Joey Bart Showing He Belongs with Hometown Braves

It's common for kids to dream up moments where they come up big for their favorite teams growing up. Few get to do it for real. Joey Bart can say he's one of them.

The Buford, Ga., native delivered for the Atlanta Braves with a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. The Braves went on to blank the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0.

Joey Bart hits a go-ahead homer in his return to Pittsburgh! pic.twitter.com/kzHvPSnD5a
— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2026

He had been casually robbed of a home run by his former teammate, Bryan Reynolds, in the top of the third inning, so the next one had to be out of reach. The follow-up attempt saw him belt it 422 feet, which was the fourth-longest home run of his career.

"Just trying to get my swing off and be aggressive when it's time," Bart said in a postgame interview with BravesVision. "Reynolds is one of my good buddies who robbed me there. So, you know, that kind of sucked, but I was able to make it happen late in the game."

The overall numbers aren't going to stand out, but he's showing that he can at least be a threat at the plate from time to time.

Where Bart has truly been able to establish himself is by stabilizing the catcher position behind Drake Baldwin. For the entire season, the Braves have been rotating through options, many of which haven't been able to provide any sense of offensive production.

"I talked about it right away when he got to us. We got some presence behind the plate," manager Walt Weiss said. "And he can hit a ball in the seats like he did. He almost had two. But, yeah, he's been a nice pickup."

They had the chance to get Bart; they took it, and he's fit like a piece of the puzzle. The clubhouse has had zero trouble embracing him.

"He's a Georgia boy," Holmes said. "You know, I feel like he got pretty acclimated real quick. He's a great guy, a great teammate, great catcher."

Through 10 games at catcher, Braves pitchers have a 3.85 ERA and a 2.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The latter stat is on par with Drake Baldwin's 2.54 K-to-BB. Pitchers are clicking with him on the field alongside meshing with him in the clubhouse.

It'll be interesting to see what his future holds as Sean Murphy works his way back. The Braves could use a third catcher. They didn't retain their third option last time, sending Jonah Heim to the Athletics. However, maybe they change their tune this time, just to keep hometown option around.

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