The Juggernaut Braves, NL East Champs Once Again, Have the Blueprint for October Success

Atlanta celebrated its sixth straight division title on Wednesday, but its sights are now set on something more.

PHILADELPHIA — During spring training, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker reminded his players of their objective. They wanted to win the World Series. But first they had to win the National League East.

“That’s the number one goal,” he said before Wednesday’s 4–1 win over the Phillies checked that box for the sixth straight year. “We’re not able to do anything special until we win the division.”

On Wednesday, they won the division. Next up: something special.

Atlanta is one of the more terrifying teams in recent memory. It leads the league in WAR by catchers. It leads the league in WAR by first basemen. It leads the league in WAR by third basemen. It leads the league in WAR by right fielders. It ranks fourth among pitchers, seventh among DHs, ninth among second basemen, 10th among center fielders. Its worst hitter, shortstop Orlando Arcia, was an All-Star.

Outfielder Kevin Pillar played on Blue Jays teams that made it to the ALCS in 2015 and ’16, and he had a short stint with last year’s Dodgers, who won 111 games before falling in the NLDS.

“This is on a different level,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable environment.”

This year’s juggernaut led the division nearly wire to wire—an enviable position but also in some ways a challenge, as they tried not to get complacent.

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“It’s hard,” Snitker said. “But [these] guys never got caught up in any of the good, bad or indifferent that we had. They’re so consistent. They come to the ballpark every day and [try to] win that day’s game. I haven’t heard one guy talk about magic numbers, how many we’re ahead, all this and that, or if we were going bad or losing games in the standings, nothing. I never heard one guy talking about that. And all I heard them talk about was getting the ballpark and getting ready to play.”

Wednesday’s game served as a blueprint for October success for this juggernaut: Sophomore ace Spencer Strider, who leads the league in strikeouts and in fielding-independent pitching, allowed one run and whiffed nine over seven innings. All-Star third baseman Austin Riley hit a two-run homer. NL MVP favorite right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had three hits. Two relievers tossed a perfect inning apiece.

Strider was typically excellent on Wednesday, bringing his ERA on the season down to 3.73 :: Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

“It’s gotta roll,” said Snitker. “And sometimes it doesn’t, and other guys gotta pick us up.”

Part of what has made this season so impressive is that it hasn’t always rolled. Lefty Max Fried lost three months to a forearm injury, righty Kyle Wright four months to a shoulder injury and reliever Raisel Iglesias a month to a shoulder injury. But during that span, righty Bryce Elder emerged into an All-Star and helped carry the staff.

“I always tell [GM Alex Anthopoulos], ‘Don’t worry, because somebody’s gonna do something good or something special,’” said Snitker. “Their ‘keep going,’ I think, as a group, it’s too strong. I think that whatever we think we got going in there’s too strong.”

Anthopoulos added, “The players step up and come through. We didn’t think Bryce Elder was gonna be an All-Star. We optioned him! You know? That’s to his credit. That’s not ours.”

Anthopoulos and Snitker can probably take some credit for the team’s recent consistent success, though. Snitker became interim manager in 2016 and was hired full time the next year, in part at the insistence of his players. Anthopoulos arrived before the ’18 season. That year and the next, Atlanta made it as far as the NLDS. In ’20, it lost the NLCS in seven games to the eventual champion Dodgers. In ’21, it won the whole thing. Last year’s team fell in the NLDS to the Phillies, who made it to Game 6 of the World Series.

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And yet in an organization with as storied a history as Atlanta’s, this qualifies as a modest run. After they kicked off the run in 2018, Snitker grabbed John Schuerholz, the architect of the 1990s dynasty. “I don’t know how you guys won 14 of these in a row!” Snitker gushed. “It’s so hard to win one!”

Wednesday’s win made it six division titles in a row for Atlanta :: Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

So he reminded his team to savor this. When they clinched a playoff berth on Sunday, they celebrated with a demure champagne toast; on Wednesday, they got the full dogpile-kegger experience.

“We’re gonna enjoy it today, tonight and probably tomorrow,” said Pillar. “And then we’re gonna get back to work.”