PHILADELPHIA – Nick Markakis hit a leadoff homer Saturday, his second in 12 games after hitting none in the Braves’ first 92 games. Afterward, manager Fredi Gonzalez told the veteran that he was going to give the right fielder a day off Sunday, just the second time Markakis was out of the lineup this season.
How did the stoic veteran take that news?
“He was great,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s great with everything.”
Markakis, in his first season with the Braves after nine with the Orioles, has a higher on-base percentage (.371) than slugging percentage (.370), which is something you will rarely see from a right fielder, not to mention a right fielder who’s batted cleanup in 33 games this season.
But despite the reduction in power – Markakis hit double-digit homers every season for the Orioles – it’s been a mostly solid season for Markakis, batting .291 with 26 extra-base hits (23 doubles) with team-highs of 48 walks and 445 plate appearances, including .295 average and .410 OBP with runners in scoring position, and a .347 average in the late innings of close games. Markakis has played in a team-high 103 games, including 101 starts in right field and two at designated hitter.
Not bad for a guy who had fusion surgery Dec. 17 to repair a herniated disc in his neck, requiring a two-month recovery period that prevented him from doing any strength training and conditioning until spring training began and sidelined him for most of the Grapefruit League season while he was working himself back into shape.
The Braves and Markakis, who signed a four-year, $44 million contract, seem confident he’ll regain power with a normal offseason – he’s long been a big proponent of rigorous weight training, which he had to forego last winter.
He’s gotten noticeably stronger during the season, hitting several balls recently to the warning track or outfield wall at Turner Field that would’ve been homers in most ballparks. His two homers in the past two weeks were to center field.
Since the beginning of June, he’s hit .290 with 16 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs and a .390 slugging percentage in 54 games, including 16-for-49 (.327) with five extra-base hits (two homers) and a .531 slugging percentage in his past 12 games.
