KANSAS CITY – On “Salute to the Negro Leagues” day at Kaufmann Stadium Sunday, the Braves wore the uniforms of the 1938 Atlanta Black Crackers and the Royals wore those of the Kansas City Monarchs.
“Oh, man, I’m happy to be rocking it,” said Braves rookie center fielder Mallex Smith, who made his fifth consecutive start Sunday and 11th in 13 games. “I really wanted to play today. Happy to be in there. I wanted to represent. These guys paved the way for me. So it was important to me to play.”
He hasn't played recently against left-handers, but Smith got the start Sunday against Royals lefty Danny Duffy after going 3-for-4 in Saturday's win with a bunt single, a rally-starting double and a triple. That gave him a .359 average (14-for-39) with six extra-base hits, four steals and a .590 slugging percentage in his past 13 games before Sunday.
“Every day when you get in the lineup, the more you see pitches the more relaxed you get,” he said. “I’ve been feeling that, and I’m just trying to continue that feeling.”
He was 1-for-5 Sunday with a key single in the ninth inning to drive in the first run of the Braves’ two-run, tying rally against closer Wade Davis, in a game Atlanta lost 4-2 in 13 innings. Smith was caught in a rundown on the play and turned his ankle reversing direction but stayed in the game and said afterward that he was fine.
His big game in a 5-0 Braves win Saturday came hours after Smith took a morning tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, a special place that many visitors say is a surprisingly emotional experience. That was the case with Smith.
“I just kind of walked around by myself. I enjoyed it. I just wanted to go in there and walk around, be a spectactor,” he said. “Real cool. I could move around, stay for a long time…. I did go talk to (museum president Bob Kendrick). He gave a great speech about Satchel Page that everybody was locked in on. People weren’t moving, just listening to him talk. Then I went up and talked to him afterward.”
Smith provided such a spark to the offense lately while also playing outstanding defense, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and his coaches decided that he should stay in the lineup Sunday.
Smith was only 2-for-22 with two walks and 10 strikeouts against lefties, but Duffy wasn’t expected to pitch deep into the game after moving from the bullpen to make his first start. Besides, the Braves staff knows that Smith needs to face more lefties at some point, so he can get used to it and they can evaluate him.
“Just got to get comfortable. Period. With everything,” Smith said. “When I get comfortable I’ll be able to execute more. Till then, I’m going to go through my struggles.”
Against right-handers, he raised his average to an impressive .295 (18-for-61) before Sunday with a .459 slugging percentage that ranked second on the team to Freddie Freeman’s .494.
Asked if getting more at-bats against lefties could make a difference in his proficiency against them, Smith said, “Clearly. It’s early, man. Time will tell.”
Last year after a midseason promotion from Double-A to Triple-A, Smith hit .262 with one extra-base hit and a .591 OPS in 65 at-bats against lefties, compared to .286 with 17 extra-base hits and a .741 OPS in 213 at-bats against right-handers.
After a midseason promotion to the Padres’ high Single-A affiliate in 2014, he hit .283 with an .802 OPS in 53 at-bats against lefties and .341 with a .917 OPS in 170 at-bats against righties.
“I’m still a rookie,” Smith said. “For the most part everything I’m seeing, it’s the first time I’m seeing it. Everybody has scouting reports. (But) there’s no (particular) way I’m getting attacked right now, that I know of.”
