Atlanta Braves’ Blueprint for Future: Look No Further Than Mets/Royals

Apr 4, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Police and security direct traffic as Boston Red Sox fans make their way into Fenway Park for an opening day game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Everybody wants to know the direction of the Braves following the 2014 off-season tear-down and slow rebuild that’s still in progress.  Gone are the high levels of strikeouts… and the occasionally prodigious production that accompanied those bats.  Gone are most of the players that brought 96 wins in 2013.  In are a bullpen full of young arms and a farm of fresh prospects.  In as well is a hitting coach with a philosophy of contact, working the count, and using the whole field… though not necessarily the part beyond the fences.

But as we’re about to launch into the World Series next week, it almost seems like a ‘Captain Obvious’ statement that Atlanta would like to have the offense of the Kansas City Royals and the pitching of the New York Mets.  Certainly the pitching aspect has been a hallmark of the Braves’ existence since 1991 – beginning with new arms in John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, later adding free agent Greg Maddux.  Our offenses, though, have been up-and-down through the years, albeit having Chipper Jones as the one constant for nearly two decades.

But those players are all – or will soon be – Hall of Famers.  And this post is about future-scoping, not hindsight.  So let’s back up just a bit, see how the Royals and Mets got to the places they are today, and then see if there might be a lesson for the future of the Atlanta Braves.

Next: Flush With Royals