As if Braves fans could not get any sadder after their heartbreaking blowout loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of NLDS, they received some news that will hit them even harder. After a fantastic 15 years in the MLB, Brian McCann will call it a career.
McCann will likely get the edge as the best catcher in Atlanta Braves franchise history, beating out Javy Lopez. He came up as a farmhand and immediately came onto the scene as one of the best backstops in the game. With the Braves, he was a 7-time All-Star and 5-time Silver Slugger Award Winner. He earned one more with the New York Yankees when they outbid the Braves for his services after the team reportedly did not make a competitive offer. He went on to have a nice stint with the Astros as well, where he won a ring in 2017.
This decision is bittersweet. It was great to see B-Mac don the Tomahawk across his chest one last season. He will retire an Atlanta Brave… the way it should be, and perhaps a big reason why he took a team-friendly deal this season. He was the better half of a tandem with Tyler Flowers in 2019, offering pop and veteran leadership. Apparently the decision was made around a month and a half ago. You can see him breaking the news below:
"This is it for me."@Braves legend Brian McCann is retiring. pic.twitter.com/NkRglueeJN
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) October 10, 2019
B-Mac, it was a pleasure watching you grow from a baby-faced Baby Brave to a grizzly-bearded veteran helping anchor a pitching staff to an NL East pennant. I don’t think any Braves fan can watch the video without a little waterworks. However, it is time to focus on your family. Braves Country loves you, and we will always wish we could have taken that Game 5 just for you.