Atlanta Braves Affiliate Before and After Bus Crash

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Nov 7, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Lucas Sims during the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlanta Braves High-A Affiliate Carolina’s 2015 Bus Crash

Early in the morning of May 12, 2015 the bus carrying the Atlanta Braves high-A affiliate Carolina Mudcats, their players and coaches, and many employees flipped over on its side as it was unable to handle a curve at roughly 3:45am. The team’s bus driver ended up being charged with exceeding a safe speed, which doesn’t exactly mean speeding, but more like over driving conditions.

The Carolina team was one of the best in the minor leagues at the time of the crash, second in the Carolina League in record, and they struggled to finish the season. Many articles have been written about the struggles a number of players had after the crash.

To get a perspective, take a look at these two videos. The first is a grouping of clips of the wreckage, which can be quite disturbing, so please be advised before watching. The second is a news report of the accident:

Next: Team Effects

On discussion of a TT commenter, I took the time to research the before and after crash numbers for the team and individual players. We’ll start with the effects on the team numbers. This is all presented as information for review and informational purpose, not a major editorial, but there is plenty to discuss here, so please feel free to comment below!

Team Effects

After a 3-0 win over Salem on the 11th, the Mudcats loaded their bus sitting with the second best record in the entire Carolina League at 19-12. The team’s winning percentage was .613. The team finished the season with 71-68, and specifically, they collapsed in the rest of their first half, finishing with a first half record of 34-35, so 15-23 after the crash.

The Carolina pitchers finished that May 11th game with a 2.90 ERA. Their staff led the league in ERA, and they also had excellent overall numbers. In the end, the Mudcats finished fourth in the league in pitching with a 3.38 team ERA.

Next: Effects On Pitchers

Carolina hitters had worked through the 11th with a .252 average, certainly not a world beating number, but doing just enough to put runs on the board. They finished the season with a .245 batting average.

Feb 23, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Mauricio Cabrera runs during spring training workouts at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

Effects on Individual Pitchers

More from Tomahawk Take

We’re going to look at individual pitchers, just looking at pitchers before the crash and after without real comment outside of listing how long it was before they pitched again. We’ll also look at any guys who may have “benefited” from the accident.

Brandon Barker covered the Mudcats start on May 16th after the accident before returning to Rome for two more starts before coming back up to Carolina for the rest of the summer, totaling an 8-5 record in 17 starts on a 3.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 96 IP with a 24/64 BB/K ratio.

Tyler Brosius may have been the most affected. He suffered a concussion in the accident and never pitched again in 2015. He finished with a 3.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 5 starts and 27 innings with a 7/17 BB/K ratio.

Mauricio Cabrera was in his first year as a full-time reliever, and on May 11th, he was sporting a 1.54 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with a 6/11 BB/K ratio in 11 2/3 innings. He finished with a 5.52 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with a 17/28 BB/K ratio over 31 IP in his time in Carolina overall. He did not miss any time, however.

Yean Carlos Gil had a 3.27 ERA over 6 starts and 33 innings with a 12/24 BB/K ratio, in spite of an 0-5 record. He did not miss any time, but he completely went off the rails, putting up a 9.93 ERA over his next 7 starts and 29 innings with a 15/18 BB/K ratio before being demoted to Rome.

Steve Janas had an exceptional start to 2015, sporting a 0.56 ERA over 5 starts and 32 innings, with a 2/23 BB/K ratio before the crash. He did not return to the mound until June 27th, and he walked two in his first start back after walking two in his first 5 starts of the season, after which he was promoted. He then had some significant control struggles after being promoted to AA Mississippi.

David Peterson was having an excellent season as the co-closer with Andy Otero, racking up 3 saves in his first 10 appearances, totaling 16 innings and a 1.13 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 2/10 BB/K ratio. He allowed 2 earned runs over his first 10 appearances. He did not return until June 8th, and when he did return, he allowed 5 earned runs over his first 3 appearances after returning.

