On November 15 at 3:34 p.m, Atlanta Braves followers had been delivered devastating information: fan favourite Guillermo Heredia had been designated for task.

From a baseball perspective, this was 100% the proper transfer. With the Braves coping with 40-man roster crunch forward of the deadline to guard gamers from the Rule 5 draft, Heredia was the clear option to let go. The Braves had already added an outfielder, Sam Hilliard, who had higher numbers than Heredia and extra promising outputs, as Heredia had a -0.2 fWAR and a 53 wRC+.

However baseball isn’t all the time about stats. That is from the identical man who believes that the Braves ought to signal Joey Gallo due to his superior metrics and believes that Spencer Strider ought to’ve gained Rookie of the 12 months due to FIP.

Guillermo Heredia may have a -5.0 fWAR and I wouldn’t care. As a result of, regardless of not being a great baseball participant from a statistical standpoint, he is a wonderful baseball participant to have from an leisure perspective.

So, in honor and reminiscence of Guillermo Heredia, I believed we may have a look at one of the best of Guillermo Heredia.

The Better of Guillermo Heredia

February 24, 2021

Guillermo Heredia’s journey to Atlanta was met with out a lot fanfare. It was an unassuming deal to accumulate an unknown outfielder for depth. Whereas most followers questioned who this outfielder even was or demanded that the crew re-sign Shane Greene, one fan knew what was actually up:

Apart from @CinMobile, few followers knew on the time that this man would rival the good Blooper as one of the best Braves cheerleader of all-time.

April 14, 2021

It’s early April and the Braves are in hassle. Max Fried and beginning CF Cristian Pache hit the IL. The Braves will fall to 4-8 9 hours after this tweet is shipped. The crew is in want of a savior from an underwhelming begin.

Heredia makes his Braves debut the subsequent day, beginning and going 0-1 with a stroll, nevertheless it’s not till April 18 that Guillermo breaks out.

April 18, 2021

Recent off being blown out by the Cubs and dropping to 6-9, the Braves are in want of a win, and so they get it. Thanks to 5 homers,  the Braves return the favor on the Cubs, beating them 13-4. Nevertheless, there was one standout who shined brighter than the remaining.

Heredia 3-4 with two bombs, together with a grand slam. Is that this a slugger the Braves received for reasonable? Time will inform, however one thing…. one thing is lacking on these homers.

July 4, 2021

The Braves head into the underside of the ninth down 7-3. They roar again with 4 runs to tie it, however have to enter extras to win it. Our hero, Guillermo, does his half within the ninth, singling and ultimately scoring.

Heredia at this level within the season has been wonderful for a crew that also hasn’t crossed .500. He has a .360 OBP and has a 118 wRC+. whereas additionally taking part in stable centerfield protection.

Today, nonetheless, is just not about what Heredia does on the plate, it’s what occurs within the backside of the tenth.

After Will Smith retains the fish off the board within the prime of the inning, the Braves look to stroll it off.

After a Dansby stroll, a Guillermo flyout, and an Arcia stroll, the bases are loaded for Kevan Smith (lol, keep in mind him?). Marlins pitcher throws a wild pitch and Austin Riley comes into rating! The Braves win!

… Besides they don’t. The decision is overturned and now with runners on 2nd and third, Don Mattingly decides to stroll Kevan Smith with the intention to face… Max Fried?

Sure, with the pitcher’s spot up, Brian Snitker opts to make use of beginning pitcher, Max Fried, as a pinch-hitter.

Fried takes three balls and a strike after which on this pitch that he actually ought to’ve laid off, he does this:

That is most likely my favourite walk-off ever. What number of instances in your life do you get to see a pitcher pinch-hit and stroll the sport off with a line-drive hit?

However wait, that is alleged to be in regards to the Braves’ million-dollar hype man. He wasn’t on the plate. Why am I mentioning this date?

As a result of seconds after Fried smoked a liner into heart, Guillermo Heredia did this:

Storming the sector, pink swords in hand, celebrates the Marlins’ defeat over the mound slicing the imaginary demons the Braves exorcised by overcoming Manfredball earlier than becoming a member of the remainder of the crew and mobbing Fried.

It’s time we speak in regards to the swords.

The Pink Swords

Sooner or later through the season, Guillermo started to implement the sword celebration. The Braves already had the Panda celebration, impressed by bench legend, Pablo Sandoval, however the crew started to double up, including the swords as nicely to homers.

However the sword swipes weren’t simply on homers, they had been the de facto celebration after successful. Right here’s Heredia demonstrating the right type after his double in opposition to the Padres.

In fact, each time a brand new acquisition got here alongside, like Joc Pederson, they wanted to get with this system as shortly as attainable as nicely.

However these symbolic gestures weren’t sufficient for our buddy, Guillermo, as we’ve already seen. He didn’t need to be humble, he wanted one thing that confirmed he was cocky.

These beloved pink swords had been a fixture within the dugout for the remainder of the outfielder’s tenure in Atlanta. On homers, Guillermo would bequeath one of many sacred swords to the teammate who had pushed the ball over the wall and they’d slash the air in unison. It grew to become probably the most lovely rituals within the recreation.

“Nada humble”

After the Braves clinched the NLDS in opposition to the Brewers in 2021, Bally Sports activities’ Paul Byrd took a minute to interview the outfielder who had helped stabilize the outfield protection within the late innings. Heredia didn’t say a lot, however he did ship his signature line:

He’d reiterate this a number of extra instances, notably after the World Sequence victory. Because of Guillermo’s unwavering confidence in his crew, his power and late-game protection helped this crew win their first championship in 26 years.

When Yuli Gurriel grounded out to Dansby to finish the 2021 World Sequence, Guillermo was in heart, and his response was our response.

The designated bodyguard

When Spring Coaching started after the 2022 lockout, Guillermo was again, however this time, together with Orlando Arcia, he had discovered a brand new position.

Guillermo’s appearances as a bodyguard had been restricted, as he was additionally the crew’s full-time cheerleader, together with Blooper, in addition to a backup outfielder, however he made his appearances identified.

Extra recollections

Lastly, earlier than we go, listed below are just some extra recollections of what made Guillermo my favourite replacement-level participant ever. If that is actually the top of the Guillermo Heredia period, it was a pleasure to expertise as a fan.