The Atlanta Braves held their annual media day on Tuesday, March 24. There is much to celebrate as a new Major League Baseball season begins again. For the Braves, the longest continuing franchise in Major League Baseball history, this season marks its 60th in Atlanta. April 12 will mark the first game in Atlanta Braves history.
On the field, there are familiar concerns on the minds of first-year manager Walt Weiss and his staff. Pros and cons: There are healthy hitters back, like third baseman Austin Riley (102 games in 2025), and unhealthy starting pitchers like Spencer Strider (oblique strain), who will begin the 2026 season on the injured list.
There are the what-ifs: Michael Harris II gets off to a strong start to the season instead of how he started in 2025, the Braves open the season by winning seven straight instead of losing seven straight like in 2025, the pitching staff holds up for an entire season instead of periodically breaking down like it did last year. And then there’s the staff ace, who also missed time due to injury last season.
The team recently announced that Chris Sale (145 career wins, 2024 Cy Young) will be the opening day starter. Sale missed a chunk of the 2025 season with a rib injury, and his absence hurt the Braves.
The Braves are beginning the season with consecutive three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals and the Sacramento A’s.
During an introduction to the media, Braves President & CEO Derek Schiller spoke about all of the new bells and whistles at Truist Park, including the new red and blue flood lights above the field. Asked if he believes making the postseason, particularly during the anniversary season, is critical to the goals for 2026, Schiller said that’s always the goal around these parts.
“Our goal every year is to make the World Series,” said Schiller. “We didn’t meet that goal last year, but that remains our goal. We think we’re breaking camp with a fantastic team. We think we’re ready to go. We’re excited about getting going, because at the end of the day, that’s what the Atlanta Braves are all about.”
Schiller spoke about Braves Vision, the team’s broadcast arm, which will debut on Opening Day at 6 p.m. with a pregame show. “It is the way we’re going to connect to our fans via broadcast media,” he said.
There will be several summer concerts taking place at Truist Park, and the Savannah Bananas will play three games there as well. “We’re very excited about what we do around here,” Schiller said.
One of the new additions to Truist Park will cater to one of the oldest and time-honored sports-related hobbies. South End Trading Co., a card and memorabilia shop on the main level of the park. South End Trading Co. will host card ripping nights, autograph signings, and other baseball card-related events. The shop is decorated with black-and-white images of old baseball cards, including one of Braves legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
“We will have some unique items that are for sale,” said Lisa Williams, vice president of retail at Truist Park.
Asked if the card shop, which included signed and game-used memorabilia from past and present Braves games, is an attempt to attract the baseball card fans to the ballpark, Williams answered in the affirmative.
“That’s part of the move over to this side of the ballpark,” she said.