With less than 25 games left in the regular season of the 2023 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves are just as good as everyone predicted, something that rarely happens in the world of sports.
There are only three weeks before the postseason dance, and everyone is still looking for dates. Well, except for the Braves, who clinched their spot in just 142 games. The 94-win Braves are barking at the legendary ‘98 Braves and their 106-win franchise record, as they need 13 of their last 22 to set the record.
They tie the 1975 Philidelphia Phillies for the sixth-fewest games played to clinch a playoff spot.
The Braves were the consensus NL East winner, according to preseason predictions, and they have had the division locked up since the Mets proved fraudulent in early May. They have a demanding 15-game lead in the East, ahead of the Phillies, an excellent team that leads the tense NL wildcard by 3.5 games.
Atlanta has their sights set on something bigger, the second championship of the young decade, and their chances look very promising. FanGraphs has their World Series percentage at a whopping 29.5%
It is hard to point out a single piece of this Braves team that is above the rest, but the fact of the matter is this team is just better than everyone else. I could point out the probable NL MVP, Ronald Acuña Jr., or the homerun leader, Matt Olsen. Or I could pick out the strikeout leader, Spencer Strider, or their bullpen, who is top two in ERA. This team is just better than yours.
Acuña has already made history, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases, but he isn’t done yet. As of Tuesday, the 12th, Acuña Jr. has 36 home runs and 65 stolen bases. It seems as if Acuña is looking to set an unbreakable record and become the first 40/70 player in history. For comparison, Barry Bonds got 30/50 only once.
Their stacked lineup doesn’t give pitchers a break for one batter. They lead the StatCast graphs on BaseballSavant in nearly every category they track. Seven of their nine starters have 20 or more home runs, and every member of their starting lineup has played over 100 games except Sean Murphy, who gets rest days as a catcher. Acuña and Olsen have played in every game this season, two of just six players in the league to play every game of their teams’ season. Meanwhile, Atlanta has a potential Cy Young winner headlining a starting pitching staff with the lowest HR/9.
Matt Olson has hit his league-leading 50th home run of the season. The first basemen’s introduction to Atlanta was a little controversial, as he came to replace the legendary Freddie Freeman. Olson has turned Freeman into a faint memory for Braves fans. He is the second player in Braves history to hit 50 home runs and sits only one long back behind Andrew Jones and his franchise record. That isn’t the only record Olson is gunning to break. He is only five RBI behind Gary Sheffield and the 132 runs he knocked in during the 2003 season.
There are 42 pitchers in MLB history to reach 300 strikeouts in a single season, and over half have names that shout, “I was born in 1893.” Strider leads the league in strikeouts with 250. In his third year, he has the chance to do the unpredictable.
The Atlanta Braves were my prediction to win the World Series at the beginning of the season, and that pick looks glorious right now. With only the Dodgers and their emergency room of a pitching staff standing in their way, the Braves have a calm path to the World Series. Atlanta has seemingly been walking on water all season and has clinched the first playoff birth of the ‘23 season.
