Former Braves All-Star Biff Pocoroba dies

Longtime Braves catcher Biff Pocoroba died, the Braves confirmed Wednesday. Pocoroba was 66.

Pocoroba spent his entire 10-year career with the club from 1975-84. He earned All-Star honors in 1978.

“Very sad to hear that the @Braves family lost another key member of our early 80s team,” teammate Dale Murphy tweeted. “Poco once threw out 11 straight base-stealers in spring training. With shoulder problems he became our go-to LH (left-handed) bat off the bench. #rippoco”

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The Braves drafted Pocoroba in the 17th round of the 1971 draft. He went on to hit .257/.339/.367 with 21 homers and 172 RBIs across 596 games.

Shoulder problems disrupted the latter portion of his career, as Murphy noted. Pocoroba averaged 53 games during a five-stretch from 1979-83. He appeared in only four games in 1984 before he was released that April.

While the team struggling during much of his time with the Braves, Pocoroba became a fan favorite, in part because of the sound of his name. He appeared in 56 games, hitting .275/.351/.383 for the 1982 Braves, who won the National League West title. His All-Star season included a .242/.312/.332 line with eight doubles, six homers and 34 RBIs.

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