© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Braves Set Historic Offensive Mark Early in 2024 Season
The Atlanta Braves have done something in their first ten games that's pretty rare in baseball history.
The Atlanta Braves tied the all-time single season homer record last season, equaling the 2019 Minnesota Twins by launching 307 longballs.
But when it's cold, the ball doesn't fly as far, potentially explaining why Atlanta has but 14 homers on the 2024 season so far, 'only' third in the National League and fifth in all of basaball. (It's also because they've played only 10 games, tied for the second-lowest number of games in all of baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have avoided weather postponements and got two additional games in Korea to open 2024, have nineteen homers in 14 games.)
But there's one area with which Atlanta has excelled despite the low number of games, and that's hitting doubles - through their first ten games, the Braves have hit 31 doubles. Per Baseball Reference, they're only the thirteenth team to do that dating back to 1871.
Matt Olson, the league's home run leader in 2023 with 54, leads Atlanta with six doubles in the first ten games of the season. If you were curious, the all-time single-season doubles record is Earl Webb's 67 in 1931 for the Boston Red Sox.
And while Olson's on pace to finish with 96 doubles on the season, as the weather warms, several of those doubles will turn into homers. Olson's already sitting at three homers on the season, second place behind Marcell Ozuna's team-leading five.
Despite the team's below-average number of games played, the team has respectable showings in several counting stats like homers (tied for 4th with six other clubs), RBIs (2nd, with 67), and runs (tied for 4th, at 69). But when you look at rate stats, Atlanta's outpacing the rest of baseball in several:
Runs per game: 1st, at 6.90 (next closest is 6.45)
Batting average: 1st, at .306 (next closest is .280)
On-base percentage: 1st, at .368 (next closest is .364)
Slugging: 1st, at .512 (next closest is .455)
OPS: 1st, at .880 (next closest is .812)
OPS+: 1st, at 138 (next closest is 125)
And once Ronald Acuña Jr. gets going - he currently has no homers and only a .256 batting average - look for that production to skyrocket even more.