The Braves have made history with their most recent playoff berth.
According to OptaSTATS, no club in MLB history has made the postseason in a year where three of their Opening Day starters missed the final 35+ regular season games while on the injured list — in reference to Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Austin Riley.
The @Braves:
4/5: Strider season-ending injury
5/26: Acuña season-ending injury
8/18: Riley season-ending injuryNo other MLB team has ever made the playoffs in a year where 3 of their Opening Day starters missed the final 35+ regular-season games (plus the playoffs) on the IL. pic.twitter.com/xWvx2rr073
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 1, 2024
The Braves have been hammered by injuries, more than any team this season by a large margin.
At different points, Atlanta has been without Acuna, Strider, Riley, Sean Murphy, Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, Michael Harris II, AJ Minter, and Pierce Johnson. That’s seven All-Stars, a rookie of the year, and two of the bullpen’s top arms.
The Braves made it to October, but it won’t be easy to get out of the Wild Card round without Chris Sale. They’ll also be counting on an unlikely hero in Game 1, whether it’s Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, A.J. Smith-Shawver, or another starter.
That is the kind of loss that very few clubs in any sport could overcome, but if this Braves team has proven anything over the 2024 campaign, they’re a resilient bunch.
Brian Snitker deserves a ton of credit for managing this team to another postseason berth, and he’s going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat to get them to the NLDS, where the Dodgers will be waiting for them if they take two out of three from the Padres.
—
You must log in to post a comment.