By now, you’re probably aware that MLB Network left Ozzie Albies off their list of the top 10 second basemen in baseball for the second consecutive season. If you aren’t, here are some of the names they had in front of the Braves second baseman.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1747799803541504019
I try to pay these kinds of lists no mind because oftentimes, they are made strictly for engagement. There is no way a group of people could have sat down and come up with a serious top 10 list of second basemen and not included Ozzie Albies. The guy is coming off his third All-Star appearance and his second season out of the last three in which he clobbered 30+ homers with 100+ RBIs. When healthy, there aren’t five better second basemen in the game, and his Braves teammates seem to have taken some offense to MLB Network’s egregious list.
https://twitter.com/BravesOnBally/status/1752331894832685399
When it comes to Ozzie Albies, it’s important to look at the entire body of work. In any given season, maybe there are five second basemen worthy of being mentioned in the same conversation as Albies. However, what separates the Braves second baseman is his consistency.
Albies shows up every year and is a lock for 25+ homers, 100 RBIs, great defense, and 4+ WAR. The only time he didn’t put up numbers like that was in 2020 (COVID year) and in 2022 when he only played in 64 games because of multiple injuries. Mookie Betts is one of the game’s best players along with Jose Altuve. Both of them will be remembered in Cooperstown when they decide to call it quits, but outside of those two, Albies’ consistency since he entered the league is unmatched. He does everything well — from his power to his speed on the basepaths — and has been instrumental to the Braves’ recent run of success.
Ozzie Albies is undoubtedly a top-five second baseman in the game right now, and that might be underselling his impact.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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