By Brian Yalung
The Atlanta Braves bucked the odds in what can now be called a certified “Cinderella” finish.
Jorge Soler, Freddie Freeman, and Max Friedman led the Braves to a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros in Game 6 to win the 2021 World Series at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Tuesday (Nov. 2) night.
It was the Braves’ first World Series title since 1995 when they won against the Cleveland Indians, ironically also in six games. It was Atlanta’s fourth World Series title, the others coming in 1914 and 1957.
Soler, a last-minute acquisition from the Kansas City Royals at the Major League Baseball (MLB) trade deadline last July 30, was adjudged the 2021 World Series MVP.
It was also the 29-year-old Cuban’s second World Series title. He won his first in 2016 as a member of the Chicago Cubs.
Although Soler helped the Braves move ahead after hitting three go-ahead homers in the third inning, huge credit is due to Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves president of baseball operations.
Anthopoulos worked to reconstruct the outfield with key players such as Mike Soroka, Charlie Morton, and Ronald Acuña going down with injuries.
It was the 44-year-old executive who worked to bring in Soler together with other key players such as Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson by the July 30 trade deadline.
“He’s never going to cash the chips in, ever,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Anthopoulos, who had to miss the clinching celebration after testing positive for COVID-19 in a report via MLB.com. “If there’s ever slightly a chance or a glimmer of hope, he’s going to go out and go for it.”
The 2021 World Series thus puts an end to the so-called “Atlanta Curse,” a reference considering the Braves own a record streak of 16 postseason appearances without a championship.
Add to the fact that the National League East champions didn’t have a winning record until Aug. 6, and had the lowest win total of any team to reach MLB’s postseason this year, the Braves are now just the eighth sub-90-win team to win a World Series in a non-shortened season. – jlo
