Atlanta Braves 2023 Season Recap (as of Sept 7)

The Atlanta Braves are on fire this year. The 2023 MLB season will soon be ending on October 1, with the Braves holding the best record in the Major League with a W/L ratio of 91-48 after last night’s win over St. Louis.  
by Ty Cameron

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

​The Atlanta Braves are on fire this year. The 2023 MLB season will soon be ending on October 1, with the Braves holding the best record in the Major League with a W/L ratio of 91-48 after last night’s win over St. Louis.  

The Atlanta Braves are currently the best team in baseball, record wise. Along with the best record, the Braves have the most hits, runs, home runs, RBI’s, BA, OBP, slugging percentage and OPS. They also have the most shutouts, pitching wise (all stats from MLB). The Braves currently sit at 91-48, as of September 8th, 2023, and sit 6 games ahead of the Dodgers for the 1st Seed in the Playoffs and a free ticket to the NLDS. There’s still a month of baseball left, and there’s still tons of records to break for Atlanta. And with the atmosphere being one of the best, it’s gonna be hard for anyone who plays against Atlanta.
              
The Braves hosted the St. Louis Cardinals this past week, and thus far, they’ve lost the series and are at a risk of being swept. However, with this recent loss, Davis Hunt, a sophomore at Walnut Grove high school, still believes the Braves will be able to make it to the playoffs. Devan Cape, another WGHS sophomore, also believes this, “I think [the Braves will make the playoffs] because we have the best team in the game right now”. Much of this confidence most likely comes from how well the Braves are doing so far, as quoted from Davis, “I think they will [make it to the playoffs] cause they have the best record and the best team”. With the Braves great record and lead this year many have to attribute their success to, not only the players, but the MVP of the Braves, Ronald Acuna Jr. 

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photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

“El Abusador”: Ronald Acuna Jr.
Ronald Acuna Jr., also known as El Abusador (given the nickname because he hits so well and crushes the ball), signed with Atlanta for $100,000 in 2014 as an International Free Agent.
On April 25th, 2018, Acuna made his Major League debut for Atlanta against the Cincinnati Reds. 
In 2019, he signed an 8-year contract, granting him $100 million. This locked him up with the Braves organization until the year 2026. 
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In 2021, Acuna was off to an incredible start. Up until July 10th, Acuna was batting .283 with 24 home runs and being high in the MVP voting. Then, tragedy struck. Acuna was fielding a fly ball hit by Jazz Chisolm Jr. and en route to catch the ball, Acuna tore his ACL. It sidelined him for 293 days. He finally made his return on April 28th, 2022, but it was obvious he wasn’t the same player as before, and fans feared he would never be the same. Then, 2023 came along (via Wikipedia).
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Ronald Acuna Jr. is having one of the best single seasons of all time. Acuna Jr. became the first player in Major League history to have a 30-60 season (30 home runs and 60 stolen bases). He sits atop the MVP voting for the National League, (according to Fox Sports), and looks to break even more records this year. 

The Braves are doing incredibly well this season and look to carry their success into the postseason. The magic number for the division title is 10. The Braves sit 14 games ahead in the NL East, the Phillies sit in second place, and sit 19 games ahead of a Wild Card Spot.  With Acuna and Olson’s MVP chase, and the season only having one month left, Braves baseball is just ramping up.

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