2 Braves who’ve earned an apology from their doubters, 1 not quite there
By Tim Boyle
Two Atlanta Braves players have earned an apology from their doubters while another is working his way back to receive one, too.
The NL East isn’t over quite yet but the Atlanta Braves are doing everything in their power to put distance between themselves and the four other teams. What should have been a much tighter race into June has turned into a game of tag where the Braves have gotten a good head start against the rest of the teams chasing after them.
As powerful as they may be in all aspects, several Braves have spawned some early doubters this season. A hot stretch has given fans a chance to issue an apology to two of those players. Meanwhile, one of those guys finally coming around seems poised to get his “sorry” soon enough.
Break out your best apologies. These Braves are atoning for their weak beginnings.
1) Braves doubters can issue an apology to Ozzie Albies
Maybe Ozzie Albies isn’t such a bad baseball player anymore. He’s now 12 for his last 44 with four home runs and 10 RBI. A walk-off home run against the New York Mets this week put a nail in the series and served as yet another reminder of how important Albies is for this ball club.
Now batting .257/.309/.485 on the year with 14 home runs and 42 RBI, Albies is trending much closer to the .269/.321/.472 he has hit for his career. The 14 dingers have been a welcomed sight after knocking just eight in almost as many plate appearances as he had in all of last season.
Albies had nearly identical slash lines in the first two months of the season. He finished April batting .252/.297/.495 before hitting .250/.292/.438 in 29 games in May. Already at .308/.419/.654 and well on his way to heating up alongside the weather, any doubts which may have crept in regarding where Albies’ season was heading can be brushed aside.