LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Nick Markakis hit .182 with a .213 on-base percentage in spring training, and the veteran right fielder had fewer extra-base hits (one) in 44 at-bats than Connor Lien, who had two in nine at-bats as an extra brought from minor league camp for some games.
Still, you won’t find anyone in Braves camp voicing concerned about Markakis, who’s never been a big spring-training guy. He played only the last 10 days of the Grapefruit League schedule a year ago, then batted .296 with a .370 OBP and the fourth-most hits (181) in the National League.
“I feel great, I’m just ready to get the heck out of here,” Markakis said Friday. “Start the season and play games that mean something. At this point in the spring it’s long and drags out. It’s basically for the pitchers. Pitchers and young guys. Young guys can show what they have, and it allows our front office and coaches to watch them. And the pitchers get their reps in.
“It’s good for the hitters to go up there and see some pitches and get a feel for it. But I think we’re all ready to start playing games that mean something.”
Their scheduled Grapefruit League finale against the Tigers was rained out Saturday, and the Braves were set to take a charter flight back to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. They start the season Monday against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field.
Markakis, 32, couldn’t work out during the winter before the 2015 season, after signing a four-year, $44 million deal and having December neck surgery for a herniated disk. He wasn’t cleared to start working out the day before 2015 spring training began, then spent most of camp working himself into condition.
The lack of his usual offseason conditioning and strengthening program likely were big factors in Markakis hitting just three homers in 612 at-bats in his first season with the Braves, after averaging more than 14 homers during his nine seasons with the Orioles including at least 10 every year.
He was able to get back to his usual offseason regimen this past winter and came to camp bigger and stronger than he was a year ago. The Braves hope that he and others provide a bit of a power boost for an offense that ranked last in the majors in runs and had just 100 homers, 20 fewer than the next-lowest total.
His quiet spring hasn’t changed expectations for Markakis.
“He’s shortened his swing up a lot,” Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said. “He’s using a heavier bat, which (as a result) I don’t think he’s got the hand speed right now that he could have/should have. But I love his (bat) path and how much shorter he is (with swing) and how much stronger he is. He said he’s never been a big fan of spring training, so he’s ready to go. He’s been ready to go for a while.”
Seitzer paused and reiterated, “He’s always hated spring training.”
The hitting coach was reminded of a story about former Blue Jays slugger Joe Carter.
“One year someone asked Joe if he was worried about his spring training stats,” Seitzer said. “And he laughed and said, ‘Have you ever seen my spring-training stats on the back of my baseball card? No, I ain’t worried about it.’”
