Firsts in 2022: The Atlanta Braves

  One of my hobbies - 'pastimes' might be a better word - is following baseball, although I usually can't 'watch' much since time zones don't align well. Last night, Tyler Matzek got his first save in his 5th MLB seaso, 3rd as a reliever. Earlier this year, Jackson Stephens had also gotten his first 2 career saves. Below, I collected the other firsts that I could find from this year's Braves, not including debuting (or barely debuted) rookies. (Source: MLB)

 For most of these firsts, the pattern is clearly that they are young players, but one or two players in the list have waited a long time to do these firsts.

Saves:

- Tyler Matzek (5th season)

- Jackson Stephens (3rd season) - first 2 career saves

Balks:

- Jesse Chavez "The Most Traded Player in MLB History" (15 seasons) - 14 seasons with no balks!!!

Stolen Bases:

- Austin Riley (4th season) - first 2 stolen bases; previously, he had been caught stealing 3 times

- William Contrares (3rd season; 2nd with much time)

Walk-off hits:

- William Contrares (3rd)

 - Austin Riley (4th) - first 2 walk-off hits

Reached on an error:

- William Contrares (3rd)

Outfield assists:

- Travis Demeritte (3rd season)- first 2 outfield assists

Caught Stealing (Pitcher):

- Kyle Wright (5th season, 1st with more than 38 IP) - caught 2 stealing

 - Ian Anderson (3rd season) - caught 3 stealing

Pick-offs:

- Kyle Wright (5th season, 1st with more than 38 IP)

Double Play (fielding as a pitcher):

- Kyle Wright (5th)

ROOKIES:

  As for rookies, it appears that Michael Harris II is the Braves only hitting rookie who has made his debut this year. He's having an excellent year and not really leaving himself many firsts for the future; a walk-off hit, an intentional walk, and a sac bunt & fly seem to be about what's left to look forward to.

*The only 'second' that I could find so far this year was Guillermo Heredia's second career triple, excluding categories that also had a first this year.  

**As for rookies who are pitchers, William Woods & Bryce Elder debuted briefly. Dylan Lee and Spencer Strider with only 2 and 2.1 IP last year respectively have checked many new boxes, as have Jesus Cruz, and Tucker Davidson who had about 20 IP before this season. Also, Mike Form (1B) recorded his first pitching appearance allowing 2 runs on a walk and a home run.