pocoroba at third base some in 1981, but again his shoulder presented more problems.
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