Atlanta Braves 2019 Report Card: Offensive and individual player grades

Now that the Atlanta Braves 2019 season is over, let’s grade the team’s offense this past year, both collectively and individually.

You could call the Atlanta Braves Game 5 loss many different things: a disaster, an epic collapse, an absolute nightmare. But those are not terms I would use to describe the Atlanta Braves 2019 season, as a whole.

Sure, you could easily (and intelligently) argue that a team’s season is meaningless if it doesn’t end with a championship; that a great regular season is nothing compared to a deep run in the postseason.

Technically, you would be 100% correct. Getting the boot in the very first playoff series is not all that great and being eliminated in the NLDS is not what we Braves’ fans should expect or frankly be proud of.

We want more… and that’s the way it should be. But the truth is, it didn’t happen for the Atlanta Braves; just like it didn’t happen for 29 other teams when it’s all said and done at the end of this month.

Eventually, there will only be one fanbase that will truly be happy this year… in the end there really is only ever one.

Sure, you could argue that just a deeper run in the Playoffs would’ve been sufficient for us Braves fans; if the team could’ve just made it to the NLCS then we’d be proud and this year would be an improvement.

Yeah right… that’s not how this works.

First it’s the League Championship Series, then it’s why not the World Series?

There were expectations and predictions that the 2019 Braves would go far this time and be more than just a playoff qualifier. There were also the same type of predictions that didn’t even expect the team to finish in the top 3 of the NL East (remember when the Mets and Phillies were the next best thing?).

In the end, the Atlanta Braves finished “in between” in 2019. No, they didn’t play deep into the postseason, but they dang sure did win the National League East… with room to spare as a matter of fact.

Sure, that Game 5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals is going to sting for awhile. I’m still not over it… not even close, but the 2019 Atlanta Braves were a great team; in some areas, one of the best in the majors.

And believe me, I would much rather write up this grading series in November… not the second week of October!

But my rant is over. It’s time to put a bow on it and wrap things up here for the 2019 season.

Over the next several days we here at Tomahawk Take are going to spend some time recapping and reviewing the 2019 season — a final tribute to a year that was both spectacular and disappointing.

This piece will be the first of a two-part mini series, giving out grades for the Braves offense and pitching, from 2019. Today’s focus will be on the hitting and offensive side of the club, while piece No. 2 will focus on the Braves’ pitching.

First, we’ll look at the team’s offense as a whole…