A.J. Minter, a left-handed reliever for the Atlanta Braves, is depicted in a cartoon on a mechanical bull in a T-shirt designed by Tyler Matzek. The artwork is titled “The Mayor of The Battery,” and Minter’s name is below it.
The mechanical bull at PBR Atlanta, a pub in The Battery next to Truist Park, is the claimed culprit. Minter, a native Texan who frequently dons a cowboy hat when traveling with his crew, claimed not to have rode the bull. Not quite yet.
One recent morning, as he sat in front of his locker in the Braves’ spring training clubhouse at North Port, with other teammates sitting nearby or strolling by wearing the T-shirt, Minter grinned and said, “I’ll wait until after we win the World Series again, then ride it.”
A lot of times during the season, the Braves will design a shirt as a way to honor or make fun of a teammate. Other players will wear it for days or weeks, sometimes even wearing it under their game jerseys. Some players will even wear it to the interview room after games, as Charlie Morton did with a Spencer Strider T-shirt last season and Strider did with a Michael Harris II T-shirt.
The squad as a whole is close-knit and has viewed its clubhouse chemistry as one of its greatest assets in recent years. Furthermore, the Braves’ bullpen is especially tight; the relievers like to refer to it as a “team within a team.” There’s perhaps no pair that has contributed more to that synergy than these two seasoned lefties, Minter and Matzek.
After missing the whole previous season and both postseasons due to Tommy John surgery, Matzek, 33, is back.
Manager of the Braves Brian Snitker exclaimed, “It’s awesome.” “He’s one of those guys that gives you that competitive edge, which is good.”