Braves Today

Braves Wrapped: See How the Atlanta Braves Trended in 2024

The Atlanta Braves were a top-10 trending team this calendar year, so let's look into what helped the drive

Harrison Smajovits

The Braves were among the most checked on teams in 2024
The Braves were among the most checked on teams in 2024 / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
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It’s that time of the year again. It puts people in a special kind of spirit you don’t see throughout the first 11 months of the calendar.

Of course, we’re talking about the release of the Spotify Wrapped - and the Apple Replay for those bold enough, like myself, to stand up and say they use it. People are posting which music artists and podcasts trended the most for them. 

As that’s happening, others chose to play along and parody it, including Major League Baseball. On the day the Spotify Wrapped dropped, MLB dropped its top-10 trending MLB teams for 2024. The Atlanta Braves came in at eighth. 

The Braves weren’t pushing into the top 25% of MLB teams for no reason. Atlanta is one of the largest cities in the USA and is the top team for much of the southeastern United States as a whole. But above that, they had some storylines that helped garner further attention.

Here, we will discuss what gave them a share of the spotlight in the first edition of the Braves Wrapped. 

Cy Resurgence 

The start of what got the Braves' attention came a couple days before the calendar actually flipped to the new year. Starting pitcher Chris Sale was acquired from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 30. So, to start the new year, the attention went to question why the Braves even bothered. 

The Sale discussion continued, but by May, it had been flipped on its head. He took home the National League Pitcher of the Month - having an 0.83 ERA in five May starts. While Sale never had as insane of a month, he never slowed down. Following his June 3, start where he allowed eight earned runs, Sale never allowed more than two earned runs in a start again. 

Sale finished the season with an 18-3 record, a 2.38 ERA, a 174 ERA+, a 2.09 FIP and 225 strikeouts. He won the National League pitching Triple Crown, Cy Young Award and NL Comeback Player of the Year, the NL pitching Gold Glove, among other honors after the season. 

Medical Bills

There wasn’t a moment that the Braves could escape the injury bug. Some of the long-term injuries, Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr., are carrying over to 2025. 

The following notable players missed extended time along with Strider and Acuña in 2024:

  • Third baseman Austin Riley
  • Second baseman Ozzie Albies 
  • Starting pitcher Max Fried
  • Starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez
  • Center fielder Michael Harris II
  • Catcher Sean Murphy 

This doesn’t even include players who missed a handful of games here and there. As the injuries piled up, people noticed, especially when it's multiple guys who have had all-star nods. 

Replacement Players

Since the injuries added up, so did the players who had to come in and save the day. From outside the organization, in came Whit Merrifield, Gio Urhsela, Jorge Soler, Ramon Laureano, Eddie Rosario, just to name a few. 

Even Spencer Schwellenbach came up from the minor because somebody got hurt. He was in Double-A, there was no intention of him sniffing MLB in 2024. 

When notable names are replaced with other notable names who are past their primes, it’s going to create some chatter. 

Rock You Like a Hurricane

Sure, let’s add mishandling an incoming hurricane into the mix. I know it was a tropical storm by the time it reached Atlanta, but either way, games were going to be postponed. 

After getting some flack for not trying to get the games in ahead of the storm, we got the experience of watching a doubleheader to decide the playoff hopes of both them and the New York Mets.  

Right after that, both the Braves and Mets had to turn around and go play playoff games less than 24 hours later. It was a turbulent finish to a turbulent Braves 2024 season. 

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Harrison Smajovits
HARRISON SMAJOVITS

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