Connect with us

Baseball

Little Ozzie Albies Swings Big Stick For Playoff-Bound Braves

Latino Sports writer Dan Schlossberg congratulates Ozzie Albies at the 2021 All-Star Game. Credit: Latino Sports

Ozzie Albies is living proof that big things come in small packages.

The switch-hitting second baseman of the Atlanta Braves leads the National League in extra-base hits even though he is generously listed as 5’8″ tall.

He’s more like 5’6″ – the Senior Circuit’s answer to Jose Altuve.

Like Altuve, who also happens to play second base, Ozzie is a complete package: speed, power, and defense.

He also bats first for the Braves after previously hitting second and even third this season. Once his close friend Ronald Acuña Jr. was lost for the year in mid-July with a torn ACL, Albies took over the top spot and ran with it.

Entering play Wednesday, he had 68 extra-base hits: six triples, 28 home runs, and 34 doubles – not bad for someone struggling to hit .260.

The 24-year-old Curaçao native led the league with 189 hits in 2019, when he tied his previous career peak with 24 home runs. Now he’s on pace to top 30 for the first time.

Though denied a well-deserved start in the All-Star Game by fans who stuffed the ballot box for Adam Frazier, since traded from Pittsburgh to San Diego, Albies went as a reserve for the second time. But his colleagues know he’s No. 1 at second base in both offense and defense.

The only rap on Albies is impatience at the plate. In his first 139 games, he had just 45 walks but 114 strikeouts. He’s a frequent first-ball swinger too.

Signed as a shortstop, he moved to second in the minors after Atlanta acquired former Vanderbilt star Dansby Swanson in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ozzie Albies works out before a game against the Mets at CitiField. Credit: Dan Schlossberg

Since he surfaced in 2017, Albies and Swanson have formed a formidable double-play tandem.

In fact, all four infielders on the Braves team might be the league’s best at their positions – at least on offense. The quartet has already passed 25 home runs apiece, a club record, but have a real shot at 30, a goal already reached by first baseman Freddie Freeman and third baseman Austin Riley.

Because of his willingness to play anywhere it will help the team, Albies has already been mentioned in the Most Valuable Player conversation. The problem he faces is competition from his own teammates, namely Freeman, Riley, and outfielder Adam Duvall.

Those players are the primary driving force keeping the Braves at the top of the National League East for the fourth straight season. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, their two top challengers, play the Braves at Truist Park during the final week of the season.

By then, however, it may be too late – thanks in large part to Ozzie Albies.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Facebook

Latest Article

More in Baseball