Braves’ Ozzie Albies doing things few players his size have done

And it has since developed in a way the game has rarely seen. Few Braves fans may be aware of the following — Albies wasn’t. But of players who stood (or stand) 5-foot-8 or shorter, the 5-8 Albies has the 10th most home runs all-time with 141, according to Stathead, including Negro leagues players. And more notably, at the age of 28, he’s got a good chance to climb at least to second place behind Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, the 5-7 catcher who hit 358 in his unparalleled career.

The accomplishment might not mean much to many, particularly those who don’t have to strain to reach the items on the top shelf at Publix. But it did to Albies when I showed him the list Monday in the Braves clubhouse.

“It means a lot,” he said. “When you’re growing up, they tell you, ‘Hey, you’re too small, you can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ Nobody knows what you can do. You’re the one that can work hard and show them what you really can do on the baseball field.”

The challenges of shorter stature may not be as evident in baseball as they are in basketball or football, but they are limiting. Consider this: There have been only 297 players in major league history 5-8 or shorter who have played at least 500 games, according to Stathead. Of those, 71% finished their careers before 1940, placing Albies in even rarer company.

By comparison, 1,127 players who were (or are) 5-11 or 6-foot have played at least 500 major league games.

Some of it is a failure of scouts who’ve overlooked (har har) Napoleonic players like Albies. But a lot of it is biology and physics. Athletes with longer arms and legs and larger muscle mass generate more power to hit and throw. Here’s a fact to impress the baseball nerd in your life (or possibly you): In the past 60 years, there’s been only one pitcher of 5-8 or less to make an All-Star game (Marcus Stroman).

Further, of the 15 players 5-8 and under who’ve hit 100 home runs, Albies has the fourth best rate of at-bats per home run, 24.7. It’s measurably better than Hall of Famers Joe Morgan, Kirby Puckett and Tim Raines and likely Hall of Famer Jose Altuve.

Moreover, the three players ahead of Albies all were retired by 1965. You easily could make the case that he has been the best home run hitter among players his size for the past nearly 60 years.

On the other hand, his on-base percentage and strikeout rate don’t measure well with the rest of the 15-player club, although his predecessors didn’t have to deal with hybrid pitches and a regular diet of 100-mph fastballs.

Albies has endeared himself to Braves fans because of his skill, flash, passion and joy for the game. And while he’s been recognized with three All-Star appearances and two Silver Slugger Awards, it doesn’t fully recognize that his achievements despite his stature are truly remarkable.

He hasn’t earned that place on talent alone. His devotion to improving is rare, which includes his commitment to weightlifting.

“Hitting a ball 400 feet is not easy,” Albies said. “You’ve first got to hit it, you’ve got to carry it perfectly. (Strength) has a lot to do with it.”

Beyond that, at 28, Albies could be at or near his peak, and his training regimen would suggest he could extend it longer than most.

He hit 30 home runs with 106 RBIs in 2021 at age 24, then 33 home runs with 109 RBIs in 2023 at age 26. The 2023 total was the most by a 5-8 or under player since 1930. A season with 35 home runs doesn’t seem out of the question in 2025 for the switch-hitting Albies.

Said manager Brian Snitker, “He’s just a guy I think that’s going to continue to get better, especially left-handed.”

Staying healthy with his all-out style is the big question — various injuries limited him to a total of 163 games in the 2022 and 2024 seasons.

“I’m in the best shape I can be working out and getting ready for another season,” Albies said. “I’m just happy that I’m healthy and ready to go.”

For the sake of his short-guy home-run chase, let’s say his health cooperates and he hits 25 home runs for the next four years, which does not seem a stretch. That would put him at 241 for his career. With presumably years left in his career, he would be three behind third place (Hack Wilson with 244) and 27 behind second (Morgan at 268).

“Whenever I call it a career, and it’s the numbers I end up with, that’s the numbers I end up with,” he said. “I just want to make sure I play hard and at least win another championship.”

And accomplishing something only one other player his height has done in baseball history, particularly when he showed no capacity for it as a minor leaguer — that would be no small feat.