In many ways, Martin Perez's success with the Atlanta Braves in 2026 doesn't make sense. Sure, veteran guile helps, but the fact remains that Perez was a non-roster invitee to spring training that almost every other team passed on and who also averages 89 mph with his fastball. On paper, Perez should not have been as important as he has for the Braves in 2026 on the field, but it is his character off the field that may help Atlanta coalesce ahead of the postseason.
All season long, the entire organization has praised Perez for his leadership and willingness to do anything and everything to help the team win. Perez has started on short rest and short notice, he yo-yoed back and forth from the minors to start the season to allow the Braves to swap fresh arms in, and he has done so while posting his best ERA (3.09) since his All-Star 2022 campaign.
As a result, it was kind of fitting that Perez started the game where the Braves clinched the NL East title on Sunday. However, it was Perez's post-game quote that may end up being a true rallying cry that perfectly encapsulates this Braves team when he said, "And we're not done yet.”
Today’s starting pitcher: Martín Pérez pic.twitter.com/Kk3Ztemc9X
— BravesVision (@BravesVisionTV) September 20, 2026
"And we're not done yet" is a perfect description of this Braves team's 2026 season
We have heard versions of Perez’s quote from a lot of players and teams over the years, and much of it has been pretty cliché. "It is just one game", "We have to put this in the rearview mirror", and "we have more work ahead of us" are all quotes that we have all heard a lot as baseball fans. However, Perez's answer was a bit more poignant than that.
How many times this season were there moments where it looked like the Braves' season could spiral out of control? Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep were both immediately hurt after the Braves didn't add much in the way of rotation depth in the offseason; Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. got hurt again; Jurickson Profar got popped for PEDs again; Austin Riley still isn't hitting much at all; and their signing of Ha-Seong Kim remains a disaster.
Any one of those things could have completely derailed Atlanta's season, but none of them did. The Braves began the season as the hottest team in baseball, encountered some speed bumps along the way, and Atlanta still managed to rebound from one of the worst Braves seasons in recent memory last year to claim the NL East title once again.
They were not done yet. The Braves are not done yet. The only question now is how far they can keep things going, but it may not be wise to bet against the Braves at this point.
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