Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin said he didn’t know he had 100 hits on the season until he was asked about the milestone.
“That’s good,” Maybin said before the Braves played the Rays on Tuesday. “I’m trying to get my Nick Markakis on, though. I need some more.”
Markakis led the Braves with 128 hits entering Tuesday, and his .300 average was tied with catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Maybin was second on the team with 100 hits.
The Braves acquired Maybin in a trade with the Padres on the eve of opening day, and he’s having his best season since 2011. That year he had a .716 on-base plus slugging percentage and 40 stolen bases in 48 attempts while playing 137 games. Entering Tuesday he had a .706 OPS and 18 steals in 23 tries.
Maybin was hitting .175 when he sat for two games at the end of April. Since then and entering Tuesday, he was hitting .280 with a .336 on-base percentage and .373 slugging percentage while playing 86 of 89 games (83 starts).
Maybin, 28, also is on track to top the career-high 147 games he played for San Diego in 2012. He cites durability and working with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer as two keys to his resurgence.
“Health is the first one because that gives me a chance to go out and pick guys’ brains, and work and try to make adjustments day-to day,” Maybin said. “Health is huge and (also) being able to work with Seitzer and being on the same page this year and buying into his approach and his plan and what he thinks may help me during the game.”
Maybin said he’s also benefited from emulating Markakis’ hitting philosophy.
“Every day he stresses to me, ‘Just get your hits, get your hits and you will find a way to help this team out’,” Maybin said. “I’ve been trying to roll with him on that. Not trying to get caught up on the long balls.”
