Marcell Ozuna has had his fair share of off-the-field missteps, but there’s no denying why he’s still on the Braves today. He’s a one-of-one teammate that is beloved in the Braves clubhouse.
Last year, Michael Harris II got off to a dreadful start to the season after suffering a couple of early injuries, and it was Marcell Ozuna who kept reminding him how special he was and that things would eventually turn around. Think about that, Marcell Ozuna, who was getting booed by everyone in the stadium at the time, wasn’t worried about himself, and instead was concerned about the confidence of his teammates who weren’t living up to their lofty expectations.
With everything going on over the last couple of years, Ozuna’s attitude around the clubhouse never wavered. He continued to work hard with a smile on his face, and his contagious attitude undoubtedly brought him grace with the Braves brass. Eventually, things turned around for him as well last year, as he blasted a career-high 40 home runs with 100 RBIs, and that success has continued into the first week of this season.
Ozuna blasted two home runs yesterday in the Braves 3-2 loss to the White Sox, giving him a team-high three long balls through the first five games of the season. However, one of those homers is more unique than the rest. Following the sixth inning of yesterday’s game, Reynaldo Lopez headed to the dugout after giving up the first and only run of his outing. The Braves were trailing, but Marcell Ozuna assured him that it wouldn’t be that way for long, and he delivered.
Reynaldo López said that after he allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, Marcell Ozuna tapped him and said he would get it back.
Ozuna called his shot, then homered in the seventh.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 3, 2024
Marcell Ozuna got the Braves on the board with this blast in the 7th. #bravescountry pic.twitter.com/3to6jmR0HN
— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) April 3, 2024
Ozuna and Lopez are both from the Dominican and share the same agent. When Lopez hit free agency, Ozuna actually played a role in recruiting him to the Atlanta Braves. The two shared the field together for the first time last night, and they were the stars of the show. Lopez tossed six innings of one-run ball in his Braves debut, and Ozuna had the team’s first multi-homer game of the season.
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Photo: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
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