Braves credit new ice cream machine for season turnaround
The Atlanta Braves' love for a tasty frozen treat changed their season.
In mid-June, the then-struggling Braves got a soft-serve ice cream machine after they enjoyed the treat inside the visiting clubhouse during a late-May rain delay in Boston, according to James Wagner of The New York Times.
"We're going to have all these guys crushing ice cream and, oh man, they're all going to be 400 pounds," Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos joked when the team first approached him about buying a machine.
Anthopoulos added it was the first time he's ever approved such a request in his 10 years as a major-league GM.
"I view this relationship as a partnership," he said. "We're not anyone's parents. So I can joke about stuff like that, but these guys are grown men. They're responsible. Freddie (Freeman), especially, takes tremendous care of himself.
"But it's something they really wanted. And it's a two-way street, right? We ask these guys as a club for stuff all the time: 'Can you help us out with this?' or 'Can you help us out with that?'"
Atlanta finished the season 56-37 to win its fourth straight NL East title despite missing Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna, and Mike Soroka.
"(The machine was) just something that we kind of rallied around," reliever Tyler Matzek said.