The longtime Atlanta Braves center-fielder, Ender Inciarte, looks to officially be closing the chapter on his run with the team.
Ender Inciarte was a fixture out in centerfield for many years with the Atlanta Braves. It all came to an end a few days ago when the Braves designated Inciarte for assignment.
Today, Ender posted this heartfelt message on his Twitter and other social media accounts:
I love you and thank you Atl! 🤍🤍 pic.twitter.com/jldOfP0oqV
— Ender Inciarte (@enderinciartem) July 29, 2021
Alan Carpenter wrote about the former All-Star a few days ago. You can check that article out here.
The past two seasons have not been kind to Ender, as he had an OPS+ of 34 in 2020 and 54 in 2021. He also slugged just .250 and .316.
Those 2020 struggles led to Ender being left off of the postseason roster in favor of top prospect Cristian Pache. He had this to say about being left off back in March:
"“I was really sad, I’m not going to lie. It was one of the toughest moments I’ve had to deal with since I became a professional baseball player. But you learn from everything. Obviously, I didn’t have my best year. I wasn’t at my best over the course of the year, and when you’re competing, you’re trying to put the best team out there. The Braves were trying to win a championship.”"
The one constant that Inciarte has always had in his career, and the tool that could get him another opportunity in the league, is his defense. From 2016-2020, he had fielding percentages of .989, .993, .987, .993, and .986.
He also took home three straight Gold Glove awards from 2016-2018. His best season overall was 2017, where he received an All-Star nod along with his second GG and finished the year with a .304/.350/.409 slash line with over 200 hits.
The Venezuelan native provided some great highlights in his time with the Braves, especially in rough rebuilding years like 2016 and 2017. His most iconic came against the New York Mets where he robbed what looked like a Yoenis Céspedes walk-off home run:
We wish Ender well with the rest of his career and look forward to many more incredible outfield catches in the future. Go Braves.