Braves’ Marcell Ozuna reveals key to red-hot start to 2024 season

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is off to a hot start this season, and so is his team, moving to 7-3 with a 6-5 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday. Ozuna opened up on why he has been able to get off to this hot start with the Braves this season.

Sometimes you have a full mindset, you have your mind charged, and put all of those problems in the past,” Marcell Ozuna said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “I think now it’s clear. Now I can come every day happy like I used to be. Every day, come in happy and play happy when I have the opportunity. Now I have the opportunity and the chance, so I have to take (advantage).”

Following Tuesday’s game against the Mets, Ozuna is now hitting .318 on the year with a .333 on-base percentage and five home runs, according to MLB.com. That gives him a 1.038 OPS on the season so far. This is a stark contrast to Ozuna’s start in the 2023 season, when he hit .085 in April, before hitting 43 home runs from May 1 on.

Ozuna is picking up where he left off last year, hitting for power about as much as anyone so far this season, and he is a fixture in the Braves’ lineup so far. He is tied with Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers for home runs in the National League.

Marcell Ozuna’s Braves teammates on his hot start

As mentioned before, Ozuna is picking up where he left off with the Braves last season, and manager Brian Snitker echoed that same sentiment.

“Hes just kind of continued on from where he left off,” Brian Snitker said, via O’Brien. “He’s seeing the ball good and slowing the game down. It’s kind of what that guys has done his whole career, really.”

Braves third baseman Austin Riley nicknamed Ozuna “The Big Bear.”

“If you ever run into him, he’s a brick wall. Big dude, solid, and when he gets his body into it, it goes,” Austin Riley said, via O’Brian. “He’s hot right now and putting good swings on it. He’s not always looking to hit homers. He’s hitting the ball the other way, kind of whatever the situation is calling for, he’s doing it. He’s stout man.”

Riley went on to say that Ozuna has stuck to his plan after being asked about his struggles in April of the 2023 season.

“True. Very true. What he went through early in the year, he sets himself to a high standard,” Riley said, via O’Brien. “I think we all do. And what he’s doing right now is what he expects of himself every day. He’s put in the work and the time. He’s been around the game a long time and he knows what it’s like to struggle. You’ve just got to stick with the plan, and he’s doing that.”

The Braves have two more against the Mets before going to Miami to play the Marlins on Friday.