The Braves Have Done Something for the First Time Since They Were the Boston Beaneaters

The Braves possess the best record in baseball by virtue of their electric 25-10 start out of the gates. They enjoy an 8 1/2 game lead in the National League East as no other team—including the disappointing Mets and Phillies—has managed to play .500 ball. In short, they couldn't have asked for a better beginning to a year.

This is the first time the franchise has won 25 of its first 35 games since 1892. Things were slightly different back then. The Spanish-American War had not yet been fought. Grover Cleveland was getting his ducks in a row with hopes to become the next president. The radio was only a glimmer in Guglielmo Marconi's eye. And the baseball team was named the Boston Beaneaters.

Those Beaneaters could really play. With the famed King Kelly behind the dish and Herman Long and Joe Nash providing tremendous offense while anchoring the left side of the infield, Boston cruised to a 102-48 record to go along with two ties. They completely overpowered the Cleveland Spiders in the World Series by posting five wins and one tie in six contests. All Kid Nichols and Jack Stivetts managed to do was combine for 70 wins, 866 2/3 innings and 94 complete games. If they ever experienced any arm trouble they did not get an x-ray as the first one of those was done in 1895 and it took some time for news of the Bavarian breakthrough to reach America.

These Braves, however, have the ability to know just how well they are playing. Someone quickly researched their best start ever and, boom, now everyone is talking Beaneater baseball. We have sortable stats online that show just how widespread the offensive production has been. Ozzie Albies, Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II are all in the top-8 in average in the National League. Matt Olson is having a spectuclar campaign as he sits at .299 and atop the league in both home runs (11) and RBIs (31). Baldwin is second in the latter category with 29.

No other team in the sport is close to matching Atlanta's 5.86 runs per game with the Cubs sitting a distant second with 5.44. These routine explosions have happened without the typical great production from Ronald Acuña Jr. The outfielder has missed some time with injury and is slashing .252/.362/.378 with only two home runs in 34 games. It hasn't mattered that he's been rather pedestrian and that fact should strike fear into everyone else in baseball.

The pitching has also been magnificent. At 37, Chris Sale looks as nasty as ever en route to an NL-high six victories, 2.14 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Bryce Elder has been a revelation and carries a 3-1 record to go along with a paltry 1.88 ERA. To put the cherry on top of things, the bullpen has combined to put up a 3.22 ERA, which is fourth in baseball, on the strength of exceptional work from Dylan Lee, Tyler Kinley, Robert Suárez and Raisel Iglesias. And if all that isn't enough, Atlanta is eighth in team fielding percentage as Acuña and Harris are well above average in the outfield and Olson is as slick as they come at first base.

So yeah, combine all those factors and you have the most productive opening to a season in 134 years. There is much to celebrate and much to look forward to, including the return of Spencer Strider from injury that could shore up an already strong rotation. He's probably not going to log anything that looks like the stat lines of either Kid Nichols or Jack Stivetts, but not long ago he was one of the best pitchers in baseball.

It's shaping up to be a relatively stress-free year for the Braves if they can simply continue playing winning ball. Through 35 games they don't have a glaring flaw and appear to be a tough out for anyone who draws them in the playoffs. Where, we assure you, there will be no ties.

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