KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Having finished up yet another mundane drill, the Atlanta Braves begin making their way toward an adjacent field for the next phase of their spring training workout.
Brian McCann leads the way.
That’s just what Fredi Gonzalez wants to see.
“This is going to be his team sooner rather than later,” the new manager of the Braves said, relaxing afterward in the dugout. “You’re kind of starting to see that. It’s coming naturally. It’s been a natural progression from when he was a puppy here. Now, he’s become a voice on the team.”
Gonzalez was the Braves’ third-base coach back in 2005, the year McCann came up to the Braves at age 21. Even though catching is a position that morphs naturally into a leadership role, the youngster deferred to his older teammates and even to his close friend, Jeff Francoeur, who came up that same year and had a sensational rookie season.