Atlanta Braves Highlights, News, and Tickets
It’s been yet another amazing season for the Atlanta Braves in 2023. Just one year removed from their last World Series title in 2021, the Braves are arguably the best team in the National League and a serious World Series contender again. It seems like every piece of Atlanta Braves news this year has been positive, making fans eager to get their hands on Atlanta Braves tickets and enjoy the ride of another championship push firsthand. Let’s take a look back at how the Braves got to this point in 2023 and what might lie ahead for the Braves and their fans for the rest of the season.
Quick Start
The 2023 Atlanta Braves were quick to show the rest of baseball that they mean business. The Braves started the season 6-1 and won 14 of their first 18 games. Even with the Mets and Phillies both looking like potential contenders in the NL East, the Braves proved early in the season that they are still the team to beat in the division. By the early part of May, Atlanta was 25-11. Even after a rough stretch during the latter part of May, the Braves finished the month 33-23.
Taking Control
During the month of June, the Braves took complete control of the NL East and announced themselves as the premier team in the National League. Atlanta was 21-4 in June, including a 13-1 home record. Between June 3 and July 3, the Braves had three separate winning streaks of at least seven games. Despite a couple of rough patches in late July and early August, it didn’t matter because Atlanta had already built an insurmountable lead atop the NL East, all but guaranteeing the Braves a playoff spot midway through the season.
Multiple MVP Candidates
Atlanta’s success in 2023 has come amidst some injuries and inconsistency to the team’s pitching staff. But the Braves have proven to have more than enough offensive firepower to overcome those issues. This is because the Braves have multiple MVP candidates in Matt Olson and Ronald Acuna Jr. Olson is having the best season of his career and looks poised to lead the National League in both home runs and RBIs. He’s on pace to hit over 50 home runs and has an OPS of around 1.000. Those numbers put Olson in a prime position to beat out former Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman as the MVP in the National League.
At the same time, Acuna is having a phenomenal year as well. After battling through injuries in recent seasons, Acuna is fully healthy and living up to his potential. He also has an OPS of around 1.000 and is leading the race to finish second behind Miami’s Luis Arraez for the batting title. With nearly 30 home runs and over 50 stolen bases midway through August, Acuna is a safe bet to join the 30-30 club and has an outside chance of joining the exclusive 40-40 club while also leading the majors in stolen bases.
At the Deadline
Despite already running away with the NL East, the Braves didn’t rest on their laurels at the trade deadline. Instead, they prepared themselves for a deep run in October. Atlanta bolstered its bullpen by trading for Brad Hand and Pierce Johnson. The Braves also added to their overall depth by acquiring infielder Nicky Lopez, a move that proved useful when Ozzie Albies went on the IL in August. They may not have been headline-grabbing deals, but the Braves certainly improved themselves at the trade deadline.
The Road Ahead
With such a big lead atop the NL East, the Braves are more or less preparing for thee offseason with more than a month left in the regular season. To be fair, the Dodgers still have a chance to catch Atlanta as the top seed in the National League playoffs. The Braves will visit the Dodgers for a four-game series in late August and early September. Those games figure to be important in deciding what team is the top seed and gets home-field advantage if the two teams cross paths in the NLCS, which happened in both 2020 and 2021. In a way, the rest of Atlanta’s season is going to be all about preparing for that potential showdown with the Dodgers and ensuring the Braves are ready for the postseason.
A Visit to Truist Park
When the playoffs arrive, every seat in Truist Park figures to be filled. There will be no bad seat in the house, which is why playoff baseball is so amazing. However, the Braves still have plenty of regular-season games left on their schedule between now and the end of the season. Fans should be just as eager to get a seat for those games to watch this dynamic and dominant Atlanta team play in person. Seats right behind home plate and the two dugouts in sections 1-9, 17-34, and 116-133 are understandably in high demand.
However, there’s nothing wrong with the view at Truist Park from 300 and 400-level sections. Tickets in these sections are remarkably affordable for the remainder of the regular season, especially for a team like the Braves. In other words, there are plenty of chances for fans to find great deals on last-minute Braves tickets during the remainder of the 2023 season.