Besides the New England Patriots, the Atlanta Braves are simply the best-run and most impressive franchise in all of sports today.
Last night, they clinched the National League East for the 14'th consecutive season.
We tend to take these sorts of accomplishments for granted at first, and then nostalgically fawn on them after-the-fact, years down the road. When we watch NFL films of the Patriots and Tom Brady in 30 years, they will be legends, having successfully entered the sacred annals of football lore.
Similarly, the Atlanta Braves, as a franchise, are perhaps the most impressive organization in the history of sports. While the New York Yankees and their ever-ballooning salary are struggling for a playoff spot today, the Braves have somehow made their relatively paltry $80 million cap work wonders year after year.
The last few years have been more impressive than ever. Both this year and last year, the Braves found themselves bottom-dwelling in the NL East even into June and July. But just when it seemed that the streak might finally end, they would call up some random rookie who would play like a superstar for a week or so, jump-starting the team and injecting a youthful energy into what might have become a pack of washed up veterans (see the Yankees).
Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann, Pete Orr, Kyle Davies, and Jeff Franceour all are rookies who played an integral part in the team's success this year.
Representing the antithesis of "moneyball" as expounded by Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland A's, the Braves still recruit on the traditional standards of heart, skill, and effort. But this is only half of the puzzle. The real key to the Braves' success can be found in the dugout. Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone are as indispensable to the team's winning as the players themselves. These guys are simply the best coaches in the league right now, and maybe even the best ever.
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