The Braves are playing their only series of the season at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, and several of them will look for the statistical boost that the hitter-friendly ballpark can provide.
Among the Braves who’ve thrived most at the ballpark were Andreton Simmons, who was 12-for-28 (.429) with three homers, six RBIs and an .893 slugging percentage in six games there before Monday’s series opener, and Kelly Johnson, who had a .302 average (29-for-96) with five homers in 24 games at the hitters’ haven on the Ohio River.
“Here and Philly are two places that stand out, where you kind of look forward to going,” Johnson said before Monday’s game. “And Colorado. There’s definitely some good hitters’ parks, and whenever you get a chance to go to those places you want to come out with some damage and you want to get locked in.
“But baseball’s full of coincidences and all sorts of things, and there’s no rhyme or reason to who does whatever. But yeah, I think it’s obviously one of the top few ballparks to hit in for a reason.”
Curiously, the Braves’ best hitter, Freddie Freeman, had a .208 career average (10-for-48) with no homers and a .250 slugging percentage in 13 games at Cincinnati.
Jonny Gomes, who played for the Reds ini 2009-2011, entered with a .252 average and 29 homers in exactly 500 career at-bats (166 games) at Cincinnati, with 91 RBIs and a .482 slugging percentage.
