Things looked hopeful for the Atlanta Braves offense on Tuesday night against the Nationals as they rattled off 12 runs. However, on Wednesday night, they reverted to the same lifeless offense fans have watched all season.
The team that broke records in 2023 has struggled to get on base and score runs most of this season. Atlanta is 18th in runs scored this year with 623 of them which is far less than the 947 they scored last season which led baseball.
As for on-base percentage, the team led baseball with a .344 team average in 2023 while they sport the 10th worst OBP (.306) in 2024. Atlanta hasn't scored runs because they're rarely on base enough to have the opportunity.
It's been one of the most frustrating experiences watching the 2024 Braves operate at the plate. Fans haven't been the only ones to notice this as Hall-of-Fame third baseman and Atlanta legend, Chipper Jones, also had some things to say about it.
Jones appeared on Corey Kluber's podcast Casa De Klub and left a scathing review of Atlanta's approach offensively this season. He talked about how frustrating his time working with the Braves has been.
Braves legend Chipper Jones leaves brutally honest review of team's offensive approach
Chipper started by saying "I can't stand giving away outs. I can't stand strikeouts. I can't deal with a guy on third with less than two outs not hitting a ground ball at shortstop or second base to get that run in. I can't stand every once in a while not laying down a bunt for your best hitter. All of these things that really help you accumulate numbers. They don't care."
No one was safe from his criticism either as he mentioned Alex Anthopoulos and the front office's philosophy when it comes to offense. Chipper stated, "Having worked with Alex Anthopoulos, they want slug and they want guys who get on base at a high clip. They don't promote enough, I think, the getting on base part. In order to score runs, you've gotta get those guys on base."
Chipper would be right about that as the numbers mentioned earlier on the team's runs scored and on-base percentage indicate. He served as a hitting consultant for the Braves last season but chose to sit out 2024 and not return in that role.
It's not surprising to hear Jones touch on how things have changed in the modern game. Most teams and front offices highly value hitting a lot of home runs and who has the best launch angle. It's rare to find a team that values getting on base and driving in runs without depending on homers.
The Braves are still in the top five with home runs hit in 2024 as they have hit 186 of them. That's a far cry from the 307 they slugged last season but that was going to be almost impossible to do two seasons in a row.
However, as fans should have expected, that didn't carry over into this season. Jones briefly touched on that as well, "When the market corrects, like it is this year, you have to do other things. Until recently, the last week or 10 days, the market has corrected and they have struggled. It's hard to watch."
Now, Chipper was fair and did mention injuries being a slight factor in the team's struggle. But that doesn't mean he's wrong about the team philosophy being detrimental. Almost every single bat in the offense has been terrible with their approaches at the plate. It never feels like anyone is just trying to get on base or put the ball in play to score runs. They swing hard and hope it leaves the yard which is unsustainable for a team to be successful.
Things have to change and soon if Atlanta hopes to get to the postseason. They are fighting for the final NL Wild Card spot right now and even if they get there, this approach will guarantee them an early exit.
Chipper was right to say all of the things he did as this is an organizational issue. The philosophy needs to be tweaked a bit so that this type of disappointing season doesn't happen again.
As Jones stated in the interview, "I don't watch as often as I want to because I find myself throwing flip-flops at the TV and just being frustrated." He's having the same viewing experience as fans and hopefully, we get a reprieve from that soon.