The Atlanta Braves made a very questionable decision, allowing both Charlie Morton and Max Fried to walk away at the end of the 2024 season. Without both veterans last season, the team had zero chance of making it into the postseason and ending the year as well as they did. With this in mind, it was always setting itself up for failure, opting to let both players walk away believing the return of Spencer Strider would cover up all concerns.
This has been made all the worse by injuries to Chris Sale, AJ Smith-Shawver, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Reynaldo Lopez. All of this set the stage for Friday night's start for Charlie Morton against his old team.
Morton had an incredibly dismal start to the season before becoming one of the league's more reliable options over the last weeks of the season. Whether it is the velocity or break on his pitches, the veteran continues to defy Father Time.
That is exactly what the right-hander did on Friday night, shutting down the Braves' lineup save a late homer from rookie catcher Drake Baldwin. For the rest of the lineup, Morton dominated with surprising velocity and nasty breaks on his off-speed pitches. It served as a reminder of what the Braves let walk away.
Charlie Morton Talks About How Special the Braves Are
After the game, Morton talked about his old team and how important and special Atlanta was to his career, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner. This isn't surprising for a player who is a team-focused player intent on doing everything in his power to offer any roster a consistent chance to win. It is this trait that helped set the stage for Morton's contributions to the Braves in the team's 2021 World Series run.
"It’s a special place for me. It just is. I grew up paying attention to the pitchers in the ‘90s and the team in the ‘90s, and then getting drafted and, obviously, I’m going through the system and playing in all the small towns that we played in. And then getting to come back here, I think Atlanta and the Braves organization will always be a special place, a special team for me."Charlie Morton
While Morton would be lost for much of the series against the Astros the starter made his mark. Taking a liner off the leg and continuing to pitch with a fracture made sure the veteran is forever remembered in franchise history. It was such a defining moment for what Morton brought to the Braves and a reminder of what the team let walk away.
Morton not only beat the Braves but did so against the team's best pitcher with Spencer Strider on the mound for Atlanta. It was a dominating effort that turned back the clock to who Morton has been and served as a frustrating reminder of what the front office decided to let walk away.