Lucas Sims started the season extremely poor, but in his last two starts before the crash, he’d totaled 13 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 10 strikeouts. He then did not return to the Carolina mound until July 5th. He was kept on a pitch count his first two starts, where he gave up 6 earned runs total over 6 1/3 innings with 7 walks and 4 strikeouts, and after his first solid start back, he was promoted to AA, where he ended the season on an absolute tear.

Andrew Thurman made 6 starts before the crash, posting 32 1/3 innings, a 2.51 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 7/23 BB/K ratio. He did not return to the Carolina mound again until July 18th. He struggled through 5 more starts with Carolina before being promoted to AA Mississippi to finish the season. With Carolina after the crash in his 5 starts, he totaled 25 innings, a 5.40 ERA, 1.16 BB/K, and a 4/20 BB/K ratio.

Blair Walters made his second start of the season in the last game before the crash, and he totaled 18 2/3 innings over 9 appearances on the season with a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 4/15 BB/K ratio. The Mudcats were slowly easing him into the rotation before the crash, but they couldn’t ease any more after the crash, and while Walters didn’t miss any time, he was left in for at least 5 innings for 11 straight starts after the crash, only one of which did he leave without allowing an earned run after allowing earned runs in only two appearances total before the crash.

Seth Webster quite literally was signed due to the bus crash, making one start at Rome on May 18th to get himself into the system and then getting into Carolina to fill a depleted rotation, and he established himself as a great junk ball control artist, allowing multiple walks in only two appearances the entire season over 20 Carolina appearances.

Next: Effects on Hitters

Jorge Zavala was promoted to assist in the bullpen after the crash, returned to Rome for 3 more games, and then he moved back up to Carolina on May 28th for the rest of the season.

Effects on Individual Hitters

Keith Curcio had certainly started hot for the Rome Braves, but the injuries left a hole in the lineup, and it led to his promotion coming at that moment, making his first start for the Mudcats on May 15th, the first game after the crash.

Carlos Franco, interestingly, spiked his performance after the crash. He was slashing .235/.296/.378 with 3 home runs and a 9/21 BB/K over 29 games and 108 plate appearances. After returning from the crash, he hit .259/.360/.410 the rest of the season with 8 home runs and a 57/87 BB/K ratio over 105 games and 422 plate appearances.

Sal Giardina was signed after the crash and brought in as a catcher, though he did not perform well, hitting .185/.232/.219.

Sean Godfrey was another who played well after the crash, with a .286/.324/.398 slash line before the crash with 2 home runs and 4 steals in 27 games and 105 plate appearances. He then slashed .317/.336/.444 over the next 35 games and 148 plate appearances with 3 home runs and 6 stolen bases to earn a promotion to Mississippi.

Connor Lien went absolutely nuts after the crash, going from .278/.301/.422 with 2 home runs and 3 steals over 27 games and 95 plate appearances before the crash. He finished with a .287/.357/.413 slash with 7 home runs and 31 steals over 100 games and 409 plate appearances.

Dustin Peterson was likely the most affected hitter. He was incredible before the crash, hitting .314/.392/.448 with 3 HR and 2 SB in 30 games and 120 plate appearances. He did not return until June 2nd, and his swing was never right the rest of the season. He hit .232/.294/.317 the rest of the way with 5 HR and 4 SB over 88 games and 378 plate appearances.

Next: Spring Training TV Schedule

Jake Schrader really struggled to keep up his early season pace when he returned after the crash as well. Before the crash, Schrader was hitting .333/.387/.638 with 4 home runs over 20 games and 75 plate appearances. He missed a week of games, returning on May 22nd. He hit .253/.296/.442 with 11 home runs over 83 games and 331 plate appearances.

I hope you enjoyed this look back and have an idea of what the crash did for the entire team in Carolina in 2015. Let’s hope to keep the “tragedies” to the field in 2016 and localized to one player at a time if they must happen!!

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