It's Opening Day and optimism is running rampant in Braves country.
The team is fresh off a World Series victory and things are looking up, but it feels different than it has in the past. The winds of change have swept over Truist Park as a new generation has taken its place in the locker room. The voice of the Braves, Chip Caray, joined the Morning Show to discuss the transition to Matt Olson and what the fans can expect in 2022.
Enough has been said about the impact Freddie Freeman had on this franchise because there's a new face taking his stead. The expectations for the incoming product from Parkview High School are sky-high, and for good reason. He's filling the shoes of an MVP that fans have adored for more than a decade. But that will change when he hits his first moon-shot into the Chop House.
"It's the devil you know versus the devil you don't," Caray told the Morning Show. "We all love Freddie Freeman and we all love the contributions he made while he was here: MVP, World Series champion, and all the great things he did on the field. Matt Olson is a hometown kid, Jeff Francoeur's mom was his math teacher in the seventh grade. All of those pieces make for a happy homecoming."
But the most interesting part about it all is that the average Braves fan doesn't find themselves watching a lot of Oakland A's baseball. So many don't actually know what lies in store for them with Olson at the plate.
"The casual doesn't know how good a player this kid is," Caray said. "He's younger, obviously less expensive on a year-to-year basis, already a gold glover, a hometown hero, big power, big RBIs, takes his walks."
Only just entering his prime, it's not out of the question that the best is still in ahead. Mix his powerful bat with a short porch in right and the already potent lineup that the Braves have, then we're looking at a recipe for success.
"He hit 39 or 40 home runs in Oakland, which is an enormous ballpark," he said. "And then you think about the Truist Park and you just can't help but get excited."
The Freeman era is over in Atlanta, and that's ok. The clock turns over and it's Olson time, with the best still ahead. Braves fans are going to fall in love with this guy, and it will happen fast.
