For an Atlanta Braves fan, the Hall of Fame broadcast game – featuring raw commentary by the quartet of Jeff Francoeur, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine & Chipper Jones – rated as nothing short of a knee-slapping delight. The delight exploded into delirium when the Braves pulled out a marvelous victory against their division rival, the New York Mets, in extra innings – after being on the losing side for most of the game. The Atlanta Braves HOF broadcast did not disappoint.
The game was emblematic of this team exceeding expectations even when underperforming. It’s a phenomenal, kinetic chain reaction that happens in team sports when teammates consistently pick each other up. More than anything though, the game played out as a magical synergy of synchronicity between booth commentary and cutaways practically predicting what would happen next in the flow of play.
At more than a third of the way through the season, the 13-10 extra innings victory for the Braves on June 8th felt as pivotal in galvanizing this team’s identity, as it was decisively dispiriting for a New York Mets team that once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
After a recent stretch going back to May 10 – which saw the Braves drop some disheartening games and series – it was a fifth-inning home run by Ozzie Albies against the Oakland A’s on May 31 that course corrected the 7-12 losing skid. Since that win against the A’s, they’ve gone 7-1.
On a team oozing with talent as the Braves are currently constructed, every player has the potential to play the hero. This type of collective swag breeds a confidence and morale that displays a “no quit” attitude in an organization. The Braves are flexing this attitude, and who knows if the magic of the announcing booth that night could’ve open the flood gates for the good feels to keep flowing?
Leading Off
Soon after Spencer Strider mowed down the Mets 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st, the running joke in the booth became something to the effect of, “Who had these two starters down for giving up 11 runs in the first three innings?”
The eventual 13-10 final score beat most spreads with starters like Strider and Justin Verlander going at it.
Early on, Frenchy (Francouer) pointed out that the Braves have out-homered the opposition in the first inning 18 to 1. Talk about announcing your presence with authority. Smoltz then corroborated that it’s pretty axiomatic: if you give your starting pitcher a lead, you have a better chance of winning a ball game. When Smoltz asked Chipper how he might’ve responded to the launch angle metrics – and how it might have changed his approach to the game – Larry quipped with a laugh that he’d have to use a lighter bat to deal with all the gas being lit up around the 100 mph signature.
While Austin Riley stepped to the plate, Chipper reiterated his advice to the burgeoning righty slugger: “State Farm.” As in, look at the State Farm sign in right center and take the ball that way. Because Riley’s ability to react with his quick bat speed enables him to go opposite field with power when he stays behind the ball.
Then. As if on cue, Riley launched a towering shot off a Verlander offering over the right field wall – but well right of the State Farm sign. Either way, Braves up 2-0. And Frenchy’s stat of the Braves out-homering opponents ticked up to 19-1.
𝘽𝙊𝙊𝙏𝙃 𝘾𝘼𝙈 🎥
Watch all FIVE @Braves home run calls from last night's incredible broadcast. pic.twitter.com/4Y6Pczsg6k
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 9, 2023
With plenty of inimitable banter between the boys in the first inning to tip the rocking chair back a little further with each exchange, Larry “Chipper” Jones wisely reminded his companions and the audience at home of something his dad used to tell him: don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Dramatic (And Familiar) Turnabout
Ozzie Albies came into the June 8 game with 21 RBI in a 2-strike count, which leads the majors. This is the “no quit” attitude he brought to his final AB that won the game that night.
But it was, to quote the great Yogi, deja vu all over again. Because just a few weeks ago, it was Albies’ fifth inning two-run homer against the A’s that gave the Braves a lead they never gave back. And since that time, the Braves have only lost one game.
As Smoltz observed to Albies in the post-game interview, the offense simply doesn’t give in – which Albies affirmed with, “We don’t give up at all. Defense and offense. We keep going till the game’s over.”
