Ozzie Albies Has Been Special In 1st Quarter Of 2018
By W. M. Lawson
The Atlanta Braves (26-16) currently lead their Division, and look poised to contend all year. No one in the clubhouse has been more integral than Ozzie Albies.
It’s not exactly making the news or breaking a story to say that Ozzie Albies has been good for the NL East Division-leading Atlanta Braves. Everybody who knows anything about these Braves knows this. But this Chicago Cubs series, that winds down tonight at STP, has been a perfect illustration, and when you really look at it, his season, thus far, has been truly impressive.
Ozhaino Albies, the 21-year-old from Willemstad, Curacao, has had a breakout year. You know this. Most knew that he was going to be a pretty good player, but his improvement year over year is something.
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Last year, on Memorial Day weekend, I went with family to see the Gwinnett Stripers play some ball. Newcomb was on the bump. Camargo was at 3rd. It was fun, because a bunch of these new kids were playing, and it’s exciting to see them live. Besides, if you don’t like baseball on Memorial Day, I don’t trust you. Never will.
Ozzie Albies was on 2nd that day. Dude had a pretty good day if memory serves loyally. But it wasn’t anything special. Fast forward to Memorial Day a year later, and the word one would use to describe what Albies has done, thus far, is “special”.
Think about this. Ozzie Albies currently leads the National League with 30 extra-base hits. Not the Division, but the entire National League. Dude added to that total last night against the Cubbies with a Double and a Triple.
Dude is tied for the National League lead for Total Bases. He’s tied for the NL Lead in Doubles. He’s tied for the NL lead in Triples.
That’s not the eye-opener, as it were. Ozzie Albies is currently tied for the lead in all of MLB for Home Runs with 13. That’s right. The 5 Ft, 8 In, 2nd Baseman who is 21 years old is tied with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado for HR leader in all of MLB (along with a few others).
Ronald Acuna Jr. got most of the love from the press early on, and the kid has played well. He’s a beast. Freeman, Inciarte, and Markakis have received rightful praise for their play. The Pitching Staff will always get ink spilled and gums clacking on sports talk radio.
But, Ozzie Albies takes a back seat to no one on this team in terms of contribution and worth, heading into 2018 Memorial Day weekend.
It is amazing how much better dude has gotten in a year. It’s really crazy when you consider his age, and how much baseball is ahead of him.