Atlanta Braves: Nick Markakis is Underrated and Angry
By Seth Carter
Why Nick Markakis?
Nick Markakis had recently undergone surgery on a herniated disc in his neck when he came to the Braves. He had just finished up a season in which he hit .276 with a .342 on-base percentage and earned the second Gold Glove of his career.
Markakis was not brought in to be a role player on a winning team. Everyone knew what this was, he was a little bit of star power and a lot of leadership on a team that just tore most of its core out…just one year removed from all of the hope that followed the 96-win season.
However, the Braves’ front office told Markakis they expected to be competitive again by 2017 or 2018, as he told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution near the end of the 2018 season.
Markakis believed enough in the blueprint to sign on for four years with the Braves.
What Were the Braves Getting?
He was never known as a power hitter. He was a terrific all-around hitter with some power. He slugged 23 homers in his second season with the Orioles in 2007 and that remains his career-high.
Players’ contributions can oftentimes get overlooked if they don’t consistently hit balls 450’ into the stands. Here’s a look at some of Markakis’ outstanding numbers during his time with the Orioles:
2006-2014
- 3rd Most Singles: 1,074 (behind Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki)
- 9th Most Doubles: 316
- 16th Most Runs Scored: 749
- 15th Highest OBP (players with at least 5,000 PAs): .358 (below Paul Konerko and Robinson Cano)
- 14th Highest AVG (players with at least 5,000 PAs): .290 (below Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes)
- 8th Lowest K% (players with at least 5,000 PAs): 13.0% (one spot ahead of Derek Jeter)
- 12th Highest Line-Drive % (players with at least 5,000 PAs): 20.4%
If you look past the homers, Markakis was a .290 hitter with a .358 OBP who had more doubles than every player in that time span except for eight dudes. He took walks and didn’t strikeout. This was a solid ballplayer.