By contrast, Chipper pointed out that after a particular dying quail fell into “no man’s land” during Max Scherzer‘s loss the previous evening, Mad Max’s shoulders visibly – and uncharacteristically – slumped. The two teams reacting differently to adversity became the theme of the evening.
This was highlighted even further in a third inning interview with manager Brian Snitker, where he’s asked about Spencer Strider’s lack of flummox during struggles. Strider’s poised demeanor was visible even after he laid in a non-competitive fastball to Brandon Nimmo, who returned Strider’s rare meatball with a grand slam.
But the young ace finished the inning with a strikeout of Francisco Alvarez and, in total, struck out eight – giving him the ugly but numerologically cool line of eight hits, eight runs, eight Ks.
Snitker, of course, praised Strider’s work ethic and approach. But arguably, his ability to bounce back even after putting up five runs in the first two innings stems from knowing there are 24 other guys on the field that night capable of picking him up. Jesse Chavez and Joe Jimenez kept the Braves’ in it, even when it looked like potential mop up duty.
And while it was Albies whose home run decided the game, it was another unheralded Braves role player, Orlando Arcia, who played hero by tying the game in the bottom of the ninth with a long ball off veteran reliever David Robertson.
Unforgettable game.
Unforgettable broadcast.
Unforgettable night. pic.twitter.com/zR42CfFWMM
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 9, 2023
Meanwhile, Arcia’s effort was built on that of veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who belted a two run homer earlier in the game to keep the Braves in spitting distance.
D’Arnaud and Arcia epitomize this “different day, different hero” style of play, as both of these players looked to be Wally Pipped by new addition Sean Murphy and 2022 rookie sensation Vaughn Grissom, respectively. Yet, both of these players recently returned from potentially serious injuries to jump right back into the swing of helping the Braves win.
Fittingly, it was Chipper Jones to call the Braves’ home park a “house of horrors” for the Mets, as he was perhaps more disliked by Mets fans – of all the visitors’ parks – than any other.
As the broadcast transitioned back from the 10th inning commercial break with a clip of Chipper’s final home run – which happened to be a walk-off against Philadelphia Phillies Jonathan Papelbon – Jones’ shadow once again returned with a dark knight vengeance.
With a mirror image 3-run dong to Larry’s, Ozzie Albies flexed all of his sub six-foot frame to cast his own shadow.
GOAT Moments From The GOATs
The four magical musketeers of the broadcast booth served up beautifully savage roasts of each other. They also added incisive hot takes on the current state of baseball.
According to Smoltz, and confirmed by Glavine, the running game and teams’ abilities to play small ball are the reasons why the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks are able to compete.
In rare form, Smoltz related a story of pitching to the scouting report and having Juan Samuel rip the seventh slider he threw for a home run. Smoltz pointed out that he avoided throwing his best pitch, the fastball, because the scout said Samuel was a dead fastball hitter.
Glavine put this catch-22 of blindly following the data in perfect perspective with this beauty. “You’re attacking a hitter’s weakness with what is not necessarily a pitcher’s strength.”
Perhaps the best media moment was coupling Chipper Jones, in his debut game, slide tackling Greg Maddux – as the blindsided pitcher unassumingly directs infield pop-up traffic – with the infamous Nike “chicks dig the Long Ball” commercial featuring “Mad Dog” “Doggie” Maddux and Glavine satirizing their hitting prowess.
The best quote definitely belonged to John Smoltz when he recalled something he said early in his career as an aspiration. “I want to give up 250 home runs.” When someone asked why, Smoltz responded: because that means he will have played long enough to give up 250 home runs. Everyone should be so lucky to fail so extraordinarily.
The most impressive of all the clip roasts was Tom Glavine’s oppo taco off a lefty – about which he bragged that not a lot of guys have the kind of power to hit a ball that softly – at 88 miles an hour – and have it go out of the ballpark.
That’s HOF entertainment, folks.
Photo Credit- Dale Zanine- USA TODAY Sports
