The Atlanta Braves are World Series Champions. The club earned its first World Series title since 1995 Tuesday night defeating the Houston Astros 7-0 in game 6 in front of a capacity Houston crowd.
The win caps off one of the more improbable title runs in recent history. The Braves were left for dead at multiple points this season, struggling to stay above .500 and dealing with a rash of injuries to key players in their organization. At multiple points throughout the season Atlanta media questioned whether the year was a lost cause, and whether there would be major roster changes needed to retool for 2022.
Yet thanks largely in part to a Mets collapse, and a weak NL East, Atlanta rallied down the stretch to win the division and punch their ticket to the postseason. With 88 wins on the year, Atlanta had the worst win % of any qualifying post season team. But as they say, once you’re in anything can happen in the playoffs.
As the calendar flipped to October the Braves caught fire, using a combination of timely hitting and strong pitching to dominate opponents en route to the pennant and eventual World Series title. Atlanta dispatched the Brewers in 4 games, downed the mighty Dodgers in 6, and then took down the Astros in 6 games in a series that wasn’t actually as close as the boxscore might indicate.
Jorge Soler was particularly effective against Astros pitchers, hitting 3HRs in the series including a 446ft moonshot that silenced the home crowd Tuesday night. For his efforts he was named World Series MVP, though it could just have easily gone to several other Braves players.
The win puts an exclamation mark on the careers of several long time members of the Braves. Manager Brian Snitker who has spent the past 45 years in Atlanta’s organization, and 1st baseman Freddie Freeman whom the Braves took 78th overall in the 2007 draft, were both at a loss for words following the games final out. And few could blame them.
When looked at from a macro-level, the Braves shouldn’t have made it as far as they did. Offseason signing Marcell Ozuna was arrested in late May on domestic violence charges and never returned, Mike Soroka tore his Achilles and was out for the year, Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL in July, and Charlie Morton fractured his fibula. Most teams struggle when one of their key contributors go down, let alone 4.
But the Braves exemplified a next man up mentality during the late stages of the season and throughout their playoff run. Trade deadline additions Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Soler all played massive roles for Atlanta and made GM Alex Anthopoulos look like a genius. Rosario would eventually win the NLCS MVP, and as previously mentioned Soler would take home the World Series MVP honour himself. Not since early investors in Google have we seen buyers enjoy the kind of returns on their investments as Anthopoulos got out of his deadline moves.
Freeman, 32, will be a free agent this offseason. As will Pederson, Rosario, Soler, Duvall, and Drew Smyly. But the core pieces remain under contract and given the uncertain nature of the NL East, the Braves could be on the precipice of another run of dominance similar to their 1995-2005 stretch of consecutive division titles.
For now though, Atlanta has a parade to plan, and champagne to drink. Afterall, this has been a party 26 years in the making.