SAN FRANCISCO -- Nick Markakis hasn't regained his power stroke, after having neck surgery in December and that prevented him from lifting weights or doing any strenuous conditioning during the offseason and missing most of the Grapefruit League schedule at spring training.
Perhaps he won’t get it back before at least next winter when he can do his usual offseason work. And since he still hasn’t hit a home run, there’s a good chance the veteran right fielder won’t reach double-digit homers this season, something he’s done in each of his previous nine seasons.
That being said, Markakis has been one of the Braves’ best and most consistent contributors, batting .312 with a .400 on-base percentage and 10 doubles in 45 games before Thursday’s series opener at San Francisco.
“Every aspect,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, when asked if Markakis had been the player so far that he expected when the team signed him to a four-year, $44 million deal in December. “The numbers, the defense, the quality of person. There hasn’t been a surprise, or a disappointment.
“Everybody that talks about Nicky loves him, and they’ve all described him to a tee – what you see is what you get. He likes to play, and he plays the game the right way, and he expects everybody else to.”
In the past 12 games before Thursday, Markais was 15-for-44 (.341) with five doubles, a .408 OBP and .455 slugging percentage, including an RBI double in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 3-2 win against the Dodgers.
“He hits lefties, righties. He puts the ball in play,” Gonzalez said. “(Wednesday) against a tough pitcher, he puts the ball in play and gets us an extra run. He’s a professional. A professional hitter.”
Markakis was homerless in 170 at-bats for the season before Thursday. It’s worth noting, he didn’t hit his first homer in 2014 until May 1 and had three homers in 237 at-bats and 56 games through June 3. He finished the season with 14.
