Balanced Scoring
This year’s Braves offense has been well-balanced throughout the season, not relying on a single player to dominate, much like previous seasons with Chipper Jones. Five different Braves have scored at least 80 runs this season, only the fifth such season for the franchise since 1901.
| Year | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 6 | Jeff Francoeur / Marcus Giles / Andruw Jones / Chipper Jones / Adam LaRoche / Edgar Renteria |
| 2003 | 6 | Rafael Furcal / Marcus Giles / Andruw Jones / Chipper Jones / Javy Lopez / Gary Sheffield |
| 2012 | 5 | Michael Bourn / Freddie Freeman / Jason Heyward / Martin Prado / Dan Uggla |
| 2007 | 5 | Jeff Francoeur / Kelly Johnson / Andruw Jones / Chipper Jones / Edgar Renteria |
| 1973 | 5 | Hank Aaron / Dusty Baker / Darrell Evans / Ralph Garr / Davey Johnson |
September 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Bourn (24) dives into home safely before the tag by Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (24) in the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE
Three of the five seasons listed were in higher-scoring environments, while the ’73 team was about the same after figuring in park factors. That ’73 team was the best offense in the league, as Johnson, Evans, and Aaron (in 465 PA) all had 40 HR, and they scored 799 runs. Unfortunately, that team went 76-85 due to the horrible pitching outside of Phil Niekro and Carl Morton.
Here are the only teams across the league to pull this off the past three seasons, the era of the decline in scoring:
| Year | Tm | Lg | #Matching | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | New York Yankees | AL | 6 | Robinson Cano / Brett Gardner / Curtis Granderson / Derek Jeter / Nick Swisher / Mark Teixeira |
| 2012 | Atlanta Braves | NL | 5 | Michael Bourn / Freddie Freeman / Jason Heyward / Martin Prado / Dan Uggla |
| 2012 | Texas Rangers | AL | 5 | Elvis Andrus / Adrian Beltre / Nelson Cruz / Josh Hamilton / Ian Kinsler |
| 2011 | Texas Rangers | AL | 5 | Elvis Andrus / Adrian Beltre / Josh Hamilton / Ian Kinsler / Michael Young |
| 2010 | New York Yankees | AL | 5 | Robinson Cano / Brett Gardner / Derek Jeter / Nick Swisher / Mark Teixeira |
| 2012 | Milwaukee Brewers | NL | 4 | Ryan Braun / Corey Hart / Aramis Ramirez / Rickie Weeks |
I left this year’s Brewers on the list since Norichika Aoki is only four runs away from making the list. When only two teams can pull off such a feat per season, you are doing something good. One would think consistency would correlate with this, but this year’s Braves and Rangers both counteract that philosophy. While those five Braves have been healthy all season and have surpassed 600 PA, this is still a significant feat and hopefully we get to see this balanced attack deep into October.