When the 2021 Atlanta Braves won a World Series Championship, it was because the roster received upgrades before the late July trade deadline. A team which struggled to get above .500 for most of the season’s first half took off in the summer months and never looked back. They “got hot at the right time,” so to speak.

Now that the 2023 Atlanta Braves have entered the Major League Baseball All-Star break (July 10 – July 13), it’s safe to say this team has set a pace worthy of an All-Time conversation. If additions to the team are coming before the August 1, 2023 trade deadline, and if the Braves win the World Series again this season, the roster additions won’t be the reason they win it.

As is, this might just be the best Braves team we’ve ever seen. Period. Not the best lineup. The best ever. Eight Braves were selected to be National League All-Stars and it could’ve been more if not for a few injuries.

Atlanta (60-29) has the best record in baseball with a 8.5 game National League East division lead over the Marlins (53-39) and a 12 game advantage over the third place Phillies (48-41). The Braves finished the first half with a series record of 22-5-2 overall (13-2-0 on the road) and they have not lost a series since the last week of May, in Oakland of all places. They are only the 11th team in the modern era to win 60 games before the break. The .674 winning percentage is the best in team history before the break. In summation, they are really, really good.

Still, if the 2023 team doesn’t win the whole thing, they won't be in any of the ‘best ever’ debates moving forward. You can’t be in the conversation for greatest ever if you don’t win a championship, them’s the rules. We respect the rules here.

It’s not a given that these Bravos will win a World Series but if this pace continues in the season’s second half and into October, there will be no debate: This is the best Braves team ever assembled.

For now though, let’s take a minute to appreciate just how special this stretch of baseball has been for Brian Snitker’s club. Because … What else is there to do with no baseball for four whole days?

All of the first-half success has come without (for the most part) the services of would-be starting pitching staples Max Fried and Kyle Wright (both on 60-day Injured List). Pitching for the Braves has been solid and sometimes even better than that. No shame in Atlanta’s mound game, but that hasn’t been the headline story thus far. It’s all about the bats, baby.

Well, if chicks dig the longball (as Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine thought), then this Braves team is a certified chick magnet. The offensive numbers for Atlanta are absolutely staggering.

The Braves have 169 home runs and were on pace to hit 309 before hitting one in the first-half finale in Tampa Bay on Sunday, July 9. That would be a new MLB single-season record. Seven players have at least 14 long-balls and three (Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr.) have more than 20.

Acuña Jr. has been the Most Valuable Player in the National League and there hasn’t really been a close second to him. From the leadoff spot on Snitker’s lineup card, the 25-year-old phenom hit 21 homers and stole 41 bases in the first half. He is on pace to shatter MLB records and could post the first ever 40 homer, 50 stolen base season if he can stay healthy.

Olson leads the senior circuit in homers with 29. Albies (22 homers) has been excellent at the plate since shifting to the No. 2 spot in the lineup while playing gold glove caliber defense at second base. But beyond the superstars, it has been the contribution of ‘the other guys’ that has made this team so great.

Just a few months after winning a supposed positional battle at shortstop in spring training, Orlando Arcia is set to start at short for the National League All-Stars. Marcell Ozuna – yes, that Marcell Ozuna – has produced when called upon. He has 17 homers, as does Shawn Murphy in his first season catching for Atlanta. At the bottom of the lineup, Michael Harris II hit .355 over his final 25 games after a sluggish start to the season and Eddie Rosario hit 14 homers with a .788 OPS.

Is that any good?

Atlanta’s pitching has managed to be better than average despite not having Fried, who is expected to return later this month in his final season under contract with the club. All-Star Spencer Strider (11-2, 3.44 ERA) is the best arm in the organization and his first half has been more proof of that fact. Charlie Morton (9-6, 3.43) has helped hold the rotation together in Fried’s absence and surprising stretches of dominance from Bryce Elder (7-2, 2.97), who was tagged in the first half’s final contest, have been clutch. Closer Raisel Iglesias has navigated a few rough patches to tally 16 saves with a 3.76 ERA.

Additional bullpen arms and a rotation piece might be coming via trade, but at this point, all moves to the roster should be made with a playoff series in mind. The division race over the next 70ish games doesn’t have to be the concern for now. It’s all about October now. That’s a nice luxury to have, and this team has certainly earned it.

Baseball people know: There’s a lot of ball left to play. But the Braves have all the pieces lined up to put together a historic 2023 season. If they don’t win a World Series, they will still have plenty to be proud of but if they do win it all … Well … they will have their legacies cemented among the all-time greats.

This article appears in Connect Savannah | July 2023.