When Nick Markakis singled to left field in the fourth inning Thursday night against the Dodgers, the Braves right fielder became the 10th active player with at least 2,000 hits. Fireworks exploded above the outfield seats and a crowd that included his wife and kids gave the Woodstock High School graduate a standing ovation.
“I’m just happy to get it out of the way. Sometimes those things can linger,” Markakis said. “It was nice to get it here in front of my family.... It was cool to be able to do it at home. It would’ve been better if we won and that happened, but overall just happy to get it behind me.
“ Those one or two hits can linger and you can put a lot of pressure on yourself.”
He’s the 285th to reach that standard in nearly 150 years of major league baseball.
“It’s something to be very proud of,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It speaks volumes to who he is, the player he is and the professional that he is.”
Markakis has done it in about as quiet a manner as possible, never drawing attention to himself, never having an overwhelming season, but never having anything less than a solid to exceptional season, even in his first year with the Braves in 2015 when he was coming back from December neck surgery.
In some ways getting 2,000 hits in his 12th season was the perfect testament to a career marked first and foremost by consistency.
“That’s what I preach, you’ve got to stay healthy and be as consistent as you can,” said Markakis, who added a two-out double in the sixth inning of Thursday’s 7-4 loss. “Get on base, drive runs in, score runs, just try to help your team win any way you can.”
If his name rarely comes up when folks discuss the best players in the game, it certainly is mentioned often when players or managers are asked to name a consummate professional they’ve played alongside.
Former Brave Kelly Johnson, who played with Markakis in Baltimore and Atlanta, said the Woodstock High School graduate was the ultimate teammate, a quiet leader in the clubhouse and a guy who “does everything right” on and off the field.
“He’s one of those guys you don’t appreciate until you manage him,” Snitker said. “I mean, you know he’s a really good player and all, but until you manage that guy you can’t appreciate him, just the professionalism, the daily (routine) that he goes through. He’s just a pro. The way he prepares, the way he plays. He signs up to play every day.
Snitker continued, because when the subject is Markakis, the Braves manager never tires of the discussion: “Ultimate pro. The professionalism, and just that day-in, day-out work ethic he has. He’s literally the definition of that boring pro. Every day he’s just game-on. The way he prepares, he plays, comes to play. Like I say, you’ve got to be with that guy, manage him, to really appreciate what he does for your team.”
Braves reliever Jason Motte, a former Cardinals closer, had mostly seen Markakis from afar before Motte joined the Braves this season. Being around Markakis on a regular basis has given him a fuller appreciation for what’s made Markakis such a steady and productive player for more than a decade.
“He’s a professional hitter. He doesn’t give away at-bats, no matter what the situation, what the score is, what the inning is,” Motte said before Thursday’s game. “He has an approach and he sticks to it. He goes up there and he grinds out at-bats. He’s a big-league hitter. To do it as long as he’s done it, to be one hit away from 2,000, it’s pretty amazing.”
Earlier this season when hitting coach Kevin Seitzer was working with a struggling Dansby Swanson, Seitzer tried to get him to stay even-keeled and used Markakis as an example.
“Let’s just settle in, get accustomed to the pitching we’re going to see, keep making adjustments where we need to, and just keep trying to keep what I call the Nick Markakis flat line,” Seitzer said he told him, “where you’re the same guy whether you’re hitting or not hitting, and keep getting ready, go have good at-bats and whatever the results are, they are. In the end, you’ll look up and and go, I had a pretty good year. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Markakis has had a lot of those years. He’s never had 200 hits in a season, but had more than 170 hits in eight of his 11 full seasons. He only once hit more than 20 homers (23 in 2007), but hit 12 or more in nine of 11 seasons before this one. He never hit as high as .310, but entered Thursday with a .281 average that put him on pace to hit above .280 for the ninth time.
You get the picture.
“You know exactly what you’re getting every day at 7 o’clock – or 7:30,” Snitker said. “He takes everything serious. It’s fun to watch. I mean, what an accomplishment, 2,000 hits. Guys get 3,000 and it’s, oh my gosh. But just 2,000 is amazing. ... I think he could play as long as he wants, in some capacity. Even if it’s not an every-day player at some point. He’d be a great guy off the bench, just to have on your club.”
Markakis is not a jovial sort. He’s not easygoing. He doesn’t walk through the clubhouse with a smile on his face often, laughs out loud far less often still.
But play alongside him, those who have will tell you, and his mannerisims, demeanor, work habits and take-no-guff attitude all grow on you quickly. And knowing that he’s going to bring his “A” game to the ballpark every day goes a long way with teammates, coaches and managers who know they can rely on him as much as they can on anyone on the roster.
“He’s a great clubhouse guy,” Motte said. “He’s serious, he knows what he’s got to do, he comes in here with a plan. He’s quiet, but when he does talk you listen. He’ll joke around when it’s time to joke around, and he’s serious when it’s time to be serious. He’s a great professional. I played against him and to have a chance to play with him, I respected him a lot and I respect him a lot more now after seeing him go out there, how he handles himself. He’s the ultimate professional. Great guy to have around.”
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