{"id":169848,"date":"2026-03-28T14:50:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848"},"modified":"2026-03-28T14:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:50:38","slug":"unbelievable-%f0%9f%91%80-a-7m-3-time-all-star-and-fan-favorite-is-on-the-verge-of-making-franchise-history-on-opening-day-for-the-atlanta-braves-adding-another-chapter-to-an-already-iconic-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848","title":{"rendered":"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Ozzie Albies Set to Make Braves History on Opening Day After $7M Decision Pays Off<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Braves'<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Braves<\/span><\/span> are entering the 2026 season with familiar expectations\u2014contend, compete, and lean on a powerful lineup. And as Opening Day arrives, one of the franchise\u2019s most beloved players is on the verge of making history.<\/p>\n

Ozzie Albies<\/span><\/span>, a three-time All-Star and longtime cornerstone of the Braves\u2019 infield, is set to make his ninth Opening Day start at second base<\/strong>, the most in franchise history.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a milestone that reflects not just longevity\u2014but loyalty, resilience, and consistent production.<\/p>\n

A Long-Awaited Decision That Shaped the Moment<\/h2>\n

\"Braves'<\/p>\n

Throughout the 2025 season, uncertainty surrounded Albies\u2019 future in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos<\/span><\/span> remained intentionally non-committal when asked about Albies\u2019 contract situation, emphasizing the organization\u2019s approach of waiting until after the World Series to make final roster decisions.<\/p>\n

That patience ultimately paid off.<\/p>\n

The Braves exercised Albies\u2019 club option\u2014reportedly around $7 million\u2014ensuring that one of their most recognizable and productive players would return for at least one more season.<\/p>\n

It was a move that balanced financial flexibility with continuity, keeping a fan favorite in place while maintaining roster stability.<\/p>\n

A Decade of Impact in Atlanta<\/h2>\n

Albies\u2019 journey with the Braves is a rare one in modern baseball.<\/p>\n

Spending nearly a decade within the organization, he has developed into:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • A consistent offensive contributor<\/li>\n
  • A dynamic switch-hitter<\/li>\n
  • A clubhouse leader<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    His connection with the fanbase runs deep, built through years of highlight plays, postseason appearances, and a visible passion for the game.<\/p>\n

    Now, with his ninth Opening Day start, he surpasses Glenn Hubbard<\/span><\/span> to stand alone atop Braves history for second basemen.<\/p>\n

    Overcoming Injuries to Reach the Milestone<\/h2>\n

    What makes this achievement even more meaningful is the adversity Albies has faced.<\/p>\n

    Injuries have interrupted multiple seasons, raising questions about durability and long-term consistency. Yet each time, Albies has found a way to return and contribute at a high level.<\/p>\n

    That resilience has defined his career.<\/p>\n

    And it\u2019s a big reason why the Braves continue to trust him as a key piece of their lineup heading into 2026.<\/p>\n

    Why Albies Still Matters to Atlanta\u2019s Success<\/h2>\n

    While the milestone is historic, Albies\u2019 importance goes far beyond ceremonial recognition.<\/p>\n

    The Braves are expected to rely heavily on their offense\u2014especially early in the season\u2014as questions remain about the pitching staff.<\/p>\n

    In that context, Albies plays a crucial role:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Providing balance as a switch-hitter<\/li>\n
    • Setting the tone near the top or middle of the lineup<\/li>\n
    • Delivering power and speed from the second base position<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      When healthy, he\u2019s one of the most complete offensive second basemen in the league.<\/p>\n

      Opening Day Matchup Adds to the Moment<\/h2>\n

      The historic start will come against the Kansas City Royals<\/span><\/span>, adding another layer of significance to an already meaningful game.<\/p>\n

      Opening Day always carries energy\u2014but for Albies, this one carries legacy implications.<\/p>\n

      Every at-bat, every defensive play, every moment will be part of a record-setting appearance that further cements his place in Braves history.<\/p>\n

      Final Outlook: Legacy in Motion<\/h2>\n

      \"MLB<\/p>\n

      For the Atlanta Braves<\/span><\/span>, bringing back Ozzie Albies wasn\u2019t just a roster decision\u2014it was a statement.<\/p>\n

      A statement about valuing continuity.<\/p>\n

      About rewarding loyalty.<\/p>\n

      And about trusting a proven player to deliver when it matters most.<\/p>\n

      As Albies takes the field for his ninth Opening Day start, he won\u2019t just be playing another game.<\/p>\n

      He\u2019ll be adding another chapter to a legacy that\u2019s already one of the most enduring in franchise history.<\/p>\n

      And if he performs the way he\u2019s capable of?<\/p>\n

      This record-setting moment might just be the beginning of another memorable season in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      <\/div>\n
      \n
      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Ozzie Albies Set to Make Braves History on Opening Day After $7M Decision Pays Off The Atlanta Braves are entering the 2026 season with familiar expectations\u2014contend, compete,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":169851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nUNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ozzie Albies Set to Make Braves History on Opening Day After $7M Decision Pays Off The Atlanta Braves are entering the 2026 season with familiar expectations\u2014contend, compete,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848\",\"name\":\"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\",\"name\":\"MsThao\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsThao\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA","og_description":"Ozzie Albies Set to Make Braves History on Opening Day After $7M Decision Pays Off The Atlanta Braves are entering the 2026 season with familiar expectations\u2014contend, compete,...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MsThao","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsThao","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848","name":"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run. - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png","datePublished":"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-28T14:50:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6-23.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=169848#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UNBELIEVABLE \ud83d\udc40 A $7M, 3-time All-Star and fan favorite is on the verge of making franchise history on Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, adding another chapter to an already iconic run."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731","name":"MsThao","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsThao"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=169848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169852,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169848\/revisions\/169852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/169851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=169848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=169848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=169848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}