CHICAGO — When Jesse Chavez pitched three innings of two-hit relief in the second game of the Atlanta Braves’ season, taking over after Max Fried recorded just two outs and pitching into the fourth inning of a win against the Philadelphia Phillies, it was the latest incident of a unique and popular veteran donning a uniform that now seems more like a Superman cape for him.
Chavez is 40. He keeps getting released or traded by other teams before returning to the Braves and reviving his career.
Fellow reliever Tyler Matzek called that appearance Saturday at Philadelphia “unbelievable.” It came one week after Chavez was released by the Chicago White Sox and signed with Atlanta on the last weekend of spring training. Matzek added, “Jesse Chavez in a Braves uniform is something special.”
Told the next day of Matzek’s comment, Chavez smiled and said, “I mean, there’s something special about this uniform in general. It dates back to the first time I put it on in 2010. With this organization, you walk through that door and you expect to win. When you expect to win championships, flags come with that. Celebrations come with it. At (other organizations) you just want to get by, you want to see what’s going to happen.
“The conversations always start in other places with ‘what can we add?’ Well, why do you have to add if you’ve got a championship mindset?”
