Marcell Ozuna had eight bats splayed out on the floor in the empty locker next to his locker in the Braves’ clubhouse Friday. Make that nine bats as he tears the plastic off a new arrival. He grips the bat on the handle. He picks up another and grips the handle. There are five more bats on a shelf in the locker, 14 total from three manufacturers, Marucci, Chandler, and Louisville Slugger.
You get a sense that Ozuna is searching for that magic of 2020 when he clobbered National League pitching. You see him in the dugout fiddling with his hands, always tinkering, rehearsing a high knee on the load, and then lower knee lift, and trying to find that bat with all the hits in it.
Ozuna, now entrenched as the designated hitter with Eddie Rosario back from eye surgery and playing left field, has not been scuffling at the plate, for sure. Entering Saturday’s game with Washington, he had eight hits in 27 at bats with three home runs. For the season he is batting .229 with a .710 OPS, but we know that Ozuna has performed better because of his 2020 results (.338, 1.067).
“He’s gotten a lot of big hits, I know that,” manager Brian Snitker said. “(But) you look up there and you still kind of think he hadn’t got hot yet. I’ve seen him get hot and carry a team. So you just look at a guy like that and know what the potential is.”
And think about that. This is a Braves lineup that has been the best in baseball against opponents’ starting pitching since June 1, and it has happened without a blitz from Ozuna, or Ronald Acuna, for that matter.
No signs of wilting
The Braves have had one off-day since June 16. This usually is the time of season when players start thinking about having their bat manufacturer shave something off the handle to make the sticks less heavy to swing. It’s hot, too.
Snitker said the Braves (27-8 since June 1) are thriving, not wilting, with the non-stop play.
“I think probably the best thing that has happened is all these games we’ve played in a row,” Snitker said. “I honestly think that helps. We’re in the 30-in-31-days stretch here. I’ve just noticed when we get something going, it’s because we’re playing every day.”
Braves made noise in voting
The All-Star game fan voting concluded Friday night with one Braves player, right-fielder Acuna, voted in as a starter for the game at Dodger Stadium on July 19. But for a club in only the 10th largest metro population in MLB and with several of its “stars” having below average seasons the Braves sure made noise in the fan voting.
A slick promotion by the team hitched the Braves’ bandwagon to the summer’s blockbuster, “Top Gun: Maverick,” and millions of votes poured in.
With the game in L.A., the Braves’ marketing department used a Hollywood-theme and wrapped a strategy to get votes around that. Each of the players had a movie ideation created for them, and a sequel. Trailers were created for each of the movies and showed in 70 theatres in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee before the feature pictures. The Braves marketing department also had posters placed in the 12 highest-grossing theatres in Georgia and Tennessee.
Worldwide Box Office said Tom Cruise’s movie has done $1 billion in business, and the Braves were along for the ride.
The tactic worked splendidly, for a while, at least. The Braves had six players make it through the first phase of voting, which ended June 30. Four finished as runners-up, shortstop Dansby Swanson, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, second baseman Ozzie Albies, and Designated Hitter William Contreras. Outfielder Adam Duvall was one of five NL outfielders who made it to the second phase. He is batting just .206.
“We were able to get these trailers out there and take advantage of the popular movies showing, like Maverick,” said Adam Zimmerman, senior vice president for marketing and content. “The goal was to get as many players as possible through phase one.”
Albies, who was batting .244, might have won at second base had it not been for a broken foot that has sidelined him since June 13.
Mets coming to town
The first-place Mets are coming (Monday through Wednesday). It will be a series to study contrasts in offense. The Braves’ power (second in the big leagues in home runs, first in slugging) vs. the Mets’ grind (second in on-base percentage, third in batting average). The fans can’t wait.
The Braves expect a standing-room-only crowd Monday night, which means yet another sellout of more than 41,000. Only $20 standing-room-only tickets are available Tuesday night. Wednesday is a 12:20 p.m. start. We will get a look at just how jazzed Atlanta is about this team if the crowd reaches 35,000 in Wednesday’s expected swelter.
Monday night is replica championship ring night.
