As I got back from the stadium, I looked at my dad and said, “It hasn’t even sunk in yet.” But as I thought about what I would write tomorrow, a million things crossed my mind, but one of them couldn’t wait until morning — the celebratory article about our Atlanta Braves.
Let’s be honest, guys… we’ve been through it. I mean, through it, through it. Ever since 1995, which just so happened to be the year I was born, we’ve been cursed. It’s been incredible the endless amount of defeats we’ve suffered when it almost seemed impossible to lose. And in some absolutely sick way, every time it happened, I recovered a couple of weeks later to convince myself that when we finally did win, it’d be worth it.
Tell me you haven’t been there? Maybe that’s just being a sports fan. I’m not sure. It’s the only thing I’ve been able to relate to as an Atlanta sports fan. But I can tell you that this one feels damn good, better than I ever could have imagined. And this might not be my first championship; as a graduate of LSU, my Tigers took the throne back in 2020. But I can tell you this one is different. This is a city with a culture finally reaching the pinnacle of the sport for the first time since 1995.
Watching this city come together; hell, the whole southeast come together has been unlike anything I’ve ever seen in sports. The 40,000+ chopping in the stadium and the 100,000+ outside going completely bonkers every night at the Battery, it was special; it was unique; it was Atlanta.
Like we finally fucking did it.
Now, let’s talk about the guys. How the hell was it this squad that did it? I had to convince people that we shouldn’t sell at the deadline, and it wasn’t easy. But from the top down, this organization never surrendered. They didn’t get over .500 until 109 games into the season. They lost a triple crown candidate from last season to a domestic violence charge, a former Cy Young candidate to another torn Achilles, the frontrunner for the MVP to a torn ACL, and that’s only some of what they had to overcome.
Jorge Soler missed nearly the entire NLCS with a misfortunate COVID diagnosis. Yes, World Series MVP, Jorge Soler. Huascar Ynoa missed more than three months in the regular season, then was also lost for the NLCS and World Series with an arm injury. Charlie freaking Morton broke his fibula in Game 1 of the World Series. This Braves team literally couldn’t have had worse luck, and not only did they win the World Series, but they also dominated it.
Please do me a favor — don’t ever refer to this team as the 88-win Braves again. Ever since those trade deadline acquisitions, this team was unstoppable, holding one of the best records and run differentials in the league, and they were even better in the playoffs.
The 95-win Brewers with one of the best rotations of all-time? No contest. The 106-win Dodgers? They were lucky they didn’t get swept. The Astros with the best offense in baseball? Piece of cake.
This Braves team dominated. They never gave up. Their offense was immaculate, their starters had depth, and their bullpen came together at the end of the year. Not enough can be said about Alex Anthopoulos and Brian Snitker. Despite constant criticism, none of this would be possible without them. This was an organizational effort, but even more, it was a city effort. We did it, Atlanta; we are champions once again.
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