The Atlanta Braves faced more than the Pittsburgh Pirates this Tuesday, as the noontime game brought with it a serious downpour of rain that caused the game to be delayed by over 3 hours. That's quite a lot of time for a team of professional competitors to sit around twirling their thumbs, so it's almost no surprise that an impromptu Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournament took place in the Brave's clubhouse during nature's intermission.

The Mario Kart tournament had a high profile roster: Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, Sean Rodriguez, Jim Johnson, and Jace Peterson all took part in the competition, with each racer competing across 6 individual races. The winner was the one who accumulated the most points across each leg of the competition, and that ended up being Nick Markakis. The 22-year-old right fielder already has two Golden Glove Awards, but he clearly has to make some additional room in his trophy cabinet for a Grand Prix Cup.

Markakis' teammate Luke Jackson, who was a spectator to Nick's recent win, admitted that his younger teammate is the base kart racer in the clubhouse:

The best in the clubhouse is definitely Nick Markakis, as he is phenomenal. O'Flaherty is pretty good, Ender is good and Sean Rodriguez is an actual solid sleeper pick. But Markakis is probably clubhouse champ.

The recent development also brought the news that the fast-selling kart racing title isn't just a surprise guest at the Atlanta Braves clubhouse, but rather a frequent host. Pitcher Sam Freeman revealed that the team plays on the Nintendo Switch before most games and during any rain delay, an event he states builds camaraderie between teammates. Clearly, none of them have ever been hit by a blue shell just before the finish line.

In any event, the supposed team-building exercise may have made a marginal difference after all, as the Braves went on to complete a 5 - 2 win over the Pirates.

What do you think about a professional Major League Baseball team bonding over Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Ranters?

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.