Another season is over for the Braves, but it was still fun to watch them again in 2023.
The Braves have dominated the NL East since it’s current iteration was created in 1995 by winning it 18 times in 29 years. The next closest team is the Phillies with 5 division titles. But come playoff time, that’s only resulted in two World Series titles. And the last two years, losses to the Phillies who finished 14 games behind the Braves both times.
Baseball is all about the 162 game regular season grind, which has some folks mad about the format of the playoffs, which allowed the five best teams in the regular season to all be eliminated prior to the league championship series.
I would be in favor of a tweak to the format, but still it’s a crapshoot. The Braves were the beneficiary of the crapshoot in 2021, and they’ve been on the other side the last two years.
Still, I’ve really enjoyed watching this team the last two years win 101 and 104 games respectively. Following a team from the spring and throughout the summer is one of the things that’s fun about baseball. I’ve always loved watching a team all summer long, and when they are winning it’s really fun.
Unfortunately, the Braves couldn’t when it all when they had the best team in the regular season. The Phillies are truly a playoff juggernaut.
What if the Braves hadn’t done all these contract extensions and would be watching a bunch of players walk like Freeman and Swanson did. Acuna, Albies, Riley, Olson, etc. all walking out the door. Thankfully that’s not the case.
In fact, it’s the total opposite as the Braves can bring back their entire lineup. Everyone of the starters is signed long term except Ozuna and Rosario / Pillar. But even then, Ozuna will be back in 2024 and Rosario has an option to bring him back in 2024. Both catchers will be back, Nicky Lopez will be back. Kevin Pillar is the only free agent on offense.
On the pitching staff, the Braves have mostly everyone coming back. As usual, there’s moves to be made in the bullpen and it’s a battle to stay healthy and see who will perform year to year.
There’s no doubt the Braves are in a position to be good for years to come. Hopefully they will be in the playoffs every year for a chance to go all the way. We already know from the 1991-2005 run that nothing is guaranteed. Now the Dodgers can attest to that first hand – their only title in a 13 year run was in the 2020 Covid bubble.
I don’t agree with the notion that suggests anything short of a World Series is a failure. In 2021, I saw Mississippi State win the College World Series and the Braves with the MLB World Series. Since then, State has been the worst and second to worst team in the SEC while the Braves have won 100+ games and the division before falling short in the playoffs. I’ll take the great regular season every time.
Maroon and White Blog 