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Atlanta Braves’ Ender Inciarte is Good at Baseball

By Josh Brown

Aug 20, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte (11) hits a ground rule double against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte (11) hits a ground rule double against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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There are things we can argue like politics and WAR and how bad Jason Heyward is with a bat, but one thing that cannot be refuted is the fact that Ender Inciarte is a really good baseball player.

When I was at the Winter Meetings in Nashville in December and the Braves/Diamondbacks trade went down, bewilderment ran wild among all writers, reporters and TV analysts. The general immediate reaction was, “The Braves got Dansby Swanson? For Shelby Miller? How did Coppy do that? Does he work for the mob?”

After the kerfuffle settled from John Coppolella robbing the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and the initial shock had escaped the Gaylord Opryland Resort, calmer murmurings from writers began to spread. “Dude. They got Ender Inciarte, too.”  Or you’d hear, “Wait. They got Ender Inciarte? Who’s that?” Or things like, “I’ve heard of Ender Inciarte, but don’t know much about him.”

My response, admittedly so, was the latter response. I had heard of Ender Inciarte, I knew he played for one of those newer teams with 34 fans and I knew he was good. But, that’s about it. Let’s be honest, there are a few teams that, even if your job is to cover sports, you might not be privy to many of their players even their best ones. At least that’s my excuse. Now that I’m typing this, it’s probably a terrible excuse. Destroy me in the comments section below.

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Later that night, I got back to my hotel room (where they were filming a scene for the hit show Nashville at the hotel bar, and therefore I was not allowed to go near said bar then became very angry) and I did my recon on Ender Inciarte.

I was ecstatic. The Atlanta Braves just landed a speedy .300 hitter with elite defense while everyone wasn’t paying attention. It appeared that the Braves landed a guy who other teams thought Jason Heyward was supposed to be for a fraction of the cost. I watched video, I looked at splits and I delved into his numbers in the minors. Then I wrote this.

I realized that EVEN IF the Braves traded Shelby Miller for only Ender Inciarte, the Atlanta Braves might have actually had an even trade.

The very next morning several baseball executives inquired with John Coppolella about Ender Inciarte and many have even knocked on the door ever since. What’s interesting is that nobody really payed attention to him until that day. The Braves stole Ender, now everybody wanted Ender.

But there was more to Ender Inciarte than his .300 hitting bat. The guy could field like no other.

It is of utmost importance to note that Ender Inciarte won a Fielding Bible Award last season. And Fielding Bible Awards are, in my opinion, more prestigious than Gold Glove Awards because they take out any and all opinions and are only composed by metrics.

Through the years, Gold Gloves have become almost a joke to me. Remember 2007? David Wright won a Gold Glove after committing 21 errors at third base. Chipper Jones had only nine. In Chipper’s contract that year with Mizuno, it stated that if Chipper won a Gold Glove they’d give him a bonus. They gave him a bonus anyways. I’ve often wondered if David Wright still has trouble sleeping at night.

All of this to say – Gold Gloves have become a joke. But the way the Fielding Bible Awards are set up, there will never be any malarkey involved in awarding the winner. The best fielder wins no matter what.

And not only can Ender Inciarte field like an elite center fielder, the guy has what most speedy outfielders do not have. A cannon.

If you saw what I saw that night when I marveled over his stats and videos, you were not concerned whatsoever when he struggled at the beginning of this season. The guy simply had an injury that he was trying to play through and perhaps adapting to a totally new environment effected him as well.

It is also my belief that the whole Fredi Gonzalez debacle at the beginning of the season sent a plethora of negative vibes into the Atlanta Braves clubhouse which then trickled onto the field. The clubhouse went from having a menagerie of fun guys to a room of sad stoic faces who had to answer awkward questions about Fredi Gonzalez before and after every game.

After having a lousy April and May, Ender Inciarte has shown us why John Coppolella went after him.

Ender has hit .316 with a .369 OBP in his past 71 games and has hit .359 with a .410 OBP in 42 games since the All-Star break. For the month of August, he’s slashing .370/.424./537.

What’s not as quantifiable is Ender’s ability to be a game changer on the base paths. His ability to read the ball coming off the bat and when to go from first to third when most guys might just just settle for second is impressive. He knows when to run and when not to run. Ender Inciarte’s intelligent instincts are what makes him as good as he his.

Next: Braves Minor League Weekend Recap

The Atlanta Braves should be thankful for a guy like Ender Inciarte. Few guys have the speed, the bat, as well as the arm. And even fewer guys have the intelligence that rounds it all out.

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