Yes, it has only been five years since the Braves have made the postseason, but for the fanbase that has seen 14 consecutive division titles, two World Series appearances in that time, and have witnessed all-time greats come through the organization; five years may as well be an eternity. The last four seasons for Braves fans have been nothing but miserable having finished with a record under .500 in each season since their 2013 postseason appearance. What much of Braves Country didn't realize was that some of these miserable times were helping build something far better than any of us could have hoped for.
Around midway through 2014 as Atlanta was struggling, the Braves rebuilding process began by releasing Dan Uggla and signed some guy named Ronald Acuña Jr. as an amateur free agent. In the offseason of that year more big names on the Braves roster were let go as Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis were traded. Current Braves ace, Mike Foltynewicz, came over to Atlanta in the Evan Gattis trade. While many in Braves Country did not understand many of the moves made in this time frame, we now see it has helped shapshape this club into this special team we are now witnessing in 2018. The beauty of it all? This is just the beginning as this talented Braves team is the youngest team in all of baseball headed by Acuña Jr and Ozzie Albies. So could this be a dynasty in its infancy stage? We shall see, but there is no reason not to think that multiple titles could be coming to this revived franchise with a proud and revitalized fan base. As a fellow member of Braves Country its good to see these baby Braves bring the franchise back to lif and bring us back to the postseason.
The long wait ends tonight as the Braves, led by Acuña Jr and Freddie Freeman, make the trip to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers in the NLDS. First pitch is scheduled for 8:37 PM EST on MLB Network. Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound for Atlanta while the Dodgers will be sending out Hyun-Jin Ryu for the Game 1 start.
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