The baseball season may have been shortened to 60 games, but the Braves’ 2020 season wasn’t short of accomplishments. The Braves clinched the 20th division title in franchise history this season — the most in major league history. Here is a sampling of the Braves' successes this regular season:
THE RECORD. Atlanta won the NL East for a third-straight season with a 35-25 record. The team maintained the division lead for 55 days, following a 4-0 win over Marlins on Aug 16. (During Atlanta’s 1995 World Series run they held division lead for 91 days.) The Braves went 19-11 at Truist Park, going 6-2-2 in their 10 home series.
THE MANAGER. Brian Snitker — in his 44th season with the Braves organization — became the first team manager to take the team postseason in three of his first four full seasons. (Snitker was named interim manager on May 17, 2016, after the firing of Fredi Gonzalez.)
THE ROSTER. The Braves used 48 players this season (two fewer than last season). Shortstop Dansby Swanson and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna started all 60 games. They were among nine players across baseball to start every game of the truncated season.
THE PITCHING. The Braves had 29 players pitch in a game, which included six rookies — Ian Anderson, Tucker Davidson, Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright and Huascar Ynoa — and infielder Charlie Culberson. (Miami led the league with 37 players taking the mound.) Shane Greene (1-0, 2.60 ERA) led all relievers with 28 appearances, while left hander Max Fried (7-0, 2.25 ERA) was the only pitcher to make double-digit starts with 11.
THE EXTRAS. The Braves allowed 288 runs, 15th fewest in baseball. The pitching staff’s 4.41 ERA, also ranks middle of the road. Atlanta pitchers struck out 506 batters (11th most in NL), while walking 220 (fourth most in NL).
By contrast, Atlanta scored 348 runs — second most in baseball — averaging 5.8 runs per game. The Braves hit an average of 1.72 home runs per game. Atlanta led the league in OPS (.832), on base-percentage (.349), doubles (130) and extra-base hits (236). The offense had baseball’s second-best batting average (.268) and slugging percentage (.483).
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