The Leadership
Markakis appears to be a quiet, confident, lead-by-example player. He will allow his voice to be heard when necessary. Case in point: Toward the end of the 2017 season, president of baseball operations, John Hart, laid into the manager Brian Snitker after a game. By all accounts, it was an audible undressing of the Braves’ manager.
Upon hearing what was said in the verbal lashing, Nick Markakis made it clear that if the president of baseball operations ever spoke to the manager like that again, he would kick his a–.
Markakis is entering his sixth season with the Braves. He has been a guiding light as young players transitioned into veterans themselves. Only two players remain from the major league roster in Nick Markakis’ first season with the Braves, Freddie Freeman and Mike Foltynewicz.
Brave Production
Here’s a look at some of his numbers compared to the rest of the league since he joined the Braves in 2015.
2015-2019
- T-6th Most Doubles: 183 (tied with Freddie Freeman)
- 15th Most Hits: 803 (Three behind Joey Votto and ahead of J.D. Martinez, Anthony Rizzo, and Freddie Freeman)
- 29th highest batting average (players with min. 2,400 PAs): .283 (ahead of Kris Bryant and Jose Ramirez)
- T-28th in BB% (min. 2,400 PAs): 10.2% (tied with Mookie Betts and ahead of Jose Ramirez and J.D. Martinez)
- 14th Lowest K% (min. 2,400 PAs): 13.5% (just below Mookie Betts)
- T-28th in OBP (min. 2,400 PAs): .359 (tied with Brandon Belt and ahead of Lorenzo Cain and Jose Ramirez)
- 18th highest line-drive % (2400 PAs): 23.2% (0.1 better than Mike Trout)
As you can see, Markakis has been an on-base machine with who hits for a high average and sprays line-drives. He may not hit a lot of homers but he continues to convert those drives in the gap into doubles. He’s a patient hitter who rarely strikes out. He’s been the epitome of a professional hitter.
With the addition of Marcell Ozuna and the healthy return of Ender Inciarte, where does Markakis fit on the Braves in 2020?