Let’s talk about something that might’ve slipped under the radar amid the chaos of the Atlanta Braves 2024 season—the sudden disappearance of those moonshot home runs at Truist Park.
Yes, the same ballpark that felt like a launching pad in 2023 seemed to morph into a graveyard for long balls in 2024. And if you spent last season watching what looked like surefire homers die at the warning track, you weren’t imagining things.
It turns out that Mother Nature had a hand in the Braves’ offensive struggles. According to a deep dive by MLB.com’s Mike Petriello, the wind played a much bigger role in Atlanta than you might think.
In fact, from 2023 to 2024, Truist Park went from one of the most hitter-friendly environments to a place where flyballs went to die.
The numbers tell the story: the wind at Truist knocked down 21 potential home runs last season while only helping five clear the fence. That’s a serious shift from 2023 when the stadium actually gave hitters an extra boost.
How Wind Changed Truist Park in 2024
Truist Park wasn’t exactly Wrigley Field, where the wind can turn a pop-up into a 450-foot bomb one day and knock down a missile the next. But among the 29 ballparks with recorded data, Truist ranked 12th in most batted balls altered by wind.
And while no single Braves player made the list for the most wind-affected hits—good or bad—the ballpark itself underwent a major transformation.
The biggest shift? The stadium’s environmental impact score. In 2023, Truist was the fifth-friendliest stadium in the league for hitters, with environmental factors (including wind, humidity, and temperature) adding an average of 1.9 feet to fly balls.
But in 2024, that script flipped completely—Truist became the fifth-friendliest stadium for pitchers, as balls lost an average of 4.1 feet.
That’s a massive swing, and if you’re wondering why all those fly balls felt like they were hitting an invisible wall, well, there’s your answer.
A Pattern Braves Sluggers Can’t Ignore
This isn’t an isolated case, either. Since the Braves moved into Truist Park in 2017, there have only been two seasons where wind consistently helped fly balls travel farther.
Wind helped in 2020 (a shortened season, so take it with a grain of salt) and 2023. Every other year? The wind has worked against Braves sluggers more often than not.
Of course, the numbers don’t tell us how many of these wind-stopped fly balls came off Braves bats versus how many helped out the pitching staff.
But knowing Atlanta’s philosophy—live by the long ball—it’s safe to say they were on the wrong side of this more often than not.
What This Means for the Future
What does this mean moving forward? Unless the wind suddenly decides to start cooperating, expect this trend to continue. But let’s be honest—this team is built to mash.
If the Braves keep doing what they do best, no amount of wind is going to keep those baseballs in the yard forever.
