Before signing with the Braves last winter, Nick Markakis spent nine years with Baltimore, and in each of the first six of those seasons the Orioles lost at least 92 games and finished at least 27 games out of first place.
And so, the Braves’ current position is relatively mild in terms of dog-days-of-summer scenarios for teams he’s played on.
“I’ve been in this situation before,” Markakis said before Wednesday night’s series finale against the Giants. “It’s tough, but every bottom has a light at the top of it. You’ve just got to go about your business, play hard, set good examples and help your teammates any way you can.”
Markakis entered Wednesday with an 11-game hitting streak, and in past 14 games he’d batted .333 (20-for-60) with five extra-base hits (one triple, two homers)and seven RBIs.
Since getting to the 84-game mark with a .500 record, the Braves had lost 17 of 23 games including 10 of their past 13 before Wednesday. They were third in the National League East, eight games behind the Nationals and nine behind the division-leading Mets.
After a couple of significant injuries and a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rockies before the All-Star break, the Braves became sellers and traded veteran hitters Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson (to the Mets) and pitchers Alex Wood, Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan (to the Dodgers), getting back prospects and a draft pick – moves made for the future, at the expense of the present.
Markakis, 31, who signed a four-year, $44 million contract, has been neither dismayed nor surprised by the trades. He knew what he was getting into when he signed with a team that, beginning last fall, made move after move designed to keep the team respectable in the near-term, but more importantly to put it in position to contend for championships by the time the Braves moved into their new ballpark in 2017.
“We’re in this for the long haul, and there’s going to be changes next year, too,” he said. “You’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do, help out any way you can. Everybody’s trying to go in that one direction and get to where we want to go. It’s going to be a long and exciting adventure. But we’ll get there.”
After the Orioles finished fourth or fifth in the American League East in each of his first six seasons, they won 93 games to finish two games out out of first place in 2012; finished third with 85 wins in 2013, and won the division title with 96 wins in 2014.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Markakis has been the same quiet leader throughout the season, and that his demeanor and work habits are unwavering.
“If I didn’t know the Braves’ record, and I sat down and talked to Nick or watched him, without knowing what was going on, I’d think that we were leading the National League East by 10 games,” Gonzalez said. “Because that’s just the way he behaves every single day. He comes in, gets his work done, gives everything he has on the field. I’ve enjoyed him. Everything people have told me about him is true, it really is…. He’s the ultimate professional.”
And the quietest leader that Gonzalez could recall being around.
“I was real fortunate my first two years here, Chipper (Jones)’ last two years, he was that player,” Gonzalez said. “He might have been little bit more vocal than Nicky. But (Markakis) is about as quiet and intimating a leader as I’ve ever been around. He doesn’t have to say much, he’s just got to look at you. In spring training when we set down in my office and talked for an hour, and he told me that he was going to take care of the clubhouse and do all this and do all that – he’s kept his word.”
When the Braves recruited him last offseason, Gonzalez said they explained their situation, and why they wanted to sign some veteran leaders such as Markakis (and later Jason Grilli, Jonny Gomes and A.J. Pierzynski) to help guide a young team.
“When we talked to him back in November, we told him the whole thing,” Gonzalez said. “And coming into spring training we had a good group of guys. We had built something special coming into spring training. Then (Fredi) Freeman was already down (injured) when Grilli went down with the Achilles (the last weekend before the All-Star break), that was a big blow to us. And we had to make a decision for the future (before the trade deadline) and all of a sudden, the next road trip we (trade) five major leaguers.
“But you know what? He’s never said one thing (negative about the moves).”
Two weeks after signing with the Braves, Markakis had neck surgery to repair a herniated disc. He was prohibited from running or lifting weights during the offseason and didn’t get clearance until the beginning of spring training. After missing most of the Grapefruit League schedule, he rushed to get at-bats in the final two weeks of camp and was in the opening-day lineup.
He was hitting a team-best .293 with a team-high 23 doubles before Wednesday, and was tied for ninth in the NL with a .371 OBP before Wednesday, when he made his team-high 106th start in the Braves’ 108th game. Markakis was
Markakis had just two homers before Wednesday, after averaging 14 per season and totaling at least 10 every year with the Orioles, but Gonzalez is confident that his power will return next season after a normal winter.
“He’s a big lifter, a big power-lifter guy, he likes to dead-lift and all that – and he couldn’t do anything the whole winter,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve still got 50-60 games left, and you’re starting to see him – I still don’t think we’ve seen the regular Nicky Markakis. I think next year after a solid offseason when he can get himself ready, I think you’ll see the power numbers coming back, and his arm, I think will come back a lot better.”
