Last season, the Atlanta Braves matched the all-time single-season home run record, equaling the 2019 Minnesota Twins by hitting 307 long balls.
However, in colder weather, the ball tends to travel less distance, which may explain why the Braves have only hit 14 homers so far in the 2024 season. This places them ‘only’ third in the National League and fifth in all of baseball.
Additionally, their lower homer tally can be attributed to having played only 10 games, which is tied for the second-lowest number of games in all of baseball. In contrast, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have avoided weather-related postponements and played two additional games in Korea to start the 2024 season, have hit nineteen homers in 14 games.
Despite playing a limited number of games, the Atlanta Braves have showcased exceptional prowess in hitting doubles. In their first ten games of the season, the Braves have recorded an impressive 31 doubles.
According to Baseball Reference, this achievement places them among an elite group, as they are only the thirteenth team to accomplish this feat dating back to 1871.
Matt Olson, who led the league in home runs in 2023 with 54, currently leads the Atlanta Braves with six doubles in the first ten games of the season.
For context, the all-time single-season doubles record is held by Earl Webb, who hit 67 doubles in 1931 for the Boston Red Sox.
While Olson is on pace to finish the season with an impressive 96 doubles, it’s worth noting that as the weather warms up, many of those doubles are likely to turn into home runs.
Olson has already hit three home runs this season, placing him in second behind Marcell Ozuna, who leads the team with five.
Despite the Braves playing fewer games than most teams, they have respectable showings in several counting statistics, such as home runs (tied for 4th with six other clubs), RBIs (2nd, with 67), and runs (tied for 4th, at 69).
However, when examining rate statistics, Atlanta is leading the rest of baseball in several categories:
Atlanta Braves are leading the league in several rate statistics, including runs per game (1st, at 6.90, with the next closest at 6.45), batting average (1st, at .306, with the next closest at .280), on-base percentage (1st, at .368, with the next closest at .364), slugging (1st, at .512, with the next closest at .455), OPS (1st, at .880, with the next closest at .812), and OPS+ (1st, at 138, with the next closest at 125).
With Ronald Acuña Jr. expected to ramp up his production soon—he currently has no homers and only a .256 batting average—these impressive statistics are likely to climb even higher.
