Freddie Freeman’s and Nick Markakis’ production could put them in the Braves record books.
The teammates, who hit third and fourth in the lineup, respectively, have been the conductors of the franchise’s return to contention. The Braves entered Sunday’s finale in New York with a 59-48 record, 1.5 games out of first place in the National League East.
Freeman might be the frontrunner for NL MVP. He leads the league with 132 hits; Markakis is second with 131. That puts Freeman on pace for a career-best 200 hits, and Markakis just shy at 198.
They could become the first pair of Braves teammates to reach the 200-hit plateau in the same season, and the first major leaguers to do so since Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia achieved such with the 2016 Red Sox.
Ender Inciarte posted 201 hits last season, meaning this could become the fifth time the Braves have had consecutive seasons where a player totaled 200 hits. They did so in 1893-94, 1925-26, 1956-57 and 1973-74.
