The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE BRAVES WIN IT ALL: AS A GEORGIA NATIVE, I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER
f the Braves win this game, they’re winning the World Series.”
Colleague Mark Bradley leaned over and said what I was starting to think during Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. If the Braves completed their rally against the Dodgers, they were destined for one of the most unlikely championships in recent professional sports history.
The Braves, of course, walked off the Dodgers for the second consecutive game. They won the series in six, ousting the defending champs. They defeated the Astros in six to win their first World Series title since 1995. I’ve followed the Braves most of my life and covered them for several seasons now. I covered them from the day pitchers and catchers reported in February, around a week after the Super Bowl, through their parade. Sometimes I still can’t quite believe what happened myself.
A team that hadn’t crossed .500 until August, one we debated whether they should be sellers after Ronald Acuna’s ACL tear, achieved where so many of its predecessors failed. The Braves weren’t a team of April, May, June or July; they were the team of October.
It was an unconventional season since Day 1. Teams were covered differently due to the pandemic, which made travel unnecessary for roughly half the year. I covered spring training from Atlanta while moving into my new apartment. I covered opening day in Philadelphia – remember when the Braves were swept to start the season? – from a couch in Old Fourth Ward.
It wasn’t until mid-july I resumed traveling again, though coverage was still Zoomcentric. I went to Denver for the All-star Game, which was first slated to be in Cobb County. Acuna tore his ACL while I was in Colorado. I remember other reporters remarking how unfortunate it was, obviously, and how the Braves’ season might be over.
First baseman Freddie Freeman fielded questions about Acuna’s injury when he arrived.“it’s super hard for us when we lose our best player,” he said. I talked with Freeman for a while on the field hours before the game began. His hope was the team could play well enough that general manager Alex Anthopoulos adds reinforcements at the trade deadline.
Anthopoulos already acquired help days later in outfielder Joc Pederson and catcher Stephen Vogt. His deadline was one to remember, when he remade the outfield that propelled the Braves to their title. I thought it was a valiant effort. I thought they could still win the NL East because of the division’s mediocrity. I, like all of you, didn’t see what was coming.
I resumed traveling in August, going to Miami and Washington during the Braves’ famed 9-0 road trip, when they assumed first place and never relinquished it. I don’t think I was fully sold until the team’s final road trip. They went to San Francisco, Arizona and San Diego – I made the whole trip, trying to make up for lost time – and went 7-3, excluding finishing a suspended game.
It was the San Diego series specifically. Max Fried tossed a shutout on Friday night (it stormed in San Diego earlier that day, something else I’ll never forget). The Braves overcame a Manny Machado grand slam to win a wild 10-8 game on Saturday – Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario combined for five hits – then finished the sweep Sunday.
The vibe changed around that time. The Braves swept the Phillies when they returned home to clinch the division. Those Braves were nothing like the first-half team. They were gelling much better than even the team that posted a 9-0 road trip. I picked them to defeat the Brewers in the NLDS because despite a seven-win difference, I just thought the Braves were better. Turns out, they were better than everybody else.
Covering the postseason run was closer to normalcy. We were back in press conference rooms. There was much more media present. The Braves faced three uniquely built clubs and beat all of them at their own game: They outpitched the Brewers. They outhit, outpitched and outsmarted the Dodgers. They outslugged the Astros.
You don’t root for the teams you cover. But I’d be lying to downplay how meaningful it was to cover the Braves’ run.
There are a lot of good human beings in that organization who deserved to experience it. This was a franchise known for underwhelming in the postseason. Not anymore.
On a personal note, I’m from Valdosta and grew up a Braves fan before becoming a scribe. My grandma never missed a game and her passion led to my interest in sports around age 12. As many of you will relate, my family absolutely loves the Braves. I know my grandma, uncle and aunt were looking down happy to finally see the Braves breakthrough again.
I’m not sure how many people have covered their childhood, home-state professional team winning a championship. It’s something I’m immensely honored to have done. I can’t imagine how Dansby Swanson and Will Smith feel, having grown up in Atlanta and becoming players who’ll be remembered throughout franchise history.
The Braves mean so much to so many people across the south and the country. There must be endless stories about the joy experienced from the unexpected. Those circumstances made it that much more memorable. It was the ultimate adversity-ridden path to a title.
Nobody saw it coming. Now, nobody will forget it.