Ozzie Albies Talks Braves’ Hot Start, Walt Weiss & Phillies Rivalry

Ask Ozzie Albies which team the Braves most want to beat and there is no pause for diplomacy.

"I'll definitely say the Phillies," the Atlanta second baseman told Rich. "It's our rivalry in the East. Every time you go play there you want to beat those guys."

The intensity, Albies said, is not manufactured by any one player. It builds on its own the moment the team finishes its pregame work.

"Every time we go to a city like that, everybody start talking about it right away," he said. "Hey, let's beat these guys up today."

Albies noted the rivalry used to have a designated agitator in Ozuna, a veteran who drew boos in Philadelphia because of how hard he hit the ball there. Now, he said, the edge is collective. Even the newcomers show up wanting the Phillies.

"Right now, I'll say it's a team thing," Albies said.

The bigger story is what is fueling the wins. Albies pointed to routine over talent.

"It starts with the preparation since we wake up in the morning," he said. "We get together, we have our breakfast, we talk baseball, then we get to the field."

He credited manager Walt Weiss for setting that tone, and he did it with a grin.

"He's a leader," Albies said. "I know Walt for more than eight years now and he always has been the same person. He's one of the greatest human beings I've been around. And if you mess around with him, you will find out."

That last line had a reference point. After Weiss went low to defuse a near-brawl, the team made a commemorative shirt of the moment. Albies has his at home.

"You have fun with moments like that," he said. "He did the right thing. There's a big man, so you have to put him down before things escalate."

The conversation also touched the Braves City Connect uniforms, the throwback Dale Murphy-era look. Albies likes them, and admitted to a uniform superstition.

"If something is going right, I feel like we should keep rocking it," he said. "Especially on the road, if we were gray and we doing great, I guess we should keep wearing gray and keep doing great."

By that logic, the gray should stay in the rotation for a while.