If Alec Bohm was not called safe on a play at the plate in April, the Braves and their fans — in the ballpark and on social media — might not have voiced their displeasure as vociferously as they did Tuesday when another challenged call on a play at the plate went against the Braves in a loss to the New York Yankees.
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But the Bohm call did happen and hasn’t been forgotten. And so Tuesday, when Freddie Freeman was called out at the plate, turning a would-be tying run into the third out of the fifth inning in a 5-4 loss to the Yankees, fans at Truist Park erupted in a chorus of boos after the call was made, and again, even louder, after the call was upheld upon review.
The Braves were losing 4-2 and had two runners on base when Austin Riley singled to center. Ozzie Albies scored and Freeman also raced around from first base on the play, going for the tying run.
Multiple replay angles appeared to show Freeman’s foot touched the plate on his perfectly executed hook slide before he was tagged in the torso by Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez.
But after Braves manager Brian Snitker challenged the call, the field umpires put on their headsets, talked to the umpire review team in New York, and after the boos grew with each angle of the replay shown on the scoreboard during the delay, home-plate umpire Chris Conroy signaled out. Again.
“We all thought he was safe, but they called him out,” Albies said. “So I don’t know what to say on that. … You can clearly see he’s safe, and they called him out.”
Snitker said, “I thought he was safe when I saw the replay (on the scoreboard). I thought he beat the throw. I haven’t watched the replay yet (on TV). … I saw a still that looked like he was safe.”
Call upheld. Just as the call was upheld April 11 in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park. Only that time, Bohm was called safe on the play at the plate, when replays seemed to show — quite clearly, actually — that his foot never touched home plate. That was the ninth inning, when Bohm tagged up on a flyout in a tied game.
The safe call made it a sacrifice fly and Bohm was credited with the decisive run in a 7-6 win that was televised by ESPN.
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After the Freeman out call was upheld Tuesday, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted, “Replay goes against the Braves. Who knows why.”
Moments later, Olney added in another tweet, “I was there. Still waiting for Bohm to touch home plate.”
Both calls, as well as many others over the years, led veteran Braves pitcher Charlie Morton to reiterate something that other players have said is wrong with the replay system. Something that seems fixable, if the review person or persons made the call without any knowledge of the initial call made on the field, or at least without consideration for the initial call. Just review it and make the call based on what is shown on replay.
“I don’t know how many years we’ve been doing replay now, but that happens,” said Morton, who gave up six hits and four runs with no walks and nine strikeouts in five innings Tuesday. “It just happens where you see something up on the board and you see the replay on TV — they show it and you think you see something that someone else didn’t see. I really think that the (umpires) on the field, they’re just trying to do the best job that they can — balls or strikes, out or safe, I don’t question that one bit. I do think though when there’s a close play at the plate or something like that, there’s an obvious recognition that there was a close play from all parties. So the one thing I do wonder about is why the initial call bears any weight.
“That’s the only problem right now with the replay, is that I really think the call on the field just means a little too much.”
Infielders approaching historic feat
The Braves’ infield is approaching a historic feat of home run hitting, and they believe it’s due partly to their skipper treating the concept of load management like, well, a load of you-know-what.
Their infielders — Freeman, Albies, Riley and Dansby Swanson — have played every game in which they’ve been healthy enough to do so this season. And that’s been virtually every day.
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They need only three Albies home runs to become the second infield in major-league history to have at least 25 homers from all four infielders, joining the 2008 Marlins infield.
“I was once told that the best ability was availability, and I feel like this year we just lace ’em up every day,” said Swanson, who has done just that, playing in all 126 Braves games — the most among major-league shortstops — including 125 starts.
Freeman leads MLB first basemen with 125 games played, including 124 starts. Riley is tied for the lead among third basemen with 125 games played, 122 starts (two at first base). And Albies leads NL second basemen with 124 games played and started, one game behind Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield.
“We lace ’em up, we go out there, we compete,” Swanson said. “I’m proud of the guys around me for doing the same thing.”
Snitker said he appreciates being able to consistently write his lineup card with those four in it basically every day. It’s an old-school approach but one that has worked well with this group.
Freeman and Riley have 27 homers apiece, Swanson has 25, and Albies 22. Those four also rank as the Braves’ top four active leaders in OPS, led by Riley’s .911 (after his three-hit game Tuesday) and Freeman’s .903. Swanson has an .818 OPS and Albies is at .796. Albies had two hits Tuesday, including a two-out single in the ninth inning when he beat out an infield hit to load the bases against closer Aroldis Chapman.
