House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves well represented in the World Series… except for actually being there

By Alan Carpenter

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Oh what might have been?  May not, but we can dream… or perhaps throw things at the monitor Tuesday as the World Series gets underway

The Atlanta Braves didn’t even sniff the playoffs this season, but several of their alumni have found their ways to a sweltering Los Angeles tonight for the start of the 2017 World Series… and many of these in key roles.

Houston

The Astros certainly have the most recognizable names among those that Atlanta once had their hands on:

Brian McCann

I am genuinely happy for him McCann and this story is going to make Yankee fans grind their teeth for years to come – or at least until they get into the Fall Classic the next time.

Once full free agency arrived (and close to the point when the Braves thought Christian Bethancourt was the NBCT – Next Big Catching Thing), McCann simply became unaffordable for the club – or maybe they were concerned about his durability/sustainability/etc.  But that’s when BMac became a Yankee and had less wind resistance about his face… not that it helped.

Last off-season, of course, the Bombers suddenly had their own NBCT in Gary Sanchez and after a lot of wrangling, Houston ended up with the 33-year-old.

[ Wondering now if the exhorbitant price that Brian Cashman wanted to bring Brian back to Atlanta was somehow related to John Coppolella specifically… hmmm ]

Regardless, I’ll bet the Yankees now wish they had a catcher who was better at… catching the ball.

But hey – maybe the Yankees don’t get back to the Series for a while.  May this be so, and may their fans start calling their post-season famine “The Curse of The Heap”.

Evan Gattis

I am also genuinely happy for this big lug.  He’s now turned 30 himself, and probably still in “just happy to be here” mode… the same way he’s been all along.  His homer in Game 7 got the Astros going against C. C. Sabathia.

The Braves were Gattis’ original club and he remained them until the point at which they kind of had to decide whether he, Bethancourt, or … anybody else… could be a full-time catcher for the team.

The answer ended up being ‘none of the above’.  Gattis was traded to Houston for Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz, and Andrew Thurman in January 2015.  Good for Gattis, as he was definitely better off in the American League.

Cameron Maybin

Maybin has certainly taken a crazy, circuitous route to get to the point.  Just check out the teams he’s been with:

  • Detroit (2007)
  • Marlins (2008-2010)
  • San Diego (2011-2014)
  • Atlanta (2015)
  • Detroit (2016)

There’s a whole lot of mediocrity in there.  During this season he started with the Angels – which was promising – but on the last day he could be moved and still remain playoff-eligible, Maybin was claimed on revocable trade waivers by the Astros.

That actually helped out the Angels at the time, as Houston picked up the check and the roster spot while Justin Upton was being acquired for the Halos’ unsuccessful stretch run.  So it’s Maybin now in the World Series… in Los Angeles, ironically enough.

Charlie Morton

Here’s a kid that showed promise, but was thought of as maybe a back-end-of-the-rotation guy.  Well, in Houston right now, that’s all he actually needs to be… but he’s showed much more this season.

Here in 2017, he’s thrown to a 3.62 AL ERA with a 1.19 WHIP in 146+ innings… and a nice 14-7 record.

The Braves drafted Morton in 2002 as a 3rd round pick out of high school.  He debuted in the majors with Atlanta in 2008, beating – yes, the Angels again.

Morton was sent to Pittsburgh in 2009 as part of what I call the ’emergency trade’ for Nate McLouth.  The Braves had lost confidence in Jordan Schafer (had a wrist injury never really healed, or did he simply lose the ability to hit?) and needed a center fielder in the worst way… which of course was the worst time to ask anybody for a deal.

Gorkys Hernandez, Jeff Locke and Morton were all sent to the Pirates… and y’all know how that went from there.

Morton was hurt a lot with Pittsburgh, but traded to the Phillies after the 2015 season.  He hardly threw a pitch for the Phils, suffering a season-ending hamstring tear in April 2016.

Despite all of that, the Astros inked him this past off-season in a widely-questioned deal:  2 years and $14 million.  But he’s been fairly healthy and lived up to the Astros’ faith in him.

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