Atlanta Braves: Nick Markakis is Underrated and Angry
By Seth Carter
The Atlanta Braves have been on a trek through Middle Earth over the past decade. They neared the peaks of the Misty Mountains in 2013 but found themselves in the depths of the Mines of Moria heading into 2015. That’s when they brought in an experienced leader to battle the Balrog and bring them out of treacherous caverns.
The Atlanta Braves won 96 games in 2013 with one of the youngest rosters in the game. Youngsters like Freddie Freeman (23), Jason Heyward (23), Justin Upton (25), Andrelton Simmons (23), Evan Gattis (26), Julio Teheran (22), Craig Kimbrel (25), Kris Medlen (27), Mike Minor (25), and Alex Wood (22) all led the charge on this rendition of the baby Braves. Veterans like Tim Hudson, Paul Maholm, and Brian McCann kept the kids in line.
The Braves had a magical season that ended tragically in Game 4 of the NLDS with Juan Uribe‘s arms outstretched above his head as if he was hoisting an Elk he had just hunted with his bare hands, as he watched his eighth-inning homer off of David Carpenter sail into the night sky.
Craig Kimbrel watched helplessly from the bullpen. We had a whole offseason to lament about what could have been, and yet a whole offseason of hope about what was to come.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
There was a lot of excitement heading into the 2014 season but injuries struck early and often for the 2014 team.
Kris Medlen, who entered the season as one of the league’s elite pitchers over the past year and a half, left a spring start with a forearm injury that would later require his second Tommy John surgery.
Brandon Beachy would suffer the same fate as Medlen soon after. Beachy would be going under the knife for his second Tommy John as well.
After letting Tim Hudson walk in free agency, the Braves’ promising young team was now desperately piecing their starting rotation together with less than a month left before the season.
On March 12 they signed Ervin Santana and then on March 24 they signed freshly-released Aaron Harang.
Jason Heyward slugged .384, Melvin Upton hit .208 with a .620 OPS, Chris Johnson lost his magic with a .292 OBP, and in July the Braves opted to pay Dan Uggla $18 million to go home for the next year and a half.
The Braves ended the season with a disappointing 79 wins.
That offseason, the Braves traded away Justin Upton, B.J. Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, and Jason Heyward. The re-build was on.
They did make one big free-agent addition that offseason. They brought in a veteran leader to help steer the ship through the rough waters. That player was Nick Markakis.