Jorge Soler then drew a walk to bring in a run, chasing Chapman, before Freeman flied out at the edge of the left-field warning track against lefty Wandy Peralta to give the Yankees a two-game sweep and an 11-game winning streak.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why these guys are doing so well, is because they play every day,” Snitker said of his durable, highly productive infield. “They prepare, they play every day, they’re good at managing their own workloads. And I think that’s one of the keys to their success. I look at them and to me it looks like, to a man, they’re getting stronger (as the season goes on).”
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It’s far more common, especially in recent years, for managers to give players an occasional day off, whether or not they’re struggling or appear tired.
But Snitker trusts these infielders to let him know if they could use a day off. He doesn’t see any point in having an arbitrary schedule of rest for these four, who’ve all played strong defense in addition to ranking among offensive leaders at their positions.
“I think if they’re healthy, they need to play,” Snitker said. “And like I say, I trust those guys. I don’t need to put any limitations … These guys, they know what they’re doing. They know how to do this every day.”
While the approach of playing them every day is from the old school, allowing them to skip batting practice or infield practice before games is not traditional, particularly for players in their mid-20s rather than late-in-their-career veterans.
Freeman is 31, but Riley and Albies are only 24, and Swanson is 27. However, all have earned the trust of their manager that they know when and how frequently they need to take infield or batting practice on the field rather than hit in the indoor cage, especially during the Atlanta summer.
“They know what they’re doing,” Snitker said. “The most important thing they’re going to do over the course of this day is play that game, and however they’ve got to do it — stay off their legs; they don’t need to be on the field. I look out there and I see Austin, Dansby … they know when to go out there and do that, and they know how to keep themselves ready, and what they need to do to prepare.”
It all comes down to managing their own workload, rather than the manager trying to do it for them.
“The only time I want to see them is when that umpire says ‘play ball’ and they run out there and get ready for the first pitch,” Snitker said. “Because I know they’re going to take care of themselves, and they’re going to be ready, and they’re gonna do the work.”
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The players who are in the lineup every day know what Snitker expects of them. They also understand the difference between playing with some discomfort or fatigue and playing injured.
“I think everyone has the goal of coming in to play every game that they possibly can,” Swanson said. “Some years, maybe that is 162. Some years maybe it’s 150. But every day we show up, we have our good routines that we stick to, and we understand that at times when you’re a little bit tired, maybe how you can tweak it a little bit, when you need to make adjustments with your routine.
“It’s been awesome to be a part of. It’s a special group of guys, and we’re just going to keep it rolling.”
The 2008 Marlins infield nearly had four with 30 homers. The group featured Hanley Ramírez (33 home runs), Dan Uggla (32), Mike Jacobs (32) and Jorge Cantú (29).
Uggla was traded to the Braves after the 2010 season and hit 36 home runs in 2011. He’s the last Braves middle infielder to hit at least 30 in a season.
Freeman and Riley are tied for fifth among NL leaders along with teammate Adam Duvall, whose 27 homers included 22 with the Marlins.
Swanson already has 25 percent more homers than the previous franchise record for shortstops, Denis Menke’s 20 homers with the 1964 Milwaukee Braves. Nearly half (12) of Swanson’s homers have come in the last 38 games, including five (and 14 RBIs) in his past 11 games.
Anderson nears return to rotation
Ian Anderson is expected to return to the Braves’ rotation for Sunday’s homestand finale against the San Francisco Giants. He certainly looks ready.
Anderson, who went on the injured list July 16 with shoulder inflammation, made his fourth Triple-A rehab start Tuesday and had nine strikeouts in five innings against Nashville, allowing three hits, one run and two walks. He threw 90 pitches and retired the last eight batters he faced.
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The right-hander would be on regular rest if he pitches Sunday.
For the three-game series against the Giants, the Braves have only Max Fried listed as a probable starter. Fried will start Friday’s opener, with “TBA” currently listed for the Saturday and Sunday slots.
Anderson’s overall statistics were modest in four rehab starts with Gwinnett — a 3.68 ERA with nine walks and 20 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings — but he finished strong in his last two.
The Braves cared mostly about he felt, not how good the results were against minor-league hitters jacked up to get a hit off the rehabbing big-league pitcher. To that end, Anderson reported no lingering issues with the shoulder.
For the record, after giving up five runs, five hits and six walks in 5 1/3 innings during his first two rehab starts, Anderson allowed just seven hits, one run and three walks with 15 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings over his past two starts.
“I’m excited just to have him around more,” Morton said of Anderson’s pending return. “Obviously because he’s a great pitcher, and I love watching him pitch, too. Not just how he’s contributing, but I love watching the guy pitch, and I love spending time with him. It’s going to be an all-around great addition to have him back. I’m really glad to see he’s doing well.”
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
