House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves well represented in the World Series… except for actually being there

By Alan Carpenter

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 21: Evan Gattis #11 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Brian McCann #16 after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 21, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 18: Alex Wood #57 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs during game four of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 18, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 18: Alex Wood #57 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs during game four of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 18, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles

Luis Avilan

Every time I hear this name, I keep thinking of a certain Julio Iglesias Christmas song.

Avilan was with Atlanta since being signed as an international (teen) free agent in 2005 out of his native town of Caracas, Venezuela.

He was worn out with the Braves with a lot of appearances between 2013 and 2015 (averaging 70 games per year) and was dealt to the Dodgers in the Infamous trade for Hector Olivera.  More on that in a sec.

This season, he’s been bouncing between the DL, the majors (mostly) and AAA – the latter of which is technically where he’s at right now.  Despite 46 innings in relief (61 games) and a 2.93 ERA, the bullpen-rich Dodgers found no room for him on their World Series roster… well, that and perhaps that there was some shoulder pain in September.

Alex Wood

More from Tomahawk Take

Yes, here’s the headliner on that aforementioned trade with the Dodgers.

Alex Wood’s throwing motion has always concerned most everyone who sees it, and thus he was included in this trade at the deadline 2 seasons ago.

Wood did miss some significant time in 2016 (only 14 games – 10 starts), but he’s been better this season (27 starts) while logging 152 innings.

He was brilliant early on, and starting fading a bit when the Braves faced him on July 21st.  On that might, Wood’s ERA jumped from 1.56 to 2.17 and reached 2.72 by the end of the year.

Still, the Dodgers were 20-7 in his starts.

In 1 post-season outing this year, Wood has a 5.79 ERA (3 earned runs in 4.2 innings vs. the Cubs in their Game 5 loss).

Still… we remember this kid fondly.

Next: Time to Retire?

But that’s the 6 ex-Braves that have had a hand in helping out the World series contenders… and now you also know how they got where they are.

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