Fastball

Atlanta Braves' Quartet of Stars Does Something Not Done For Nearly Last 80 Years of Baseball History

The Atlanta Braves dealt with a number of injuries earlier in the season, but dependability among their stars has allowed the Braves to be the best team in baseball this season.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves' Quartet of Stars Does Something Not Done For Nearly Last 80 Years of Baseball History
Atlanta Braves' Quartet of Stars Does Something Not Done For Nearly Last 80 Years of Baseball History /
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Earlier this year, it felt like all we were writing was about injuries to members of the Atlanta Braves.

Orlando Arcia missed some. So did Travis D'Arnaud. So did Michael Harris II. And Kyle Wright. And Max Fried. And Raisel Iglesias, Collin McHugh and Ian Anderson.

With all of those injuries at various times, how have the Braves managed to be the best team in baseball this year?

Health and dependability among their stars has been huge, as evidenced by Opta Stats on Twitter:

Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Austin Riley have all played in each of the @Braves' first 110 games this season. The last time an MLB team had four players play in every one of their team's first 110 games of a season was the 1944 Cincinnati Reds.

That's four of the best players in baseball that are playing every day for Atlanta. Acuna Jr. is third in baseball in batting average (.339) while leading baseball in stolen bases with 53. Olson leads all of baseball in RBI with 99 and is second in the National League in home runs with 39. Albies and Riley each have 26 home runs, which is part of what makes the Braves most powerful lineup in the sport.

Entering play on Tuesday, the Braves are 70-40 on the season. They are tied with the Orioles for the most wins in baseball but have two fewer losses.

The Braves will play the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET as Yonny Chirinos (ATL) pitches against Mitch Keller (PIT).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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