NORTH PORT, Fla. — When the Atlanta Braves’ new cleanup hitter came to the plate Thursday afternoon, he leaned in for a hug from the Cardinals’ catcher and the Cardinals pitcher purposefully avoided making eye contact. That could wait until he got the guy out, then Jack Flaherty would give him a grin.
Such warmth for an opponent was to be expected because the burly stance at the plate, the neon-green sleeve, the buggy-whip swing, and the name — O-Z-U-N-A — stretched across the broad shoulders were so familiar.
Which for the past two years was the point.