Atlanta Braves must once again thrive in underdog role in 2019
In the baseball world, there’s nothing quite like the dawn of a new season. Renewed hope and aspirations of storybook endings come from all over, and the Atlanta Braves are no different in 2019.
It begs the question, “What can this year’s version of the Atlanta Braves do to top last year’s impressive – and unexpected – success?”
Sure, the Braves didn’t win baseball’s biggest prize a season ago, but they weren’t supposed to.
Actually, they weren’t supposed to do much of … anything.
Certainly not win 90 games — or a National League Eastern Division title.
But that’s where they found themselves, experiencing the euphoria and high-stakes atmosphere of October baseball, a year ahead of schedule.
Flashback to late winter/early spring of 2018, and here’s what the experts had to say about Atlanta’s chances:
- 75.5 projected win total
- 4th place predicted finish in the NL East
- 20-1 division champion odds
However, that energetic young Braves squad wasn’t the least bit rattled by the star power that other teams in the division possessed. They didn’t pay attention to the fact that most baseball minds said they weren’t supposed to be this good, this soon.
They seemingly loved the life of the underdog.
Here we are, with the 2019 season getting underway, and the Atlanta Braves find themselves in familiar territory: they aren’t supposed to win big.
Who says? A lot of people.
And who could blame them, given the abundant big-name additions made by other clubs in the National League East? There’s a deafening hype echoing all the way from Philly to D.C. to New York.
From Atlanta, though? Perhaps more of an unfazed confidence – a typical trait of an underdog.
Indeed, it’s clear that if the Braves want that storybook ending that all baseball teams strive for, they’ll have to do it from the underdog role once again.